Natural Ways of Inducing Labor

Haven't you heard all those Baby Books tell you that Babies will simply come out when they are ready? Still, sometimes it seems like they need a little bit of encouragement to get on the way.

Naturally, there are many tricks and tips that pregnant women have gathered to help this process along and I want to mention only a few of them, to stir up the desperate minds.

Today I'm on my first day of being officially overdue. My belly is bigger than I ever thought it would get and I can barely sleep with the excitement of my Baby Boy being in my arms soon. I have stretch marks that reach all the way from my belly button, along my sides, onto my back. Makes me wonder if they will go full circle if this takes a lot longer. Desperation is surely coming my way.

Therefore lets look at some of the ways that women have found to get their babies rolling:

• The good old method of Stripping the Membranes. This is done by your doctor or midwife during one of your prenatal appointments. Basically, what they do is reach all the way through the cervix with one finger and then do a circular motion, touching the Skin of the Bag your Baby is in. It is also described as Ripening. What usually happens after Stripping the Membranes is a bloody show and cramps for hours afterwards, which can lead to Contractions that lead to Labor. If it does not lead to labor, the bloody show and cramps will subside again. So, if the Baby is ready, this might help encourage him or her to come out. I heard of many women though that had this done to them and had intense pain during the process. Personally I'm also concerned about hygene, since there can always been bacteria coming into the Uterus during this procedure.
• Castor Oil is also one of the more commonly known helpers in inducing labor. You can probably find it in the health section of your supermarket. Many women seem to mix it with other liquids in order to drink it and make the taste more acceptable. However, Castor Oil is known to cause bowel cleansing, which in my opinion is not that bad of an idea anyways just before labor. Be careful though. Cautious voices say that it can have negative affects on the baby.
• Blue Cohosh Tincture is known to induce labor. It has to be taken regularly every couple of hours during the day. Doctors are still debating if there are health risks for the baby on this one. Be careful.
• Nippel Stimulation is also very popular, but some warn not to do it longer than 5-10 minutes at a time. Otherwise it will bring to much contractions at a time and the whole idea ends up being pretty painful for the woman. Some women like to do the stimulation by playing with their nipples, touching them. Others use breastpumps for the stimulation.
• Sexual intercourse is a long known method for incuding labor. The male sperm contains prostaglandins which help the cervix to dialate. Many women swear by this method, but don't worry it will only work when the baby is ready to be born.
• Orgasms will produce oxytocin which is the natural form of pitocin. Pitocin is used in hospitals to move the process of labor along, bring on contractions, and helps dialate the cervix.
• Squats and Hip Rotations might not induce labor, but they might help out encouraging the baby to drop. So do your exercises and introduce your baby to the meaning of gravity.
• Walking is always a healthy option to try. Some women walk more than 2 Miles at a time in order to help their labor along. If the weather is bad, just go to the mall.

These are just some of the methods being used to induce labor naturally, but I'm sure it covers the most commonly known and used. Many women also seem to combine a couple of the methods at a time or in a row and are successful with that.

However, if your baby is just not ready yet, there is nothing that could get him going but time and patience. Try to appreciate those last days that you get to carry him around in you, it will never happen again.

And for the first time moms, 60% of you are going to have your babies after your due date anyhow. So, maybe you should try thinking of your due date more like you are having a due season and not an actual date, even though I know that can be quite challenging at times.