Full term, fed up, and want baby to arrive - what will get things moving?!

[MotherofKitties]

I'm now full term, I'm too hot, too uncomfortable, and I'm ready for this baby to arrive!

I'm drinking pot upon pot of raspberry leaf tea, eating pineapple like it's going out of fashion, eating spicy foods, walking as much as I can and bouncing away on my exercise ball, and despite having some cracking Braxton Hicks, still no contractions or show!

What else can I do to help speed things along? Any suggestions or experiences, however anecdotal will be most welcomed!

Xx

Jayzus, enjoy the moment! Your feet won't touch when baby arrives😂
A really good shag is supposed to work though if you can manage it in the heat!

Nothing works except time. 37-42 weeks is a normal gestation and you can't know when in that period your baby will be ready. All actual evidence shows you can't start labour using old wives tales. For every woman who claims sex/pineapple/curry worked, hundreds will find it didn't work. It's coincidence.

Raspberry leaf isn't used to start labour btw. It's a uterine tonic meant to make your 2nd stage more effective.

Given it's all out of your hands, I'd recommend doing anything and everything which makes you smile. Your body will do the rest.

Congratulations.

I tried absolutely everything but in the end I think it all boils down to when you and baby are ready!

Just (try) and make the most of this time now. Relax as much as possible!

I'm 40+2 with ds2 - I feel your pain!

Have you had a sweep yet? I had mine 26 hours ago now and it hasn't fucking worked but I've heard that they can be quite effective for some women

Start to watch a really good box set. About half way through you will go into labour and then in 3 years time you will still be wondering how the second half ended!

I'm in the camp that says pineapple worked for me!!

Waiting about 6 weeks is guaranteed to work.

Haha I like the pp comment about starting a really good boxset; I'll give that a go!

I know realistically that baby will arrive when baby is ready, but I feel ready to meet her and I'm getting so uncomfortable I feel like the only thing I can focus on is going into labour!

Even if it's just a psychological whatnot, trying all the 'old wives tales' and people's suggestions will make me feel like I'm doing something and make me feel a bit better!

Xx

Sex worked for us but obviously you could claim anything "works" once you're full term as baby is due at any time regardless!

Having said that I really do think it had an effect. Had sex at bedtime, continued to lie down rather than getting up to clean up, to let the sperm swim around the cervix for a bit, at 5am contractions started. At about 10 or 11am contractions slowed down and stopped. So we had sex again, and a nap, woke up and contractions had restarted

Out of all the old wives tales, sex makes the most sense, because of the prostaglandin in sperm. The same hormone in the pessary they give you to induce you. So that must count for something.

The prostaglandin in sperm is not there in enough quantity to have the slightest effect. Plus, that particular prostaglandin works better when taken orally...

Same with pineapple. To eat enough to replicate the quantity of the enzyme associated with labour you'd have to consume at least 8 pineapples, plus skin and leaves in one sitting. Even then it wouldn't work.

Seriously. Nothing works.

Except cake and sitting and cool drinks and being pampered and good music and nice food and gingerbread*

*none of that works either but it's at least pleasurable

I can't even manage nice food - still got "morning sickness"

In that case have you tried swearing like a fishwife? I did that a lot at the end.

Sex worked for me and several of my friends

Constantly Show

A diet of metoclopramide and Rennie is not as exciting as it sounds