As a homebirth midwife in private practice, I am lucky enough to work with some of the healthiest pregnant women around! Fortunately, or unfortunately (depending on if you are the pregnant woman in question or not!), healthy women carry their babes to term and often beyond; so, I am often faced with questions of how to induce labor.
I am not surprised to see many of my pregnant clients still pregnant at 10 days past the “due date,” and hardly ever see a baby arrive before the earliest date we have.
I don’t believe in pharmaceutical ways to induce labor- (meaning Cytotec, other cervical ripening drugs, and/or Pitocin) unless there is a serious need to get that baby born–which is pretty rare.
But, because of the legal boundaries we have as midwives (labor must begin before 42 weeks) and also because many women are excited and anxious to “get things moving” when they are well past their “due date,” I have compiled this list of ideas that MAY help induce labor in a more natural way. (Remember that these are suggestions and tools that have worked for others; the truth is, babies come when they are ready, and when not ready, the whole list used at once will probably prove ineffective!)
Please also consider the inaccuracy of dating a pregnancy with ultrasound. Many a baby has been “kicked out” only to discover that the baby was actually early and that is why labor was not beginning or progressing. In most cases, the body knows best!
The first thing to understand when wanting to induce labor is how the cervix prepares. The cervix is the bottom of the uterus and is the part that must thin AND open in order for the baby to be born.
The part people get most excited about is the opening, or the dilation of the cervix.
Many an anxious first-time mom wants to know how dilated she is at 40 weeks, because that is what everybody else wants to know so they can “predict” when she will actually go into labor. The truth is, most first-time moms at 40 weeks are hardly dilated at all, and that is OK.
Because first, the cervix must thin and soften. It can’t open very much without doing these things first. So, in other words, there is no sense doing anything really aggressive to start contractions (in my opinion) if the cervix is not “ripe” (meaning soft and thin and ready to begin labor contractions). If the cervix is not ripe, “induction” must be begun by ripening.
The following are ways to do this:
- Evening primrose oil, by mouth, 1500 mg per day
- Evening primrose oil, inserted vaginally, a capsule per day
- Intercourse with orgasm and semen release into the vagina
- Homeopathic regime of caulophyllum, cimicifuga beginning at 38 weeks gestation
- Herbal preparations that thin the cervix and tone the uterus
- Use of certain essential oils that prepare the body for labor
* There has been some scientific data to support the use of fish oil supplements in contributing to post date pregnancies (those that go past the due date).
Once the cervix is ripe, there are some other ideas to get things going and to help induce labor.
The following is a list of things to try:
- Homeopathics
- Herbs
- Sex (yes, that again!)
- Acupuncture
- Chiropractic adjustment
- Reflexology
- Essential oils
- Spicy foods
- Walking
- A vaginal exam done by your caregiver in which the amniotic sac is (gently) separated from the cervix (called “stripping the membranes”)
- Have a talk with baby, investigate own fears about labor…and relax as much as possible!
In my experience, all of the above DO work and have worked for at least one woman. If I had to narrow it down to my “favorite,” I would choose the acupuncture/acupressure route. The reason being that Chinese medicine really works to balance the body; therefore making this tool for inducing labor the most “natural” and potentially beneficial for your entire body.
To get more information about natural ways to induce labor using acupressure, take a look at this downloadable guide: Maternity Acupressure Guide: Easier, Shorter And Safer Birth.
Related Articles:
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Great article! I'd love to hear a licensed midwife/certified midwife practitioner, or the like— go into more detail about your “legal boundaries” as you call them, in regards to the magical 42 week mark. Where do these boundaries come from? Who sets them? and, How can we- as mother's, help to make these boundaries more realistic to normal, natural birth?
Great article! I'd love to hear more about what your “legal boundaries” are in regards to the “magical” 42 week mark? Who sets these boundaries? What information is being used to reach these conclusions (such as, performing labor inducing actions around this time when everything else seems to be progressing normally and healthily)? If we know better than to induce a normal pregnancy, why is your legal obligation to do so? I'm curious. Thanks!