I'm almost 38 weeks, so I'm not looking for drastic measures yet. But I'm wondering what has worked for others to help speed things along.
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Pineapple seemed to work for me, though I wasn't trying. I'd heard it was a help in natural induction but had forgotten.
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I just read about dates being beneficial in the last weeks of pregnancy! http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21280989/
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I tried everything on the poll except accupressure and also tried castor oil (disgusting!). Nothing worked!!
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I've recently heard great things about eating several dates every day in the end of pregnancy. I have to go find that article...
Edit: Hah, someone found it right above me. Thanks for reading my mind! -
@pelikila: I read about pineapple, but what I read said that you'd have to eat 7 of them to get enough of whatever stimulates contractions. But maybe not! I love pineapple, so it can't hurt.
@Beyond2: I heard about dates, too, but I HATE them. We have a bag but I can't bring myself to eat them. Maybe if I get desperate enough...
@Sweet T: Ah, that sucks! I'm saving acupressure for later on, I think. Castor oil is definitely only a "I'm two weeks overdue, get this baby OUT" option. Yuck.
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Bouncing and sitting on an exercise ball I think!
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Nothing! Finally went into labor at 42 weeks and 5 days for no apparent reason.
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@Andrea: ditto! I bounced on a yoga call for an hour and baby girl was out 12 hours later!
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I tried acupuncture, Epo & red raspberry leaf, sex, walking, spicy food, nipples stim, and membrane sweeps. The second membrane sweep at 41 w 3 days may have worked. I think the only thing that worked was scheduling an induction!
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Nothing really worked to "induce". I did get adjusted the Monday before going into active labor though (had had "false" prodromal labor for a week)... had P at 41+5
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I tried several things: walking, bouncing on my yoga ball, tea's, sex...but I think when my membranes were stripped, that's what did it because I went into labor 2 days later. I walked my butt off in between that time though to get things moving. I took a lot of brisk walks though and I really think that helped things along.
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Hmm...I walked a ton, bounced on the yoga ball and tried out my breast pump, lol. I also had my membranes stripped but that was 4 days before I went into labor.
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I had an internal exam at 39w 5 days. After that appt (literally on the way home) i started becoming very crampy and having brownish red discharge. Walked a ton and had sex and Mexican food that night and the next night. Cramps continued but weren't getting worse. The next day i just went about my regular routine anc diet and didn't have sex...and that was the night my water broke!
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I had curry, eggplant, pineapple the week I went into labor.
Also did a lot of ball bouncing and my water actually broke on the ball -
Acupressure definitely worked for me! We googled acupressure induction on YouTube and DH did it for an hour! My water broke an hour later!
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I tried evening primrose, sex, & walking- nothing worked. It still took me 34 hours of Cervadil & Pitocin.
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Nothing. I tried quite a few things and LO came on her due date like a good little girl. They come when they want to, not when we want them to
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@allison: I ate pizza with pineapple on it the night I went into labor. I had been to see my OB earlier that day and she had checked me and said it didn't look like anything was going to happen anytime soon and to be patient. I had pineapple that night and less than 5 hours later was in active labor. I'm not sure about having to eat a ton of it but maybe try adding it to one meal a day?
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My best friend tried everything - sex, spicy hot wings, walked three miles, bounced on the ball, acupuncture, chiropractor, membranes stripped twice - at 42w 1d her midwife suggested a castor oil/root beer drink and that did the trick!
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I am convinced that baby comes when they want to! I tried literally everything under the sun except acupuncture and castor oil. I bounced on a yoga ball from weeks 33 on (because of my back, too) and started with oral and vaginal EPO aroundd 36 weeks?
That said, my water broke on my due date while I was bouncing on the yoga ball (I had an appointment an hour prior so the OB might have been the cause too), and then I dilated from 3 to 10 in the next three hours! I delivered after laboring down for a half hour, then pushing for 20 minutes.
I think that maybe the yoga ball opened my pelvis up and maybe the EPO really did something? Not sure!
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I really think that reflexology helped. I had it done and my water broke the next day!
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I will say that the days I do more (when we go to the "city" for dr. appointments and walk around downtown), I always have way more contractions that night.
I've bounced on my yoga ball a couple times, and both times I've had more contractions right after.
So I'm definitely going to keep up/increase those! I'm drinking RRL tea, too. We'll see what happens. I'm fine with going a little past my due date, but almost 43 weeks!? You are one patient mama, @gracecat.
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I didn't try any natural induction methods but people I know have claimed fresh pineapple and sex helped them.
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@Beyond2: LOL i am so dense--when i read your post i thought dates, as in a date night with hubby
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Bumping this!
For those of you who bounced on a yoga ball, how hard? Just a little bounce??
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@Vegmama: I love that you are bumping these. I'm curious too.
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I'm not in a big hurry at all, but so far, we've been focusing on cervical ripening ... acupuncture, pumping, bouncing on the yoga ball, walking, and drinking pregnancy tea.
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@Vegmama: I bounced like I was trying to shake change out of y pockets
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@scg00387: Haha. I like that visual!
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I did internal EPO and I am pretty sure that contributed to my PROM. I do NOT recommend it!! Laboring with PROM sucked and I definitely won't do the EPO again for that reason.
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@septca: I'm also really hesitant to have my membranes stripped for that very reason! My midwife has offered to do it at 40 weeks, but I think we'll hold off until 41.
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We had sex like crazy and it always caused contractions. I finally went into labor after my midwife stripped my membranes and I kept my contractions going by.... HAVING SEX!
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I voted other because nothing worked for me! Even when I was in early labor, nothing was sped up by any of those things. It was so frustrating, I'm horrible at just waiting and being patient. I practically lived on my exercise ball for the last 2 weeks and insisted on spicy food all the time, had lots of sex with the nipple stuff...but nothing did the trick. Ended up going into labor early in the morning still laying in bed.
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So, I didn't end up going into labor until 41+4... But acupuncture definitely seemed to speed things up - I did three sessions. And sex. And a small glass of wine.
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Don't forget about pumping, aka, nipple stimulation. Once I'd gotten into early labor, acupressure helped with my first and pumping got the contractions strong enough with my second that I felt her engage in my pelvis and was in active labor from that point on. And then nothing did the trick with my third, lol. Even once I was in early labor and I bounced and pumped and did stairs and took walks, still took 20ish hours to get into active labor (which finally happened after a glass of wine and a 2-hour nap). Buuuuuuut, the midwife thought she had a nuchal hand, which is why she refused to move down and get her head pressed evenly against my cervix. Anyways... Those are what have personally worked (or not) for me. But I was already in early labor when I tried them. I think the key to any natural induction methods, even having your membranes stripped, actually working, is your body being primed and ready to go and just needs a bump to get things going. But walking and bouncing and similar physical activities can help get baby into the best possible position for birth, so they don't hurt anything, even if they don't get labor started. Just don't wear yourself out.
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