I should probably begin by admitting the title to this post is somewhat misleading. I don’t believe there is an infallible means of bringing on labour other than actual medical induction – baby will come when they’re good and ready, thank you very much.
That said, as someone who was convinced her baby would come early but in fact ended up feeling fat and frustrated for EIGHT LONG DAYS past her due date and was one Braxton Hicks away from taking a knife to her birthing ball, I’m oh so familiar with the need to feel like you’re doing something that may in some way – however microscopic – move things along a little. Or at the very least, that will help get your body ready for the impending birth… whenever that might be.
CURRY AND PINEAPPLE
Spicy foods stimulate the gut and may in turn wake up your uterus, they say, while an enzyme in pineapple called bromelain is thought to soften the cervix. At 40 weeks plus three days, Mr R tripled the amount of curry paste and chillies called for in the Thai curry he made me, resulting in little more than chronic indigestion and a possible stomach ulcer. Eating a pineapple a day had a similar effect. But a friend’s sister apparently ate three pineapples one afternoon and went into labour that night. Coincidence…?
PERENIAL MASSAGE
When I read about this in the youth of my pregnancy, the prude within me was taken aback by the sheer indignity of the suggestion. It effectively requires that you thumb yourself daily in the weeks leading up to D-day in the name of widening the exit route for baby, so reducing the risk of tearing or needing an episiotomy. Oh the glamour. But there I was at 34 weeks, buying almond oil from Neal’s Yard – the shop assistant giving me a knowing nod – ready to return home to my bathroom and attempt to balance in a deep squat without toppling and knocking myself out on the loo. What can I say… it worked. You’ll find a less facetious account of perennial massage and how to do it here.
HIP OPENERS
A friend walked through her local park one evening circling her knees while walking up hill. Hours later her waters broke. Regardless of whether it actually sounds the horn for labour, limbering up your hips will certainly help you have a more comfortable delivery. Yoga, up-hill walking, swimming – give them a go.
GET PHYSICAL
When you’re feeling like an upturned tortoise with persistent wind, getting in the mood for a fumble with your partner can be a particular challenge. That’s before you attempt to navigate your way through the by then limited number of positions available to you without a) suffocating under the weight of your bump, b) smothering your partner, or c) giving in to that wind issue. But do it. Not only because research suggests the flush of oxytocin released during sex may trigger labour, but because once you’ve had a small human force they’re way out of your nether region, you’ll likely want to lock the gates down there for a while. Or not, in which case I salute you. Your partner, however, may still be keen to halt bedroom proceedings if they were brave enough to take a front row seat at the birth – Mr R described it as akin to seeing his favourite pub in ruins. So you know, a hiatus is likely.
RASPBERRY LEAF TEA AND ESSENTIAL OILS
Back at Neal’s Yard again (I spent a small fortune there in my third trimester), this time for some of the good stuff – or so I thought. Drinking raspberry leaf tea and bathing in or diffusing clary sage oil isn’t deemed safe until late on in pregnancy (around the 36 week mark, but check with your midwife first), so strong are their labour-inducing powers… I drank pints of the tea with a wince at its grassy flavour and was on the brink of causing ABH to both Mr R’s and my nostrils with the amount of clary sage I pumped out of our aroma diffuser. But using them did make me feel like a fancy earth mama for a while.
NIPPLE STIMULATION
More on the ‘self care’ front – this time up top. ‘The idea is to trick your body into thinking your hands are a suckling baby,’ read one mother and baby website. What now? Having then never had a baby feed from my breasts, I found myself standing in the shower looking like I was attempting to tune in a radio station. It’s not a habit I kept up, I’m afraid, so I can’t give an accurate summary of its efficacy.
MOVIE NIGHT
At my due date midwife appointment, I was sent home with the instruction to watch Disney films and rom-coms to stimulate happy thoughts and, ultimately, labour. The night before Teddy arrived I watched a particularly gruesome episode of The Killing. Whether that says more about me or the theory is up for debate.
STRETCH AND SWEEP
Not as bad as some women will have you believe – consider it a more vigorous cervical smear test. From your due date, your midwife will invite you to have an internal examination in which she uses her finger to try and detach the amniotic sac from your cervix. I had two sweeps – the first was quite gentle, the second nearly flung me off the examination table. But the next day Teddy was born.
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