In this blog I want to expose the myths about natural labor induction methods. I will answer frequently asked questions about the following methods of natural labor induction: Exercise, intercourse, nipple stimulation, acupuncture, caster oil, eating pineapples, eating dates, drinking red raspberry leaf tea and taking evening primrose oil.
Let’s answer these questions…
- What is the likelihood natural methods will actually work?
- Is there research behind these commonly talked about & recommended methods?
- Are these methods even safe to be trying?
- How will these natural methods help me to induce my labor?
Myth or Bust? Let’s find out!!
Moving Your Body (walking, exercise, hip movement)-
Can exercise or physical activity help induce my labor? It is proven through research that regular aerobic exercise during pregnancy can maintain and improve the physical wellbeing of pregnant women. Physical activity has been shown to be more helpful at stimulating labor progress more than it has been found to get labor going. Physical exercise is thought to be oxycontin stimulating. As you may know, oxytocin is naturally a “feel good” hormone, but it also plays a major role in the labor process, ripening the cervix & stimulating effective contractions. If you engage in physical activity when labor is beginning, possibly you could help move things along helping your body naturally produce more oxytocin. Rest assured mama, it has been shown in research that exercise will not likely cause preterm labor. Unless otherwise advised by your provider, feel free to move your body throughout pregnancy & while you are trying to naturally induce labor.
For those who want more detailed information as to exercise in pregnancy recommendations, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has an online article with criteria for who should not be exercising and warning signs that should alarm you to stop exercising.
Read the ACOG exercise guidelines for free here.
Here is a list of benefits curb walking and most other physical activity will provide as it relates to preparing you for labor:
- widens & enlarges your pelvic outlet allowing more room for your baby to get into the best position for birth
- relaxes your perineal muscles and can strengthen your pelvic floor
- relieves back pain
- stimulates oxytocin to help speed up labor
- promotes gravity assistance for your baby’s descent
Intercourse-
Can sex help induce my labor? It is thought that sex may help labor get started because of male semen containing more prostalgandins that a woman naturally produces. Synthetic prostaglandins are used as a medical induction method because they help ripen (soften) the cervix for labor. Also, female orgasim has been shown to stimulate uterine contractions or tightening.
Rebecca at Evidence Based Birth (2018d) states that there is limited research on this topic and of the research there is mixed results. In some studies there was no evidence to support sex as a way of inducing labor and there were no differences in spontaneous labor occurring in mamas, how ripe their cervix was when they got to the hospital, their C-section rate or any other outcome. Orgasm was found to not be associated with spontaneous labor for these mamas. In contrast to those findings other studies found that mamas having sex at term were less likely to go past 41 weeks of pregnancy and had less need for medical induction.
You should know that it is safe to have vaginal sex as a means to attempt to induce labor. I would say, if you and your partner are able and willing then why not give it a shot?
Sex is NOT advised when your water has broken. Also, your sexual partner should be free of sexually transmitted infections and there should be no other health concerns.
Nipple Stimulation-
Can I use breast and nipple stimulation to kick start my labor naturally? Breast and nipple stimulation is thought to stimulate labor because it causes the release of the hormone oxytocin. As stated in the physical activity section, oxytocin is naturally a “feel good” hormone, but it also plays a major role in the labor process, ripening the cervix and stimulating effective contractions. You might also ask what exactly constitutes breast or nipple stimulation?
Research reviewed by Evidence Based Birth recommended to focus on one breast at a time and alternate stimulation and break periods. This could be done yourself with your hands or a breast pump. This could also be done by your partner. Research does show breast/nipple stimulation is a safe non medical method of ripening of your cervix, starting labor and decreasing your chance of postpartum hemorrhage. Also, in the larger studies there were no adverse effects seen (Dekker, 2018e). However, Evidence Based Birth did find that a warning of uterine hyperstimulation after breast stimulation was reported by some researchers. They stated that you should be educated of this risk by your healthcare provider if you want to use this method (Dekker, 2018e). This uterine overstimulation might be caused by the oxytocin that is being released during the breast stimulation and has no way of being controlled.
It is wise to NOT use this method of natural labor induction or stimulation unless you have discussed it with your provider and also are not preterm or high risk.
Castor Oil-
Will taking castor oil induce my labor? First, let’s talk a little bit about what it is and likely side effects of taking it. Castor oil comes from the seeds of a plant and is a very potent laxative. It is highly likely that if you take castor oil you will experience diarrhea and also nausea while having to endure an unpleasant smell and taste. Whether it’s worth it or not is up to you but here are more study findings.
Castor oil appears to be safe and effective for induction of labor if you are post-dates (past your due date). No differences were seen between C-section rates of mamas who took castor oil versus not taking it. Once again, Dekker (2018a) stated that we need more research before making recommendations to take castor oil, how effective it is and what all the side effects are.
Evening Primrose Oil-
Can evening primrose oil (EPO) be used as a safe way to naturally induce labor?
Evidence Based Birth reported that there is not a lot of research on using evening primrose oil to induce. In the little research that there is it was recommended not to use EPO during pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding because its effects are unknown.
