40 weeks of pregnancy are medically considered the PPF (‘Probable Date of Delivery’), however, some experts say that Only 5% of pregnancies end in that exact period, while the rest occur between weeks 38 and 42.. Due to these numbers, the last moments tend to be long, expectant, not to mention the nerves, uncertainty and physical discomfort.
If you have already reached week 40 and are “desperate” to give birth, there are some home remedies that can help you cause labor. But It is essential that patience prevails, so that the long-awaited baby arrives healthy and without complications..
Midwife Carla Quintana, of Spanish origin and founder of ‘Midwife for me’, referred to 5 natural alternatives or habits that you can implement from your own home, so that your body is stimulated from the womb and you literally help the baby to descend little by little.
Unless there are complications such as “gestational diabetes, delayed growth, preeclampsia or other clinical criteria”, which requires inducing labor when the doctor indicates it, it is always advisable that you can wait a little longer, patiently, and give birth of natural form. It is also important that you know these 7 tips during pregnancy to avoid premature birth.
How to induce labor with 5 home remedies
It is probably the last thing you want to do in your last days of pregnancy, as the discomfort must be enormous. However, midwife Carla Quintana invites you to try it, since it allows the release of oxytocin and eliminates both emotional and physical blockages.
“Scientifically, it is proven that laughter can help you trigger labor when it is delayed”, stated the expert. In addition, she highlighted that laughing is beneficial to make you feel a little more comfortable, forgetting for a while about the nerves and anxieties of the process.
It is perhaps the best-known home remedy or advice for provoking labor that has already exceeded 40 weeks. The idea of walking, exercising and even dancing, allows you to make more movements from the pelvis, which helps your baby descend and press on the cervix for dilation.
Of course it should be a gentle walk or a calm dance, prioritizing hip movement. In addition, these types of habits will also stimulate the production of oxytocin.
“Going up and down stairs, moving the hips and the help of gravity allow the baby to latch and labor to begin”said midwife Carla Quintana.
It is one of the most effective remedies to cause childbirth naturally, as long as there is willingness, desire and comfort, since nothing should be forced. Remember that hormones could increase or decrease your libido, which complicates the decision.
However, making love with your partner not only produces a release of oxytocin, but also through orgasm you will make the uterus contract.
“Man’s semen has prostaglandins, a substance that helps soften the cervix. And curiously, in a labor induction, the first thing that is done before administering oxytocin is to administer prostaglandins.”explained the midwife.
This remedy should be practiced by your partner and whenever you feel comfortable. While a massage can be very relaxing and pleasurable, The key is that through the process you receive caresses and stimulation of the nipples, depending on the sensitivity of the moment.
“The idea is that oxytocin is released and there are contractions in the uterus to induce natural childbirth,” said the expert.
Although it is not scientifically proven that some foods can advance a birth that has already exceeded 40 weeks, it is worth trying.
In this sense, midwife Carla Quintana mentioned: chocolate, some infusions and spicy food, since they are stimulating foods. “What happens is that when we eat chocolate, the baby moves more and this would perhaps help the water break and the birth process begin,” she argued.
Other alternatives are raspberry leaf and ginger infusions.. “They are highly recommended to stimulate the uterus and generate contractions,” said the midwife.
None of these remedies predominate over the others, so feel free to apply them all if necessary. And when you practice them, make sure you are accompanied and have suitcases ready, since your water could break when you least expect it.