caulophyllum - how much to take

[PotPourri]

Hope someone can help. I just got my caulophyllum 200 pillules through today and wondered if anyone knows how much I should take. Is it one a day? And should I take more once in labour? I have also been taking Arnica once a day in preparation, and wondered if I need to take the two different things at different times - i.e. do they stop one another working or anything?

I am 41 weeks pregnant and willing to try ANYTHING to get things moving now.

pp - feeling for you!
Are you fed up of pineapple?
Was this something you got OTC from the chemist?
Am also interested in the arnica, should I be taking this now? ( am 38 weeks)

soory I hve all these ? and no help for you!
lots of luck.....
hana

Hana. I am getting well and truly sick of pineaple (but still keeping it up), along with long walks, sex, raspberry leaf tea, clary sage.... you name it! I think I am now gathering evidence that the baby comes exactly when it wants to - but am scared to stop trying - feel like I could be pregnant for the rest of my life!

Regarding Arnica, I have no training in homeopathy, so please take my advice with caution. Following a previous thread on mumsnet I got Arnica 200 (quite strong and you need to get it from a homeopath or the internet - I got mine from helios.co.uk) and I was advised to take one a day from 38 weeks, then in labour one every 2-3 hours, then 4-5 a day after birth to help healing. Nimme on the December thread used Arnica 30 (less strong dose) and thinks it has helped, so worth doing. You can get that from health shops and probably chemists. Note, I also picked up that you should not eat or drink for the 1/2 hour at each side of taking the pill, and you should also not touch it with your hand - you need to tip it out into the lid/dispenser and tip straight into your mouth.

I'd be careful with 200C- you don't want labour to be too powerful :o Take one maybe and see what happens - if nothing repeat after a few days. Then as you know your induction date take another the day before that (I'm a homeopath in training- but very early on- so I don't pretend to have any expertise). Having said that my homeopath said that she was prescribed 200C for quite a while in advance of her second labour and had an incredibly powerful (2 hour!) labour.

Not homeopathic...but my sister swore by black bean sauce...had it the night before, and both times she was in labour the next day!

Potpurri,
I was once where you are now. Sorry to say it was another week before I got induced. In the end it was a good thing I never went into labour because the had managed to wrap the unbilical cord around her neck TWICE. If I had gone into labour and waited until the contractions were 5 minutes apart (as I was instructed to do by the midwives), I wonder what would have happened to the baby. As it was I ended up being induced, then when her heart rate dropped (because the induced contrations tightened the cord around her poor little neck), I ended up in an emergency caesarean. All is well in the end. Everyone is fine. But, if there is one thing I learned it is that your body may not be going into labour for a reason. I, personally, think it is much safer to be induced in the hospital under doctor supervision than it is to do it yourself at home.

But, also remember that lots of people go overdue and don't go through what I did. So, I hope this story doesn't scare you. I just wanted to say tht it is possible that your body isn't going into labour for a reason. How far over do you have to go before they will induce you? Do you want to be induced?

Hey PP,
I swear by castor oil. I took with my DD the night before being induced. Was more afraid of oxytocyn!
I took just a single tbs. so I didn't get sick at all. It might have helped clearing the insides a bit, but as you can see with the "poo thread", that could be a plus prior to birth....
Anyhoo, had every 2 min. contraction less than 12 hours later, and an easy completely natural birth after it...
Of course I was 12 days overdue... so maybe was just the right time anyway....

Thanks Uwila. I must admit I have been thinking about what you said and have decided to leave the drastic measures for now. Was considering reflexology to induce, but my mum put me off that as she works in Hospices and said that they are wary of what other things it can affect/trigger.

Lua, am pretty scared of the castor oil as I have heard horror stories, but thanks for details of your experience. Come next week, I may well be looking at that option.

I will be induced at 2 weeks late. I don't really want to go any further than that anyway as that carries it's own risks. Ho hum, more daytime TV and chocolate I think.....

