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Pregnancy

Non  medical methods of inducing labour

25 replies

Lesley76 · 30/04/2004 15:01

HELP!!! I?m term+8 or term+13 (depending on whose dates you believe) with my first baby. Very healthy, normal pregnancy. Baby?s head has been engaged ready for launch for about 3 weeks, I?m 2cm dilated and had a show more than 24 hours ago. Since then????NOTHING except intermittent period pains. Not even bad enough to take a paracetemol. I?m DESPERATE to avoid being induced in hospital but I?m running out of time.

So far I?ve tried the following:

Sex (lots of)
Exercise (mostly housework and walking, as much as I can do at this stage of pregnancy!)
Sweep of membranes (done by doctor I hasten to add)
Raspberry leaf tea tablets

Have not tried:

Curry (coz I don?t like it)
Castor oil (coz I don?t like diarrhoea)
Fresh pineapple (gives me heartburn)
Getting my highlights done
Carrot cake

HELP PLEASE ?!! Any other suggestions or ideas?

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gothicmama · 30/04/2004 15:05

Chilli,(to eat)
rubbing nipples (not with ChillI)
I thought about cleaning windows and that set me off,
plan something really nice for tonight (book a table somewhere) excitemnet at going out may trigger something
also lay off the raspberry leaf now
hot drink -
was there anything which made baby move more inside when you ate or drank i t - try it now if there was

Good luck

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Lesley76 · 30/04/2004 15:18

GM - LOL at thought of rubbing nipples with chilli

What kind of hot drink do you mean?

Baby moves a lot when i eat chocolate but have been munching boxes of Malteasers for weeks and its certainly not inducing labour. Makes me happy though........

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zaphod · 30/04/2004 15:19

Try to relax, have a nice warm bath, read a book, watch a video or whatever, to take your mind off it. I was overdue with my fifth, and like you tried everything(including really hot curry), to no avail. In the end, I was induced, and once the gel was inserted labour started a couple of hours later, and the labour was just like the ones I had had for my other children. I know just how you feel, but please don't worry.

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gothicmama · 30/04/2004 15:21

Mine always moved loads if I drank tea sounds daft- also try not to think about it (watched pot never boils and all that)

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Tommy · 30/04/2004 15:42

Nice hot bath, large gin and whatever - even if it doesn't do the trick you'll be more relaxed which will probably help! Good luck

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summermum · 30/04/2004 15:47

get down on all fours and rock back and forwards, also try circling your pelvis in this position. we were taugh this in yoga and i started to do it 8weeks before due date to make sure baby in correct position etc and i went into labour 4 weeks early (oops) I think it was that that helped as it is supposed to encourage baby into the birth canal. Hope all goes well and you do not need to be induced. I dreaded that thought and as my 1st DS was 10 days overdue and 1 day off being induced I was very determined that no2 was not going to be overdue. was not supposed to be 4 weeks early neither though. I also heard someone at yoga say that evening primrose oil can help, it does say on it not to take in pregnancy and this is apparently why ( it can start labour). Also have you thought of any homeopathic rememdies< i can't remember off hand which ones are good but I think callophylum 30c or 200c is one. let me know if you are interested and I will check. Good luck with everything

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treacletart · 30/04/2004 15:53

Have you thought about accupuncture? I saw a perinatal specialist accupuncturist during my pregnancy for asthma - worked a treat incidentally - but she offered to sort me out if induction was threatened. Apparantly it brings things on very very gently. I don't have personal experience because things happened of their own accord in the event but I reckon its got to be preferable to a proper induction. good luck.

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karnie · 30/04/2004 15:56

I tried them all and I ended up being induced. I think most of them are old wives tales. Babies come when they are ready. I know what you are going through I was nearly round the bend. I remember sitting on the floor for two hours waiting for dh to come home to help me up cos I was too fat. I felt like a bloody elephant!!

As for sex I reckon a man made that one up to get as much as he could cos once baby is here he's lucky if he gets a civil word for weeks never mind sex!!!!

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wobblyknicks · 30/04/2004 16:08

Try some clary sage oil, have a bath with a few drops on and also put a couple of drops on your top so you're smelling it all the time. Has a warning not to use in pregnancy because of the danger of starting labour - but that's what you want to happen so its ok.

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gothicmama · 30/04/2004 17:13

Has anything happened yet ??

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lemonice · 30/04/2004 17:31

As on other thread fireworks and sex worked after 13 days over

and a huge plate of liver sorry dp has appeared goood luck

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LucyJones · 30/04/2004 17:32

I tried the large gin with galons of cranberry juice and went into labour that night, might not have had anything to do with it but might be worth a try

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cuppy · 30/04/2004 17:33

An hour on the dancemat did it for me - 4 hours later it started.

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spots · 30/04/2004 18:10

Shiatsu massage apparently, keeping that one in mind for my own if I'm late as recently met a practitioner who specialises in late baby summoning.

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spots · 30/04/2004 18:10

...in Edinburgh, don't know where you are...

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oxocube · 30/04/2004 18:13

castor oil worked twice for me. Tasted disgusting, even mixed with loads of fresh orange juice.

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luckymum · 30/04/2004 18:31

With ds1 & dd I had a very large fish and chip supper.......the only problem is I was sick in all three labours and it came up virtually undigested Yuk!! dd2 came along after dd1 somersaulted into my belly. V.painful & not recommended

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eyelash · 30/04/2004 18:32

Lesley76 - absolutely no advice but I do sympathise as I went to term +11 and term +14 with dss.

On a positive, the fact you have had a show and are already 2 cms dilated means it will happen very very soon.

Best of luck and hope it goes well.

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Lesley76 · 30/04/2004 19:41

Spots - am only 40 miles from Edinburgh so would be interetsted in more details please

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Lesley76 · 02/05/2004 13:10

Cuppy _ I take it that you mean an hour lying on the dance mat???

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WSM · 02/05/2004 13:32

Perineal Massage worked for me... Here's how (excuse if it is a little graphic)

*Sit down, on the loo is prob best for ease of access !

*Reach down and hook your thumb into your vaginal opening, approx to the first knuckle. So you are resting the pad of your thumb on the inetrior side of your perineum (the bit of skin betweeen vagina and anus - SORRY!)

*Use your forefinger of the same hand to 'mirror' that of your thumb, but only on the outside surface of your perineum (with me so far ?!).

*You should have your perineum 'pinched' between thumb and forefinger.

*Use a bit of a neutral oil (Olive oil or almond oil) and massage using your forefinger in small but firm circular motions.

*Do it for 3-5 minutes at a time.

I did this after having it recommended to me by the hospital midwife and I was in true labour 1.5 days after first trying it. I had about 3 sessions and it started me. My DD was born at 37.5 weeks.

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WSM · 02/05/2004 13:34

Reflexology is also supposed to be very effective, look in your Yellow Pages for a practitioner who will come to your home.

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hewlettsdaughter · 02/05/2004 13:37

Lesley - I knew this thread had to be started by you.... I like gothicmama's suggestion of planning something really nice for tonight. And I'm sure I read somewhere that a nice glass of wine might help...

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spots · 02/05/2004 16:06

Lesley I only just saw that addition - I never actually expect people to be near Edinburgh! Have forwarded details via 'contact another talker' - I know you're pretty likely to do the whole induction thing tomorrow but if you DID want to fight for another couple of days you could always give her a shot... sorry for that. Sounds like your weekend will be pretty busy with all this experimentation... Good luck!

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Wallace · 02/05/2004 20:31

twiddling nipples

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