My next door neighbor is a week late.
I was two weeks late.
Is there anythign that brings on labor?
No, smart alecks, I’m not asking about inducement or anything a doctor would do.
Does anything work?
Has it for you?
there are some accupuncture treatments that can speed up labor, maybe they have something to bring it about
Some say walking around may help kickstart or at least speed up the process. Perhaps waddle around might be a more appropriate word at that stage of the pregnancy.
Sex is another traditional birth attendant method - usually with mate of course.
I have also heard eating chicken with pili pili [very hot pepper sauce] will help - this comes from several midwives in central Africa.
Breaking the water sack is another.
The big however is the mom-to-be status. There are quite a few risks to trying to speed it up - some of those might put both mom and kid into terrible trouble. Best advice is to let nature take its course.
Tell them to have sex. (If the doctor hasn’t restricted them from it) Orgasam stimulates labor… that’s what my doctor told me. (I wasn’t allowed to have sex with my 2nd child due to going into premature labor with my 1st.)
But I know a couple that were a week past the due date and they had sex and the next morning her labor started. It’s worth a shot anyway!
Had to add a “Me too” for the orgasms inducing labor (sort of, anyway.) I was a week late with my second child, hubby was kind enough to give me a little oral sex in the evening, and she was born the following morning. I had tried cod liver oil, walking, and a couple of other completely forgettable old wives tales, none of which worked (unless they were supposed to work 1-2 weeks later.)
My personal opinion of most of the traditional methods of jumpstarting a “late” labor is that they are similar to the list of things you’re supposed to do to soothe a colicky baby-they merely give you something to do until the baby calms (or labor starts.) Having sex is certainly a pleasurable way to pass the time, but I doubt whether it actually can start a labor that wasn’t going to start by itself anyway. I encourage my childbirth education students to continue with sex during pregnancy (it’s good for you!) and we don’t worry about premature labor in the absence of other indications. I suppose that a strong laxative or emetic might irritate the mother’s body enough to convince it to start the labor process, but is that something you really want to do?
It is important to realize that the “pregnancy equals 40 weeks” formula that we have been using since the 1800’s was developed with absolutely no empirical evidence. A German doctor simply decided that a normal human gestation should be 10 moon cycles and we’ve been going by that rule ever since. A recent Harvard study indicates that, in healthy woman with good prenatal care, the average length of pregnancy is actually 41 weeks plus a day.
I am very much of the opinion that babies should be born when they are ready, and that we cannot tell when that is. There is a complex network of conditions (including hormones released by both the mother’s and the baby’s brains) that must be in place for labor to begin naturally. I think we risk the baby’s and the mother’s health unnecessarily when we try to force things to fit our schedules.
add to this…nipple stimulation (HER nipples silly 
)
I think robinh is on the right track here. I’ve never given birth myself–roll o’ the dice and all that–so I’m going from a lifetime of “woman talk”. A good doctor/midwife will know when a baby’s being carried too long so as to present actual complications in delivery. Nine months is a helluva long time, especially when you’re in metabolic overdrive and with a baby suspended in your abdomen. But impatience to get ON with it already can be dangerous, especially when it comes to folk-remedies to induce labor.
The health of baby and mom are worth gritting out the last few days, IMO. Not a doc, here, but rushing Mother Nature with drastic tactics doesn’t seem wise.
Veb
I thought I’d add a little…It is certainly understandable that everyone gets a bit nervous when a baby doesn’t appear on schedule. There is a wonderfully easy, low-tech, non-invasive method of keeping track of the baby’s activity called “kick counts.” Basically, the mother chooses a specific time of day, preferably one when the baby is normally more active, and counts the number of kicks she feels for one hour. She does this every day, at the same time, and records the numbers. If the baby remains busy and active, this is a good indication that he is healthy.
No birth is without risk. No procedure or intervention is without risk.
If you look at the statistics in regards to stillbirth (which is what most people are concerned about-that the baby who isn’t born “on time” will die in utero) the numbers do pretty much what you’d expect. The risk is quite high in the early weeks and gradually decreases, bottoming out right around the 40 week mark, and then gradually increasing again. However, it is important to note that the risk of stillbirth at 43 weeks is lower than the risk of stillbirth at 37 weeks. We must weigh the risks of post-maturity against the risks of intervention.
Never been pregnant, but I’ve heard…
Nipple stimulation, like beagledave said.
Lifting something heavy.
Riding a horse.
A small amount of alcohol, like an ounce of sherry.
