How To Induce

There are a number of ways to induce yourself, some are based on experience, some on old wives tales and some are medically known to work.

In the end the choice is yours, your main concern is the health and safety of yourself and your unborn baby. It is always recommended that you speak with your midwife or doctor and check before trying to induce labor yourself. If you have met and exceeded at least the thirty eighth week of pregnancy, you may wish to consider natural ways to induce labor.

When a woman is stressed, she releases adrenaline, which counteracts the effects of oxytocin, the hormone that produces contractions. One of the first things that you can do to encourage inducing naturally is relaxation. There are a number of ways to help your body relax for example, aromatherapy, listening to relaxing music in candlelight, meditation, yoga and acupressure. These may help you achieve natural labor induction.

Many women have sexual intercourse with their partner to successfully start labor. Medical research supports the fact that there are prostaglandins in semen. The Prostglandin hormone has been identified as one of the major contributors when it comes to inducing labor. During sex stimulation of the nipples can release a chemical called "oxytocin". This may help prepare the body for to start labor. Stimulation of the breast should only done after consulting the advice of your doctor or midwife.

Gentle exercise may bring on labor. Taking part in some form of exercise throughout your pregnancy will help you feel good and keep you and your baby healthy. In the final trimester you may not feel like exercising but a short brisk walk around the block or park may be enough to induce labor

If you want to try inducing naturally there are a number of products that you may find useful and helpful.

Gentle massage may help to induce labor and is also good for relieving labor and back pains. Choose an aromatic oil that is safe to use during pregnancy.

Take a bath to relieve stress and promote relaxation, choose a bath oil that contains essential oils that are safe to use during pregnancy.

If you want to exercise to help bring on labor then get your self a yoga mat, and try out some simple gentle yoga moves to help naturally induce labor.

The most important thing that you must do when exercising to induce labor is to ensure that you do not strain yourself physically, and that you keep the body in a position that is upright. A balance ball is ideal for this. Plus you can use it after labor, to help get yourself back into shape and for helping to calm a fretful baby. Just bounce on it whilst holding your baby!

Raspberry Leaf tea may help the labor process by making contraction less painful and more effective as it has a toning effect on the uterus. Stronger teas are used by midwives to induce labor. Raspberry leaf should not be used in the last 3 months of pregnancy, however, without the supervision of a health professional.

Evening primrose oil is an excellent source of prostaglandins, and already stated this hormone is a major contributor to inducing labor. It contains gamma linolenic acid which is a precursor to prostaglandins. Evening Primrose Oil can be taken orally and vaginally to 'ripen' the cervix.

As you can see there are a number of natural ways to induce labor that you can explore how please always remember to consult with your midwife or doctor before trying any of these.