There was a study reviewed by Evidence Based Birth that showed mamas taking EPO had improved cervical ripening compared to those who didn’t, but there was no difference seen in how quickly after those mamas went into labor. None of the research found differences in the length of pregnancy or the length of labor (Dekker, 2018b). Undesirable trends were seen in the women taking EPO including: a longer active phase of labor, a longer period of their water being broken before giving birth, arrest of descent (one of the leading diagnosis of C-sections), the need for Pitocin and the need for vacuum delivery (Dekker, 2018b). Therefore, taking evening primrose oil to induce labor is not evidence based or recommended.
Acupuncture-
Can acupuncture be effective for inducing labor naturally? Evidence Based Birth (2018h) stated that although there is a good amount of research on this method, more is needed to draw definitive conclusions because there is a lot of variation in how acupuncture is delivered. There has not been any evidence of harm in using acupuncture to induce labor or ripen the cervix if you are a healthy, low risk pregnant mama (Dekker, 2018h). There was only evidence of minor side effects that are not related to pregnancy (Dekker, 2018h). Little evidence did suggest that acupuncture at the end of pregnancy might help with your cervix becoming more ripe and ready to go into labor (Dekker, 2018h).
Eating Pineapple–
If I eat pineapples or drink pineapple juice, will I go into labor sooner? Let’s start to answer this question by talking about where this idea comes from. Pineapple juice contains an enzyme that is thought to promote cervical ripening. Evidence Based Birth stated that there is very little research and no research showing that eating pineapple or drinking pineapple juice can cause miscarriage or that it can induce labor at term (Dekker, 2018c). It is not likely that eating pineapple will harm a pregnancy or be a means of natural induction. I’d say, if you enjoy eating pineapple, why not give it a try?
Eating Dates-
Will eating dates induce my labor naturally? Let’s start to answer this question by talking about where this idea comes from. Evidence Based Birth (Dekker, 2018f) wrote that dates are a fruit containing a high amount of carbohydrates, fats and 15 types of salts, minerals, proteins and vitamins, such as riboflavin, thiamine, biotin, folic acid, and ascorbic acid. In general consuming date fruit may add to your overall sugar intake, but also provide a few key nutrients for your pregnancy.
According to Evidence Based Birth (Dekker, 2018f), studies on date consumption and spontaneous labor showed that in late pregnancy eating 60-80 grams of dates per day can increase cervical ripening, reduce the need for a medical labor induction or augmentation and one small study found a positive effect on postpartum blood loss. These findings are not applicable to you if you have gestational diabetes(GDM) because the studies did not include GDM mamas. To summarize, eating dates may increase your cervical ripening, reduce your need for induction or augmentation and have a positive effect on your postpartum blood loss. If you do not have gestational diabetes. Don’t be afraid to give this method a try!
Drinking Red Raspberry Leaf Tea-
You wanted to know if red raspberry leaf is effective when taken at the end of pregnancy to make you go into labor sooner or to ripen your cervix? Evidence Based Birth has found very little research on this method of perceived natural induction. In what research is out there, no adverse outcomes have been seen and findings were reported to be contradictory (Dekker, 2018g). So far, no research has shown effectiveness of starting labor or ripening your cervix (Dekker, 2018g).
Once again, with this method it is not likely that consumption will harm your pregnancy or be a means of natural induction. I’d say, if you enjoy drinking the tea,, why not give it a try?
Well there you have it mama friend! The whole evidence based scoop on all of the natural induction methods you’ve probably heard about. Hope this helps you decide which options you might want to try. Remember mama that your baby is on her own time line and doing or not doing these things may only work if your body it truly ready for labor.
Let me know in the comments if you want information on any other method of natural induction. Have you tried any of these methods or do you plan to? I’d love to know!
Talk to you soon!
References:
Dekker, R. (2018, February 21). Evidence on Using Castor Oil to Induce Labor. Retrieved June 26, 2020, from https://evidencebasedbirth.com/evidence-using-castor-oil-to-induce-labor/
Dekker, R. (2018, February 19). Evidence on Using Evening Primrose Oil to Naturally Induce Labor. Retrieved June 26, 2020, from https://evidencebasedbirth.com/evidence-using-evening-primrose-oil-for-natural-labor-induction/
Dekker, R. (2018, February 21). Evidence on using Pineapple to Naturally Induce Labor. Retrieved June 26, 2020, from https://evidencebasedbirth.com/evidence-using-pineapple-naturally-induce-labor/
Dekker, R. (2018, February 21). Evidence on Using Sex to Naturally Induce Labor. Retrieved June 26, 2020, from https://evidencebasedbirth.com/evidence-using-sex-for-natural-labor-induction/
Dekker, R. (2018, February 21). Natural Labor Induction Series: Breast Stimulation. Retrieved June 26, 2020, from https://evidencebasedbirth.com/evidence-using-breast-stimulation-to-naturally-induce-labor/
Dekker, R. (2018, February 21). Natural Labor Induction Series: Eating Dates. Retrieved June 26, 2020, from https://evidencebasedbirth.com/evidence-eating-dates-to-start-labor/
Dekker, R. (2018, February 21). Red Raspberry Leaf during Pregnancy to Induce Labor. Retrieved June 26, 2020, from https://evidencebasedbirth.com/natural-labor-induction-series-raspberry-leaf/
Dekker, R. (2018, February 21). The Evidence on Acupuncture to Start Labor. Retrieved June 26, 2020, from https://evidencebasedbirth.com/evidence-acupuncture-to-induce-labor/