Don’t know if any of those would be feasible, or advised.
Nothing you can do at home is going to get the baby out before it’s ready. However, “ready” isn’t a point in time - more a range of a few days. It’s possible that gentle encouragement can get labor started towards the beginning of this time rather than the end. In any case, caution is advised.
Nipple stimulation, sex or other stimulation to orgasm, walking, and spicy foods are all standard old wives’ tales. They may work, they may not, but as long as you use your head they shouldn’t do any damage either. Don’t force yourself to have sex if you can’t find a comfortable position, don’t walk until you’re exhausted, don’t order a three-alarm taco platter with extra salsa if you’ve been having heartburn.
Castor oil (not cod liver oil!) is sometimes suggested. It’s based on the idea that many women’s bowels empty out just prior to labor beginning, therefore maybe giving yourself a case of the runs will get labor going. Hospitals have used enemas for the same purpose. You do not want to be messing around with this except under medical supervision. Castor oil is not a fun party drug; fascists thugs in Italy used to pour it down the throats of their enemies. Ick.
Similarly, there are some herbs that are reported to work, but you absolutely should consult with someone who knows herbs and knows their side-effects as well as their intended benefits. Just because they’re “natural” doesn’t mean they’re safe, especially for a pregnant woman.
Having said that… flodjunior was 15 days late, and flod2k was 5. Both were perfectly healthy at birth, though they showed signs of postmaturity. (Flodjunior had amazingly long fingernails; flod2k had passed meconium; both were considerably larger than average.) Some friends think that flod2k didn’t come any earlier because flodjunior’s birthday party was the Saturday before and I was determined to be there. So my body wouldn’t let itself go into labor until Monday night, when all was safely over. Who knows, maybe they’re right.
About the sex…
Not only does the femal orgasm start the uterus contracting (though it may stop forth with), but the prostaglandandin found in semen will soften the cervix such that it can open more easily. In fact, when an induced labor is planned, prostaglandin gel is spread on the cervix 12-24 hours before the petocin is administered, just for this reason. So, the whole “sex to induce labor” is a bit more than a bubbameisa.
Also, reflexology portends that massaging the pinky toe can bring about labor.
However, as stated in many posts above, these “home remedies” will not jump start a labor that is not ready. If the body is ready to squeeze out a little tax deduction, some of these suggestions may help it along.
Well, she went into labor Tuesday night. And Wednesday night was still in labor.No fun.
They decided to have a C-section.
So, to start a New topic, how likely is it to have to have another C-section on your next child, if you’ve had one on your first?
The most important factor would be the reason for the first c-section, and whether or not the condition/set of circumstances that required the first abdominal delivery was likely to repeat itself.
I have one reference for you: a study was done in 1982 with just over 200 patients, volunteers who had previous low-transverse c-sections and no indication of problems in the subsequent pregnancy. In this group, (which was self-selected, i.e. included women who were motivated to work toward a successful VBAC) 84.5% had vaginal deliveries.
Back to the original OP for a minute.
Have any Chicago dopers heard of that certain vegetable soup at one restaurant here in town that’s supposed to induce labor…like, within hours? I remember there was a big write up about it and it was on the news, and now I never hear of it any more.
vanilla, I was two weeks late and my mother was in labor for 44 hours! (I don’t know how much was actually hard, pushing labor) But jeez! That just proves how lazy I was, didn’t want to get out of the nice, warm bed. 
jarbaby
huh. I feel lucky.
I was “in labor” for 6 hours with no pain.
Til I got to 4 cm.
Then two hours later, they gave me an epidural (yay) and 2 hours later, my son was born.
Pretty easy.
She had a girl.
Nipple stimulation causes a pregnant woman’s body to produce oxytocin, which causes uterine contractions. They give Pitocin IV, which is the trade name for synthetic oxytocin.
Introduction of sperm to a full-term (40 weeks) pregnant woman’s vagina provides prostaglandins, causing uterine muscle contractions. Cervil is the trade name of the prostaglandin gel applied for cervial ripening.
DO NOT life heavy objects!!! Do you want to cause the uterus to tear? Or the placenta to shear away?
Don’t break your own water!!! It’s the only protection your body has from outside pathogens!!! Let the doctor do it under clean conditions.
No alcolhol!!! What if the doctor needs to give meds?
Every pregancy is different and doctors don’t routinely give C sections anymore. If the pelvis is adequate and the labor porgresses, next baby may be born vaginally!