A work mate is due to give birth any day now and is a little frustrated by the baby’s reluctance to leave. My g/f (who is pregnant for a third time now) and I were talking about it and the old story of sex to induce an overdue childbirth was brought up. I’ve seen it mentioned in “Nip/Tuck” too, something about the chemicals in semen being the reason why.
So does sex help bring on childbirth? Is there reason why it should?
Sex (and breastfeeding, actually) produce the hormone oxytocin, which cause contractions in the uterus, sometimes inducing labor. Linky
One should never ever have sex after the water has broken though. I’m not sure why on that one, but it doesn’t seem like a good idea anyway.
Just wanted to clarify that there is usually nothing harmful about breastfeeding kiddo #1 while you are pregnant with kiddo #2 (worrying about preterm labor) unless your doctor has also advised you to abstain from sex.
Doesn’t seem like a good idea to me either, but you’d have other things on your mind if your waters had broken surely 
Too much effort swimming against the tide probably…
When my ex was pregnant with our first child together. We had planned a home birth. Unfortunately, things got complicated and we needed her to deliver soon. She had developed oligohydramnios (a dangerously low level of amniotic fluid). We were sent home with instructions to try any home methods we could to induce labor within the next 24 hours. Otherwise they wanted to induce labor and deliver in the hospital. The nurse who did the ultrasound wanted to make sure that we had tried having sex, so she kept saying, “have you tried ‘the sex?’” I finally told her that it was delicious, but that it had not started the contractions.
In 1974, when dads where just beginning to be allowed in the delivery room in these parts, my dad was in the waiting room when my mother’s labor stalled. The nurse told her sex could sometimes help, then mentioned that all the nurses would be on a coffee break for the nest 30 minutes. She then sent my dad in and closed the door. :eek:
Once the amniotic sac has broken and fluid is leaking or gushing out (“the water’s broken”) then bacteria can get up inside the uterus and cause an infection. Now, hopefully if you’re bag has broken, you’re in labor already and it’s no big deal. But it is possible for it to rupture days or even weeks before you deliver (in my case, at 5 months, and bacteria - though not from sex - did get in and the result was an emergency c-section). Sexual intercourse can literally push bacteria up near the cervix and from there it’s a short trip into the uterus, where it can infect the placenta or the baby.
If your water hasn’t broken, there’s generally no way for bacteria to get in, so you’re OK.
The chemical in sperm that ripens and softens the cervix is called prostaglandin. It can also, for some reason, cause the baby to drop to the bottom of the uterus if the presentation is high (this is a good thing.) Interestingly, semen consumed, uh, orally, absorbs roughly 10 times more than semen applied to the cervix.
Yes, men, take this and run with it. Fellatio is even better for bringing on labor than sex. Enjoy. 
:smack:
that should read:
The chemical in *semen *that ripens and softens the cervix is called prostaglandin.
I am so bookmarking this post for future reference.
Uh, WhyNot, can I have a cite on that? Not that I don’t believe you, but none of my pregnant friends will believe me if I tell them that!
On the other hand, there is this:
Paging Dr. Qadgop.
It worked in our case. We had sex, then about 40 weeks later childbirth occurred. This actually worked both times. YMMV.
(Oh, darn - looks like they can put it in a pill: http://www.aafp.org/afp/990800ap/477.html and http://www.childbirth.org/articles/cytotec.html , where it goes by its synthetic name of “mistoprostiol”)
But it does look like I nay need to update my lore. It now appears that oral administration may be preferable for a *different *reason: to lower the chaces of a c-section.
Looks like they’re still arguing it out.
Obviously, to be safe we need to employ *both *methods, alternating, at 23.7 minute intervals.
Both times. Huh, sucks to be you.
Touché.
Yeah, but Shibb is bald so that makes up for it.
While we are on the topic, how does the effectiveness of rectal administration compare with oral and vaginal administration?
You mean the Bush administration, as compared to the Clinton administration?