Have you tried natural ways to start labor? Studies show that babies are healthiest when they make it the full forty weeks in the womb. That being said, I had a false-alarm labor at the end of 36 weeks and have been having painful contractions that, according to my high risk doctor, are somewhere between prodromal labor and early labor. With the baby due to arrive “at any second,” but without meeting the strict criteria for a medical induction, I’ve been left to my own devices to get this whole laboring thing to switch into active mode. Even my doctor and nurses have had suggestions and ideas about how to start labor naturally!
Some Old Wive’s Tales about labor induction are actually kind of dangerous, so it’s important to get the full story on them and talk to your doctor before trying anything weird. That being said, a lot of the Old Wive’s Tales about how to induce labor naturally are things that, if they don’t help, at least won’t cause any harm. But do they work? The jury is still out, and I still haven’t had a baby, so let’s see.
Natural Ways to Induce Labor
1. Walking.
Everyone, from the OB to the old ladies at church, recommends walking to promote labor. The idea is that walking will push the baby further down into the pelvis. I have been walking as much as possible since the day I was told “you’ll probably be back tomorrow or the next day to actually have the baby!” and so far, it hasn’t seemed to help. My baby has been head-down since the end of the second trimester, and is pushed pretty far down into my pelvis. Because of that, walking may not be the best option for getting her to move on out. Still, unless you’re on bedrest or partial bedrest, you’re probably doing a bit of walking every day anyway, so this won’t hurt.
2. Spicy Food
As my husband is a Spanish medical interpreter, we have a lot of Latino friends. A lot of Latino friends means a lot of Latin food, so I’ve been eating a lot of spicy food for years now. A little birdie told me that spicy food can help induce labor, so I figured “why not” and headed to a friend’s house, where she prepared elote and quesadillas with spicy salsa. Justin actually couldn’t eat the salsa, because he doesn’t have the spice tolerance that I have. I loved it, and ate more than I have in days (thanks, painful contractions and the remains of hyperemesis gravidarum). Still: no baby. With spicy food, I have heard that if you are used to eating spicy food, it won’t induce labor, so that could have been an issue here. Spicy food may cause heartburn or indigestion. Probably avoid this one if you have awful heartburn or a sensitive stomach.
3. Pineapple
Pineapple isn’t so much meant to stimulate labor as soften the cervix. Mine is pretty soft, but I love pineapple and eat it all the time, so eating pineapple wasn’t out of my range of normal. Unfortunately, I only had pineapple juice and canned pineapple on hand. Fresh pineapple appears to be the best source of bromelain, the compound supposedly responsible for cervical softening. You only need to eat seven whole pineapples to induce labor, according to some websites! Unfortunately, pineapples mildly digest your mouth while you eat them, so by the time you ate this many pineapples you would have a pretty sore mouth. As for me, I’m continuing to eat pineapples because I love them, but I’ve lost hope in their labor induction benefits.
4. Acupressure/Acupuncture
Acupuncture has been recommended to me both by medical professionals and your average joe throughout this whole pregnancy. Acupuncture and acupressure have many supposed benefits, from curing morning sickness to inducing labor. I never wound up getting acupuncture, but I’ve tried acupressure bands like Sea-Bands for the hyperemesis gravidarum and wound up disappointed. So, when it was suggested to use acupuncture or acupressure to strengthen these contractions, I decided to have Justin attempt acupressure instead of spending the money on actual acupuncture. We looked up a chart, followed instructions from my mom’s acupressure class from HER first pregnancy, and….nothing. Well, not nothing. The acupressure actually seemed to make the pain from the contractions less intense, which isn’t exactly what we were going for. Still. I’ll take it.
5. Driving down a bumpy road.
This actually worked for my friend’s mom, and it’s pretty unavoidable in our area. Many of the roads leading to our house are in rough shape, and we have to get home somehow. (I guess I could walk, since that’s supposed to be bringing baby on out, but I’d really rather not.) One road in particular near us has been in desperate need of a repaving for years. Oh, and it’s the main road to our house. We’ve been driving down this road my whole pregnancy, and my water hasn’t broken yet despite incredible odds, so we’re counting this one out, too. I wouldn’t seek out bumpy roads, but if you have one on your daily commute, maybe keep your fingers crossed.
Not Recommended To Try
1. Castor oil.
Castor oil is the first thing in many people’s minds when you think of inducing labor. The truth about castor oil, as one of our unfortunate friends discovered, is that it may actually work. The reason? It’s a very strong laxative. Laxatives such as castor oil may induce labor, but it’s generally considered both miserable and “not very safe.”
