41- "Natural" induction methods

Transcript:

This is episode 41.

I’m sure you’ve heard plenty of stories about how to get labor started.

“Eat pineapple”

“Eat dates”

“Drink Raspberry leaf tea”

“Have sex!”

“Go for a bumpy car ride”

“walk”

“climb up and down the stairs”

“caster oil” or “mid-wife’s brew”

“Acupressure” “Acupuncture”

“spicy food”

The list goes on…

Some people swear by one way or the other but do any of them really work? Today we’re going to look at an overview of what the evidence does or doesn’t say.

Most of the information I’m sharing today comes from EvidenceBasedBirth and I’ll link to the articles in the show notes so you can go get more information if you’re interested.

Very little or no research has been done on most of the methods I mentioned above: eating pineapple, going for a bumpy car ride, walking, climbing stairs, eating spicy food, …

All of these have “” worked for somebody but they certainly don’t work for everybody and there’s no evidence to show that doing any of these things makes you more likely to go into labor. That being said, there’s no harm in trying if you want to.

Some research has been done on drinking red raspberry leaf tea, but again, not a lot. There’s a possibility that it may cause side effects such as nausea, diarrhea, or constipation but these are commonly reported during pregnancy anyway. The studies done were very small and found no statistically significant results.

There is some research to show that eating dates during pregnancy can lead to more desired outcomes. The general recommendation is to eat 70 to 100 grams of date fruit daily starting by at least 36 or 37 weeks. That would be about 3-4 large dates or 6-10 smaller ones each day. If diabetes or gestational diabetes is present, eating dates would not be recommended.

Researchers found that women who ate dates during pregnancy tended to have increased cervical dilation on admission to the hospital and a shorter length of the first stage or labor. They also found fewer cases of postpartum bleeding, fewer women needed to be induced or have augmentation, fewer had vacuum-assisted deliveries, and there were fewer cases of ruptured membranes before admission to the hospital. So eating dates seems to help the cervix get ready for labor and move more smoothly through the labor process. Research also suggests that dates could be a good snack during labor. They can be nibbled on to provide extra energy.

Now let’s talk about sex. There are three ways that sexual activity could possibly induce labor. First, semen contains prostaglandins which help to soften the cervix, getting it ready for labor. Second, sexual activity and close skin-to-skin contact and nipple stimulation all generally work to increase oxytocin which is the hormone needed to get contractions going. And, third, sexual activity including orgasm can stimulate uterine activity. Unfortunately, there’s not enough research to confidently say that sex is an effective means of inducing labor. However, researchers agree that it is indeed safe to attempt sex as a means to induce labor, as long as your membranes are intact, meaning your water hasn’t broken, and there are no other health concerns. So, if it feels desirable to you, by all means, enjoy some intense fellowship with your hubby. Who knows, may the thing that got baby there, will be just the thing to help get him out.

While we’re on potentially awkward and intimate subjects, let’s just go ahead and talk about nipple stimulation. There is more research to support this one. In late pregnancy there is some indication that breast or nipple stimulation may assist with cervical ripening and could increase the chances of starting labor over the next several days. An important side note is that there’s no evidence that breastfeeding is harmful in earlier pregnancy or that it can cause pre-term birth. So don’t worry about that. It’s thought that nipple stimulation may only induce labor in late pregnancy once the oxytocin receptors are fully present in the uterus.

During labor, nipple stimulation can be used to augment, or speed up, labor. Most protocols advocate stimulation on one side at a time for about 15 minutes, alternating for one hour. Nipple stimulation can be done manually or using a breast pump. It’s good to pause during a contraction and stop altogether if contractions get closer than three minutes apart or last longer than one minute.

Ok, moving on from awkward subjects….

There is some promising research to indicate that acupressure and acupuncture can be helpful for ripening the cervix or getting the cervix ready for labor but more high quality research is needed before we can be confident that is the case. Acupressure can be done by anyone and may be a good way for husbands or other support people to be involved. It shouldn’t be done before 39 weeks but after that, it doesn’t seem to do any harm and may offer benefits. Acupuncture should be done by a trained and licensed acupuncturist and similarly may help promote cervical ripening.

Ok, last one. Castor oil. Evidence shows that castor oil can increase the chances of you going into labor within 24 hours if you’re pregnant at 40 weeks or later. It’s most effective if you’ve had a prior vaginal birth. There’s not enough safety information to know about using it if you’ve had a prior cesarean. And there’s at least one case study showing a negative outcome in that case. I won’t go into castor oil protocols here, but I would encourage you to discuss this option with your care provider if you are considering using castor oil. It does not taste good and may cause cramping &/or diarrhea but as a last resort may be worth it. The bad taste is why sometimes you hear about women taking a “” midwife’s brew. This is just a concoction including juices, nut butters, and sometimes spices with castor oil to make it more palatable. Again, if you want to try castor oil, do it under the care of your doctor or midwife.

Ok, there you have it - a quick but hopefully helpful overview of a number of so-called natural induction techniques. I’ve put links in the show notes if you want to know more. I’ve only given brief summaries here of the research or lack thereof.

Show notes:

FREE mini-course | Preparing For Childbirth

In this episode, I share a summary & overview of a number of different “natural” induction methods. See the links below for more in-depth information.

EBB 144 - Evidence on Pineapple and Sex for Natural Labor Induction - Evidence Based Birth®

EBB 139 - Evidence on Red Raspberry Leaf Tea for Natural Labor Induction - Evidence Based Birth®

EBB 125 - Evidence on Acupressure, Acupuncture and Breast Stimulation - Evidence Based Birth®

EBB 128 - Inducing Labor with Castor Oil and Dates - Evidence Based Birth®

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