©Pregnancy bliss 2008
Can you induce your own labor?
If you are heavily pregnant and you are seriously looking for ways of somehow getting yourself into labour, you are by no means unique. It is a wish of many. The late stage of pregnancy is almost universally characterized by a great deal of discomfort, even pain. It follows therefore that the desire to get it all over and, at last, hold that baby, can be overwhelming.
When is the Baby ready?
It is an accepted medical scientific fact that by 37 weeks of gestation, a baby in the womb is technically at term and therefore functionally mature and able to cope with the outside world. That is true for the overwhelming majority. However, spontaneous labor may not occur for another three or four weeks, even more. For some, that is sometimes too much to cope with. It is therefore no surprise that these women clamour for labor induction.
There is almost total consensus among obstetricians and midwives that induction of labor before at least 41 weeks in the absence of a medical indication (fetal or maternal wellbeing) is not a good idea. This is for a number of quite valid and powerful reasons which are not the focus of this article.
So, what is the truth regarding do-
Methods of Self-
• Spicy Food: This is stuff of folklore. There is belief that a food that is highly spicy will soon get labor going. Clearly this is based on the hypothesis that the uterus alongside every other part will be stimulated into contractions. Many might have achieved the ‘runs’ with this strategy but there is simply no evidence that it is an effective ‘natural’ induction agent.
• Acupuncture: There are a lot of claims on the effectiveness of acupuncture for induction of labor. However, this is bedevilled by the fact that the specific acupuncture technique is not standardised, the service is not properly regulated and availability is patchy in many places. This means it is difficult to evaluate and a Cochrane Review of studies on the method published in 2001 concluded that they were all poorly designed and therefore this remains unproven.
• Sexual Intercourse is another popular method that I have personally recommended to couples. Like many colleagues, I have done this partially because it is certainly harmless, may relieve some of the stress and, who knows, it might work! The logic behind this recommendation is the probability of facilitating a release of enough prostaglandins and oxytocin to get labor going. Prostaglandins are the natural chemicals that trigger labor onset and oxytocin is responsible for uterine contractions. Penetrative sex does stimulate prostaglandin release from the neck of the womb (cervix) and semen released into the birth canal contains prostaglandins. In addition, if the breast nipples are stimulated, oxytocin is released from the pituitary gland in the brain. So, the theoretical basis appears solid but actual scientific evidence that this works remains weak.
