How I can induce a labor naturally?

All 3 of my labors were induced (in the hospital, early) by my doc or midwife breaking my water. In 1 case, that didn’t do the trick, though, and the the drug pitocin (sp?) was required…so it’s not foolproof.

There is an episode of Friends about this…

Spicy food and sex?

Inducing labor on your own strikes me as a very dangerous idea. Your body will usually go into labor on it’s own at the right time, when conditions for birth are correct. Forcing it to happen early should be managed carefully by skilled medical professionals. At the very least, run it by your OB/GYN before you try anything.

There are people that think that the prostaglandins in semen can induce labor, which is why sex is rumored to do it. Beyond that, I wouldn’t go messing around.

I’d stick with the sex. Try spoons position and even if it doesn’t work it will keep you busy. Plus you probably won’t have time for months afterwards.

Take a walk, seriously, it got things going for me with my last labor.

Nipple stimulation.

Are there any techniques I can try at home to get my labor going?

No do-it-yourself methods have been proven consistently both safe and effective. Here’s the scoop on some of the techniques you may have heard about:

• Sexual intercourse: Semen contains some prostaglandins and having an orgasm may stimulate some contractions. A few studies have shown that having sex at term may decrease the need for labor induction, but others have found no effect on promoting labor.

• Nipple stimulation: Stimulating your nipples releases oxytocin and may help start labor, but more research is needed to determine the safety and effectiveness of this method. Because nipple stimulation may overstimulate your uterus, your contractions and your baby’s response to them should be monitored, so don’t try this at home.

• Castor oil: Castor oil is a strong laxative. Although stimulating your bowels may cause some contractions, there’s no definitive proof that it helps induce labor — and you’re likely to find the effect on your gut very unpleasant.

• Herbal remedies. A variety of herbs are touted as useful for labor induction, but there isn’t enough evidence to prove that any of them are both safe and effective. Some are risky because they can overstimulate your uterus and may be unsafe for your baby for other reasons as well.

Source

The guy who runs our local ice cream parlour swears up and down that a hot fudge sundae is all you need to induce labor. They have customers who swear by it (they’ve started labor for two or three kids that way), so my best friend (who was due on Friday) decided to try it out. We went for hot fudge sundaes Thursday night, and her labor started at 5:30 Friday morning. I’m sold!

Besides, even if it doesn’t get your labor going, you’ve still gotten to enjoy a hot fudge sundae!

My husband’s grandmother swears by a pizza with everything on it.

Mmm, have pizza with everything on it, with a hot fudge sundae for dessert, and you should be all set! ;)

@sdeutsch Something will come out.