Inducing Labour Naturally

Are you looking for for ways of inducing labour naturally? In general, there are two main labor inducing strategies. The medical and more conventional path and the alternative, more natural path.

Oxytocin is a hormone that is naturally produced by your body during labor. It helps to stimulate contractions and allows labor to progress. Medical professionals use a variety of methods to induce labor, the most common being Pitocin.

Pitocin, a synthetic form of the hormone oxytocin. Because Pitocin is given in an IV continuous form, your contractions could be longer and stronger than normal. This can cause fetal distress. Oxytocin is naturally released into your body in short intermittent spurts allowing breaks in between. When labor occurs naturally, the body responds by producing endorphins alongside the oxytocin. These endorphines act as painkillers and provide some pain relief. When labor is medically induced with Pitocin the body does not release the endorphins and other forms of pain relief are required.

A large majority of pregnant women are looking for more natural labor inducing strategies. Here is a list of commonly used methods to induce labor naturally.

1. Love making or orgasms produces both oxytocin and prostaglandins. These hormones act to stimulate uterine contractions and potentially induce labor naturally.

2. Nipple stimulation by rolling your nipples between your thumb and forefingers produces the hormone oxytocin. This hormone is responsible for stimulating uterine contractions.

3. Eating spicy food stimulates digestion. However, you may want to stay off spicy foods if you suffer from heartburn or stomach ulcers.

4. Castor oil is often mixed with juice or food to stimulate prostaglandins leading to uterine contractions. Castor oil can cause diarrhoea and nausea leading to dehydration.

5. Maternity acupressure is proven to be one of the safest and most effective labor inducing strategies. Acupressure stimulates various points in the body that cause the production of both oxyctocin and prostaglandins. Stimulating these points also has a descending action on the fetus causing the baby to engage and the cervix to soften.

This technique has also been proven to relieve labor pains and shorten the labor process. Acupressure techniques have gained popularity as they are very effective, simple to learn, non invasive and can be carried out by you or your partner.

Start learning the techniques now with this easy to follow, step by step guide complete with illustrations. Click here to find out more.

Read a review of Easier, Shorter and Safer Birth using Maternity Acupressure by Dr. Lena Leno.