I also refuse to try herbal supplements, even if many doctors and midwives recommend them, because herbal supplements aren’t regulated by the FDA and many contain undisclosed gluten ingredients, along with unreliable dosage instructions. Getting glutened might actually cause me to go into labor, for the same reason as the castor oil would, but I prefer to keep my bowels happy and intact for as long as possible.
Did you try any home remedies to induce labor? Did it work?
Other helpful pregnancy articles:
What To Pack In a Hospital Bag for Dads
What To Pack In A Hospital Bag for Moms
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Wow!! That’s a lot of pineapples! I would fast walk around my subdivision to help the process.
I didn’t try to induce labor but with my second pregnancy I walked every day. I went into labor and when I realized I was, I headed to the hospital which was 15 minutes away. By the time I got off the elevator, they had a bed waiting for me because I was at that pushing stage. I had my daughter right there in front of God and everyone. There wasn’t time for me to make it to a room. I did not walk with my third and last child. While I wanted a fast labor and delivery, that was entirely too fast for me. I shudder to think if I had been 5 minutes longer in leaving, of my hubs having to deliver Jodi in the car. Yikes.
7?! Pineapples? Oh my gosh that’s a lot. I think I would stick to spicy food.
This is such a pretty good idea for those who are pregnant or having a baby soon.
Some interesting natural ideas! I don’t have any children but I’ll keep these in mind for when I do 🙂
All these baby posts make me so sad that I can’t have more children. I drank raspberry tea leaf with my daughter, but it didn’t work.
I have always heard that spicy foods help! These are great tips. I wish I had known about pineapple. It would have been a win-win, because I love pineapple!
Great tips! I tried a couple things myself like climbing a hill, bouncing on a yoga ball and I also tried spicy food! Oh and you look great! =)
You look amazing! Great tips that I will save for when the time comes 🙂 How exciting!
I have never been in this situation as I don’t have kids yet. I will keep these in mind if I have a stubborn baby!
I have heard of these tricks for inducing labor. We have a local restaurant that people swear if you are ready to have your baby and you go eat the pizza you will go into labor. My friend tried it and it worked for her.
I think I probably tried so many things when I was pregnant lol. Babies will come when they are ready.
Yeah caster ever thought of that first? With both my pregnancies I was a seeking early. I had preeclampsia with my first and my water broke early with the my second.
Full disclosure: I tried castor oil once. NEVER AGAIN. It worked, oh did it ever – but never again. That said, All the other ways I have tried….The only thing I’ve found to help was walking. Lots of walking helped so much and having babies in early Summer for me it was wonderful to be able to walk all over the place outside.
It is amazing all the things you can “try” I do wonder if any really work. x
These are some great ideas. I think it’s smart that you’re staying away from supplements that may have gluten in them.
Someone once told me to try a tiny pinch of cream of tartar in some OJ. She failed to mention it had the same effect as castor oil! That was miserable!! AND it did not work!
This is great information. I have a friend that is pregnant, I will share this with her.
My 1st pregnancy I tried all I could to get my son out of me (a week past my due date)… I can’t even tell you how much walking I did to naturally induce the labor! My 2nd pregnancy, my daughter came out a week early, HA!
Ugh. I can’t even imagine using castor oil to induce labor! I was miserable enough at the end.
I was almost 2 weeks late. My son was in no rush to be born in fact I haven’t even started labor after that two week mark. I had to be induced at that point.
My youngest brother is 15 years younger than I am. Near the end of my mom’s pregnancy with him, she was too tired to walk for a long time. We went to the mall one day and I pushed her through this section of the mall called The Apple Orchard (it was a cute little section of the mall where the floor was all cobblestones). It was crazy bumpy and the next morning she went into labor and had my brother. So if a bumpy road doesn’t work, have someone push you in a wheelchair over a cobblestone path. 🙂
At my age (ahem..) I remember vividly the old castor oil trick. My Mom tried to get all of us to do it. One of my sisters in law did give it a try but it didn’t work for her. Walking always worked well for me. One thing is for certain, baby will come when baby is good and ready. Hope you have a healthy baby very soon!
I don’t think the pain in your mouth from eating seven whole pineapples would be worth it! Here’s to hoping that one of these methods work for you and you have an easy delivery!
I tried eating Mexican food and the bumpy road thing, but neither one worked for me. The fact is, they will come when they are ready and not a minute sooner 🙂