Q: Any ideas, advice or recommendations on how to naturally induce labour? I am a midwife with a high percentage of first time mums overdue; they get fed up, and I have run out of tips.
-Anon.
The only place I can think of sending you to is Marnie Ko's website: http://www.nurturing.ca. It has all the tricks I know of in addition to those in Susun Weed's book.
-Patricia in Calgary, Alberta
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When first speaking to a group of pregnant women, especially first-time mothers, I spend an extraordinary amount of time with them on calculating their due date. We know that statistically a first-time mother will need from 38 to 42 weeks and longer for her baby to be ready. I help them adjust their due date beyond the 40 week estimated due date, at least ten to fourteen days longer. Then I talk to them about the dangers of induction, which are mentioned in my book, "Pregnancy & Childbirth Tips" under the section Birth Induction--Unsafe At Any Speed. I ask them if they think that any person or machine can tell them the exact day and hour their unique baby will be ready.
It is also important to talk about some of the foolishness some medical professionals are using to schedule birth, like "some women never go into labor on their own" (absolutely untrue); "your baby is overdue" (if you are a first-time mother that is what is supposed to happen); "your baby is too small" (a guess of a five pound birth weight in utero is most often shown to be incorrect when we actually have a baby to weigh); or one used often with older mothers, "your placenta is aging." I handle the last one by comparing the placenta to a refrigerator. Regardless the age of the fridge, as long as we are filling it up with food it does not matter how old the fridge is. The placenta does not have an expiration date on it. Every time you eat you are nourishing the placenta and your baby.
Your body and your baby go through hundreds of minute changes in order to be prepared for birth. Forcing birth unnaturally can only lead to problems for both the baby and mother through the birth and after. Waiting for birth to start naturally will give them a faster, easier and safer childbirth.
Please help your clients adjust their due dates according to the newest research so that they as well as their family members can relax and let nature take its beautiful course in this grand miracle of birth.
-Gail J. Dahl
www.pregnancytips.com
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The best natural way that seems to work for most mothers is to have sex!
After intercourse the woman should try to keep the semen around her cervix for as long as is comfortable. Semen contains the wonderful natural prostaglandins that help ripen the cervix. Orgasm also releases hormones to assist uterine activity.
If a woman is not able to have intercourse, nipple stimulation is also useful. This helps release oxytocin, etc. If women are birthing in hospital settings, privacy should be allowed for these activities.
I have also heard of having a warm bath, but because baths just make me relax I can't imagine how this may bring on labour.
Another myth is to eat a spicy, hot meal. In our community, this generally gives diarrhoea, which, with all the gastric motility, gives a woman one hell of a belly ache!
Raspberry leaf is very good for ensuring contractions are good. It may be taken as an infusion or by tablet. Scientific proof is being gathered via a double blind randomised trial through Westmead Hospital, Sydney, Australia. Midwives there have already run a pilot study. They believe tablets are best as the dose is more accurate than herbal infusions. This paper was presented at the 11th Biennial Australian College of Midwives' Conference, Hobart, Tasmania in early September.
Overdue women may go for up to 43 weeks without interventions. Naturally, these women are carefully checked.
-Amanda Gear
Australia
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For the four years I've used my audio tape "Journeying Through Pregnancy and Birth," I've had a lot less "postdates" and mothers who are generally less "antsy" about having the baby. I've also had feedback from hundreds of mothers about how much this tape helped them. Side 1 is a deep relaxation and visualization for pregnancy. Side 2 is preparation for labor and birth. I have successfully used it to "prime the mind, ready the body" along with nipple stimulation, cohosh, enema, etc. (all methods that can be used individually or together and which are more or less effective). I have found that there is often mental/emotional resistance, especially with first-time mothers. Those fears, concerns, need to be addressed before the body/mind can let go and let labor happen.
-Jenna Houston CNM
www.womanway.com
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And they criticise OBs for inductions! This [question] explains where a lot of the demand comes from.
-Phil Watters
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In private meditation or with someone helping you do guided visualization, go deep within and listen, asking your baby why s/he has not yet decided to go through the birth process. It is the baby who initiates labor. Unlimited answers are possible and might include: fear of the birth process (yours or the baby's); aversion to one or more participants or location planned for the birth; or your feelings of lack of readiness for parenthood. (It may seem as if the answer is coming from your imagination, but your imagination is an important part of your mind.) Then listen for any possible solutions that may be offered.
-Donna Worden-Wonder
dcwww@yahoo.comonna
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I am a midwife, homoeopath and aupuncturist. Some acupuncture and reflexology points bring on overdue labour. It's difficult to write about where they are but any acupuncturist or reflexologist would know. It is actually best to tailor the treatment to the individual patient.
Similarly, there are some good homoeopathic remedies. Pulsatilla 1m and Caulophyllum 200c are often prescribed. It may be necessary to treat mental blockages also.
-Glenis
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I am a happy two-time midwife assisted homebirth client. I did many things to induce labor, including the following:
At eleven days late, I used my double electric breast pump for ten minutes on and ten minutes off, over and over again for a four hour period (I discarded the tiny bit of colostrum collected). Also at each ten minute break, I swished and swallowed a blue and black cohosh concoction (three squirts each of high quality tincture). This was not fun but better than the alternative. That evening I had cramping but not contractions. I repeated it the next day but only for two hours before contractions began. After that, the entire labor was 90 minutes start to finish, but that's another story!
-Wendy Jones
wendyjones86@hotmail.com
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The best advice my midwife gave me in the last days of my pregnancies when I was beginning to feel impatient was, "The baby will come out when the baby is ready to come out." I think in most cases we need to stop hurrying the poor babies and give the mom some love and emotional support. My midwife also told me that during those last weeks and days, the baby's brain is developing. Realizing that it was an important time for the baby's development made it much easier for me to be patient
-klm
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Reprinted from Midwifery Today E-News (Vol 1 Issue 49, Dec 3, 1999)
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