Be honest: none of these 'labour induction' methods actually work, do they?

[TrinaLuciusMalfoy]

I have tried everything bar castor oil: pineapple, nipple stimulation, both delivery methods of prostaglandins (>ahem< ), walking, bouncing, curry, other spicy foods, juniper oil, rosemary oil, foot massage, stretch and sweep. Didn't bother with raspberry leaf tea as that did bugger all last pregnancy. I am SO fed up with pregnancy and desperate to go into labour before section next Tuesday. I honestly don't believe any of these things ACTUALLY work and if one more person (health care 'professionals' included) says 'oh go and have a curry' I'm going to have to hurt somebody.

DH going to try and speak to consultant's secretary today to see if there's any chance of bringing it forward - but obviously with it being Friday today not holding out much hope.

Spent twenty minutes on the phone to labour ward last night blubbing and begging them to do something and the answer's basically 'well the baby's fine so we won't do anything' - ok, the baby's fine, what if the mother's not? Does that not count for anything?

Fecking bastards.

Right. Sounds to me like we need to give up suggesting things to get baby moving & think of things that might help you relax! A bath? Asking friends to bring round any trashy mags they've finished with? Getting someone to babysit your DC so you can rest? A massage? (I know you said you can't afford accupuncture etc but is there a beauty college nearby? Trainees do massages and facials very cheaply. Or a kind friend?)

I'm really sorry you're feeling so bad and hope you get to meet LO soon. Take care [hug] [massage]

Oh Trina.

How are you today? Do you know the problem with all these methods really is that precisely because they absolutely do NOT work in the slightest, you feel like every tale of 'x works' or 'try y' just confirms your own inability to do something.

Think about it another way, if any of these things DID induce labour naturally, they'd be banned before 37 weeks. People have sex, eat curry and move about freely for most of pregnancy because they're nothing to do with labour starting. Labour starting is a peculiar, still not understood, chemical reaction between you and your baby. Short of chemical interference at a hospital (which also doesn't always works as nature's a mighty force), you can't influence it.

We should have the balls and the power to say look pregnancy is however long it is, sometimes the end of it is bloody awful and instead of pretending it's something we can naturally end ourselves, look at ways of helping each other through it.

needsanswers, your midwife/doctors are slightly wrong. Sex and nipple stimulation can encourage your body along when you're already labouring because they produce chemicals in your body that will relax/invigorate/stimulate and various other things. Just like you can encourage endorphins or adrenalin when you're already on your way. You won't start labour though, it's up to the baby when it's ready.

Resigned to it mostly. Trying to get my head round it and find anything positive :(

The positive is that every minute you get through is one less minute of being pregnant and one minute closer to meeting your baby. I know in late pregnancy every minute feels like forever and Tuesday is another lifetime, but you are on the final countdown now.

I found it doesn't help that everyone keeps telling you to enjoy the peace and quiet at this stage, like things are going to get worse! I hated being overdue and found having a toddler and a newborn a lot easier than having a toddler and being ridiculously pregnant.