As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This means I may earn a small commission if you use my affiliate links, but there's no extra cost for you!
So, we have some pineapple juice in the fridge which I bought for my baby shower to make mocktails, but never used. Last night I was going to have a glass, then I remembered about the old wives tale that it may bring on labour, so I decided against it for now, not quite ready yet! Which got me to thinking about a few of the more common ones I’ve heard about, and whether they do actually tend to play in a part or not in bringing on labour, so I went and did some research. Though I’m one to believe that baby will come when he/she is ready, it would be interesting to hear if any mummies tried any of them and went into labour soon afterwards!
Birthing ball
Rocking/bouncing on a birthing ball can help to get baby moving by encouraging them to get into a good position ready to give birth.
Curry (hot/spicy)
Curry is though to stimulate your tummy, which may in turn stimulate your uterus, BUT if you’re not used to spicy curries (I am!), then it may also cause heartburn.
Pineapple
This contains the bromelain enzyme which is thought to soften the cervix, so eating large amounts may stimulate your tummy, which may in turn stimulate your uterus, like other tales mentioned. A large amount would have to be eaten though, about 7 pineapples! Not sure I could stomach that much! (Also thinking of the side effects…Yuk)
Raspberry leaf tea
This is thought to stimulate the uterus and encourage labour. A study has shown that it could also speed up the second stage of labour. Drinking it before you go into labour can also help prepare the muscles.
Sex
A bit tricky when you’re heavily pregnant (and painful for me!), but it could trigger the release of oxytocin, a hormone which causes contractions. Also, having an orgasm could stimulate the womb into action. It is also only recommended before your waters have broken, and not really recommended if you have placenta praevia or have had vaginal bleeding during your pregnancy (this has happened to me afterwards, so I’m wary anyway!)
Walking
The pressure of baby’s head pressing on the cervix is also thought to release oxytocin. As being upright encourages baby to move down onto your cervix, this works in turn to possibly trigger contractions. I’ve heard of a few people who have gone into labour after a long walk, so I’m going to keep this one in mind at least!
So, which ones did you try, and did labour start soon afterwards, or they didn’t seem to work at all?
Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc, or its affiliates.
Like this:
Like Loading...
Related posts
I tried all of them, and none of them worked lol 🙂
I have head about all of them. Eating too much also speeds up labour – a cousin of mine went to a wedding party in Greece, had too much food and while at the party her waters broke!!