Pregnant.. trying to get labour going

[Guest]

Morning everyone... So I am 40weeks and now trying to get labour going. I know enjoy being pregnant and baby will come when it's ready. But I really don't want to be induced and not fancying the sweep next week rather go in to labour myself. So any tips or things people have tried my ears are open.

[Bronwyn]

I had reflexology (by someone who is properly qualified!) She said she couldn't "make it happen" but I was so relaxed and comfortable after, I still swear it brought on my labour. My water broke about an hour after having the treatment! I had my little girl at 40 + 1

[Nicola]

I was 15 days late with my first (he is 14 today!) and I wish I’d have waited. He wasn’t born looking like he was overdue and the drugs had such a bad effect on both of us. It was a horrific and traumatic birth. I wish I’d have listened to my body and known I could decline medical intervention. You can request that they monitor the baby and placenta efficiency. As long as both are good, I’d say you have options to consider. Best of luck to you.

[Kelly]

I’ve had 5 kids.2 were 42 wks ,1 the day before due date & the other 2 were induced at which point I just wanted them out!

But got to say even being induced -they were still unwilling to vacate my womb!I swear that the only thing that moved it along was the fact I was adamant I wasn’t staying in hospital another night.(every time I sat down-the contractions were less frequent-so I literally walked around & didn’t stop & the contractions were then coming on thick & fast.I did exactly the same being induced 2nd time round-myself & hubby walked 5miles (around the hospital & grounds so he told me -on his fit watch-just before I gave birth -although I was absolutely knackered giving birth as well as the walking but it definitely did the trick!!Good luck & congratulations!

[Jodie]

Refuse sweeps and induction. You don't have to have them. And in a lot of cases they result in having to have intervention amd more stressful labours. All my 3 boys were late and i tried EVERYTHING just be patient and let baby come when he/she is ready

[Cat]

Prayer works! Worked for me as I was same as u worried about being induced and was 40 weeks pregnant. I went to church in the morning, had 2 ladies pray for me then went home. Come 2pm I went into labour and my beautiful daughter was born 10pm that night

[Cémanthe]

If its not medically necessary for you to have a sweep or be induced then you can decline don't put pressure on yourself, I went 40+12!! As long as both of us were healthy was no need to intervene.

[Jessica]

I just want to say there is a lot of negativity and scare mongering on here about the use of inductions so I just really want to put your mind at ease as I had two, which were both really good experiences. My first was medically necessary, ruptured waters but no labor and my second was elected but also ended up being medically necessary because my waters ruptured without labor again. I ended up with a vacuum the first time because baby was sunny side up and got stuck, but my second was out in 20mins. They were both a good size and had I gone on for another two weeks they may have too large to birth. If you do have an induction then I also recommend an epidural which I also found fantastic...There has been more recent research to show that induction can actually prevent a cascade of interventions in certain cases and that epidural can actually be beneficial in improving labor outcomes because of the relaxation it enables. So don't worry about it too much, you can have intervention and still have an amazing birth

[Louise]

I tried everything to go into labour, nothing worked I went 15 days over 40 weeks the thing I learned was baby will come when baby is ready, enjoy your last few hours/days of being pregnant, and congratulations

[Alexandra]

Induction is fine. Please don’t be worried about all the horror stories on here! Remember that naturally stillbirth and other terrible things happen and increase post 40 weeks so please follow the advice of your medical team and keep a watch out for your babies movements.

[Carly]

It's your body and your decision, you do not need to get a sweep or be induced. My advice would be to relax, get plenty of rest and baby will come when they're ready

[Suzanne]

Book a spa day for tomorrow, that should sort it.

Seriously, induction is fine, my littlest was born after an induction, and it was totally not a terrible experience - way better than the previous baby who died at delivery. I'd take another induction every time rather than take risks going way overdue

[Jen]

It is always your choice. You can say no to both sweeps and induction if you choose to. It could be useful to take a little time to get familiar with the risks and benefits for you personally and then decide how YOU feel about it. Everyone will have an opinion but yours is most important as it's your body. There are no definite ways to bring on labour (we wish!). With both my boys (5 days overdue and 14 days overdue!) they came when I relaxed and gave up trying to make anything happen!

[Charlene]

Try all the ‘old wives tales’ but if it comes to induction then you need to be mentally prepared and open to things not going how you’ve planned but trust the doctors and midwives to explain everything as you go along.

Hope whatever happens, you have a safe labour/birth

[Katie]

Please don't listen to all the horror stories people are saying about their inductions. For every negative induction story there are just as many positive ones. I really don't get why people think it is necessary to scare someone like that?

Lots of walking and sexy time are your best bets to try and get things going naturally. Everything else is an old wives tale and probably pure fluke when they've worked

Good luck whether you go naturally or are induced, I'm sure you will have a perfectly fine experience