Potpurri,
Have you considered using acupuncture its worth a try.Also don't rule out starting the homeopathic remedies as you are now 41weeks.Or see if you can consult a registered homeopath.If all comes to all plenty of sex may help get you into labour as the hormones in your partners sperm can help ripen the cervix and get you started.
All the above are much nicer than induction and at least you can feel in control of it all.
Best of luck what ever you decide.

CanI ask why you are waiting unti 42 weeks to be induced? I think there is a risk that the placenta starts to deteriorate at that point (hence possibly reducing oxygen levels to the baby), and also there is a greater chance of merconium being in the water, which can be a sign of foetal distress, but also isn't uncommon in babies that go overdue.

These were things that worried me in my last two weeks. And, I don;t mean to make you any more undcomfortable than you already are. But, my personal view is that an induction is better than a lack of oxygen.

When I expressed these concerns to the midwives, they just told me not to worry about it. But, when I FINALLY got to the consultant she agreed to induce me that night. So, we headed out for our last curry (another old wives tale which incidentally does NOT work).

Have you seen the consultant yet? When is your next appointment with him/her?

I hope you don't mind me sharing these thoughts with you. I really don't mean to put negative thoughts in your head. But, I would rather tel you than have you wonder afterwards why no one told you about the risks of the placenta deteriorating or about merconium being in the water.

The NHS certainly isn't going to tell you these things. And whenever I think about what would have happened if I hadn't gone to that consultant pleading to be induced ASAP... oooh I still get mad about it.

Potpurri,
The reason they don't induce you till 42weeks(approx 12-14days) is to give u the best possible chance of going into labour yourself.Induction as far as I know carries it's own risks such as it can fail,the labour can be intense and more painful than going into labour by yourself,it can lead to lots of intervention,cause once they start to intervine the plan will be to deliver the baby. Sometimes the baby will become distressed.It best to try what u feel comfortable with and not panic and rush ahead into induction unless it is far a medical reason ans supported by your consultant. Hope all goes well for u.I went eight days over thought it would never happen had all the natural remedies ready went into labour and had a wonderful and safe home birth and got a beautiful baby boy for all my hard work!

PP,
I would also like to reassure you that there is no hurry in 99% of the cases. Yes, eventually placenta can deteriorate, but that usually happens after two weeks past due, hence that being the cut off used by most of the western world.
I am also not sure about how sure you are of your due dates... I was officially past two weeks when I had DD, but I knew that the hospital had the wrong DD, because I was temping whe getting pregnant and was pretty sure conception date was 5 days later than they thought. My girl was 13 days lateaccording with my DD, she was 7.5 lbs and healthy , and I had an easy and natural labour.
Of course, if you are getting stressed out, then do what you need to do!
I am sure sooner or later you'll have your beautiful baby with you!

PP,
I would also like to reassure you that there is no hurry in 99% of the cases. Yes, eventually placenta can deteriorate, but that usually happens after two weeks past due, hence that being the cut off used by most of the western world.
I am also not sure about how sure you are of your due dates... I was officially past two weeks when I had DD, but I knew that the hospital had the wrong DD, because I was temping whe getting pregnant and was pretty sure conception date was 5 days later than they thought. My girl was 13 days lateaccording with my DD, she was 7.5 lbs and healthy , and I had an easy and natural labour.
Of course, if you are getting stressed out, then do what you need to do!
I am sure sooner or later you'll have your beautiful baby with you!

Bug sympathy. I remember being 41 weeks and looking at the babycentre pregnancy calender-the messages stay the same, something like "you should have your baby any day now". Then you start getting emails about "your 1 week old".

I know you are probably getting really fed up but apparently 41 weeks is not actually considered overdue on the continent.

And as many people have said, induction has its own risks. If there is any reason to suspect a problem they can always give you a scan, check the heatbeat etc.

Good luck! Its horrible waiting. Get lots of sleep and have lots of long baths and meals out if you can stand it.

BIG sympathy even.