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| Yes | 28% | 24 votes | Total: 86 votes | |
| No | 72% | 62 votes |
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Add to FavoritesIf you're at term (more than 37 weeks) why not induce labor? You're pregnant, you're miserable, you want it to be done with.
Of course, there are caveats. There are certain things that just shouldn't be tried by a pregnant woman, such as the use of Black Cohosh, or caster oil, both of which have been known to cause violent to fatal contractions. No, no, let's stick to the fun (and non-lethal) ways.
Have sex. Walk. Eat peach pie. Swim. Scrub floors. Eat pineapple. Move light furniture. Eat more fiber. Stimulate your nipples.
Unfortunately, while OBs will, generally, OK most of these in healthy, pregnant women, these methods don't do much. During my first pregnancy, I went 2 weeks overdue. I tried it all. Sex in the morning, following by a half mile walk. A slice of peach pie. Warm shower with nipple stimulation. Swim in the afternoon. Can of pineapple. Rearrange furniture at night.
I was medically induced at 42 weeks, after 4 weeks of trying "natural" induction methods. The baby came when the baby was ready. Maybe you can coax them, maybe you can't.
With that said, there's no harm in trying. One nice side effect of trying so hard to get into labor was I was able to keep my mind off how miserable I was carrying about 8.5 pounds of post-term baby (plus the baby's bonus in-utero gear!) in 90 degree weather. I say go for it [with your OB's permission, or course]. Walk, sex or eat your way into attempted labor.
Learn more about this author, Rebecca Mastey.
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No
It is NEVER okay to interfere with the natural process of labor and birth. IF you do need to be induced into labor, for whatever reason, it's best done with the supervision and guidance of your physician, in a controlled setting. Self-inducing labor is dangerous, for both mother and baby. Even under the best of circumstances, labor induction should NOT be done by anyone other than your physician or midwife, and only for a very good medical reason.
Pregnancy can get uncomfortable, and often feels like it's going to last forever... I promise you, it won't last forever, and the average pregnancy ranges from 37 to 40 weeks. That's not an eternity, and, you'll be holding a new baby soon enough! I don't understand the need to "rush" a baby out of the uterus and into the world in the first place, if there aren't any medical complications and there's no reason why baby can't stay put for a little longer.
Inducing labor yourself often either isn't going to work because your baby isn't "fully cooked", or, can cause major problems to yourself or your baby during labor and delivery. Self-inducing is dangerous, especially if you use herbs or castor oil.
Many of the herbs suggested for use to self-indue labor, can have fatal effects. They can cause heart failure, excessive bleeding, fetal distress, major organ failure, etc. Using castor oil to self-induce labor is also dangerous. Besides causing diarreah and causing discomfort, castor oil can cause your baby to pass meconium which can cause major infection and breathing problems when baby "breathes" it after it mixes with the amniotic fluid.
Nipple stimulation, while a commonly suggested way to self-induce labor, either won't work, resulting in sore nipples, or will cause extremely hard contractions, which can put your baby in distress.
Another potential problem with self-inducing labor, or inducing labor at all, is the possibility of due dates or conception dates being wrong. There's nothing worse than having your baby too early, and having him/her in the NICU fighting for his/her life.
Have patience, your pregnancy won't last forever, and it's better that your baby waits until he/she is ready to come, instead of trying to force it.
Learn more about this author, Samantha Van Sciver.
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