This article will inform you about
herbal remedies and how to induce labor with them. As a caring future mom you’re probably very intersted in
natural labor inducing remedies which may be used when the time comes.
But first things first! What does it mean to induce labor at all?It means that your practitioner can use certain techniques to induce contractions. They are used if for some reason you stop progressing and she can use certain procedures to speed up or augment your labor.
In which cases would be advisable to use natural labor inducing remedies?It’s all about weighing risks of delivering your baby and prolonging your pregnancy. When prolonging your pregnancy is riskier your practitioner decides how to induce labor – whether with herbal remedies or other ways.
This typically happens when:- You are still pregnant one (maybe even two) week past your due date.
- Your water breaks and your labor doesn’t start on its own within a reasonable amount of time.
- Testing shows that your placenta isn’t functioning properly or your baby isn’t growing as it should
- You have a chronic or acute illness that threatens your health or the health of your baby (diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney disease, …)
- You've previously had a full-term stillbirth.
What are the risks of inducing the labor?
The main risk is just that the induction won’t work and you’ll need a cesarean. This could mean psychological trauma for you and your partner and higher rates of infection and longer hospital stay.
If you take into account all these risks and consult with your practitioner about inducing labor with natural remedies, then let’s check which natural labor inducing remedies you could use…
One of them is Castor Oil which stimulates your bowels (it’s a strong laxative!) and causes contractions. The effect on your gut may prove to be quite unpleasant though.
Herbal remedies that also induce labor with similar effects are balsamic vinegar and senna tea which have much weaker effects on the intestines.
There are more uterine stimulating herbs like goldenseal, motherwort, wild ginger, red raspberry, black and blue cohosh that have been used in the past to induce labor. But there haven’t been any studies to consistently prove the real effect of these herbal remedies on how to induce labor.
The main risk to consider is that whatever the mother takes, the baby takes too. And the dosage could be too much for a baby which has 20 times less weight than his mother.
Oils of fennel, lemon and clarysage have been advocated by the aromatherapists, which are inhaled and massaged into abdomen. But as in the case above – the baby inhales that too so this cannot be deemed totally safe.
There is one more way of using herbal remedies to induce labor. How? Use 2ml of palma rosa essential oil in to 100 ml carrier oil and give full body massage 24 hours before the due labor. Pay special attention to the abdomen and back. This is supposed to boost the level of oxytocin.
There are not risks associated with this method. In the worst case it doesn’t work but you have a nicely relaxed future mom. ;)The best method is still leaving the labor to the schedule of mother nature. Mental, physical and emotional relaxation will prevent the pregnant woman from releasing adrenalin, which stops labor.
Hopefully this article has helped you assess pros and cons of natural labor inducing remedies.
Always seek medical advice on all this information and do not do things on your own. Happy parenting!