Hi ladies, I'm almost at 38 weeks and my doctors are recommending induction at 39 weeks. I know that a hospital induction has it's own added complications and is not always successful. I've been trying acupuncture to see if I can avoid being induced.
I'm really curious if anyone else tried acupuncture, chinese herbs, or other methods of self-induction in order to avoid a hospital induction.
I apparently put myself into labor the morning of my scheduled c-section. So apparently the desire to have a natural birth was working hard subconsciously. I still had a c-section though.
So I know this is not helpful advice, as I am sure that you are already wishing for and thinking about labor!
I agree with Kristin. It is very important to be emotionally ready to give birth. You need to be relaxed and think positively and not to concentrate on other negative things. That's what I was told. A woman has to feel safe and comfortable for the labor to start. I am not there yet, but hope it'll help :)
Also, I heard that there are herbal teas (with chicory for example) that may make cause early labor.
Best of luck! I haven't heard of anything that is scientifically sound, but I would agree that being in the most non-stressed, acknowledging of even unknown fears about it all, subconscious acceptance etc is a good route. Breathe baby down.
I managed to only need a tiny whiff of pitocin in hospital to get my labour going pretty strongly, enough so that I could get to the pushing stage, but unfortunately due to my high-blood pressures, I couldn't be active - which is the best way to labor. Once in labor, DON'T get on the bed unless you really really need to!
I went into labor naturally at 38 weeks, 6 days. I tried several "natural" induction methods, but who can say whether they were responsible or whether it was just a happy coincidence that my son was ready to come into the world? Anyway, my inductions methods included: - Sex. Lots and lots. Like, at least once daily for the last few weeks that I was pregnant (sorry if that is TMI...)
- Spicy foods. I eat a lot of spicy foods anyway, but I did kick it up a notch for the last month or so.
- Red raspberry leaf tea. I drank about 2 cups per day throughout the second half of the pregnancy.
- Walking. Nothing too crazy. Maybe about 1-2 miles daily for the last couple weeks.
- Lots of relaxation and visualization.
- Daily yoga. I figured it couldn't hurt to have open hips and a relaxed body and mind.
Thanks all for the responses. My baby girl was born on June 1st, just 2 days before my scheduled induction. Who knows if the acupuncture actually worked or not. Still, it definitely didn't hurt and I'm very glad I was able to go into labor on my own.