Natural Ways to Encourage Labor

• A San Antonio doula and mother of six children offers a few suggestions to help kick start labor. According to Brenda Minica, relaxation offers an effective way to encourage the labor process. Ask your partner for a massage, take a warm bath, or do something that you find relaxing and enjoyable. If you use visualization and meditation techniques, she suggests adding an image of yourself in labor to your routine.
  
  Minica also suggests sex to help start the labor process. Orgasm causes contractions and semen contains prostaglandins, which doctors use in commercial preparations, such as Cervidil (dinoprostone), to soften the cervix when inducing labor at the hospital. According to BabyCenter's Medical Advisory board, some studies do support sex as a way to encourage labor in a full-term pregnancy while others report that it has no effect on labor.
  
  Swinging, walking, and driving on a bumpy road are other suggestions the doula, Minica, offers to help bring on labor. BabyCenter.com suggests that these methods might help bring on labor. This is due to the pressure of the baby's head on the cervix, which helps to speed up dilation. Dilation must occur before active labor can begin.
  
  One tip suggested by Kerry Tuschhoff, doula and hypnobirth educator, involves the importance of respecting your baby's own birth schedule and trusting that he will come when ready. She cautions against intervening by encouraging labor, even using natural methods, since problems may occur if a woman tries to artificially force the labor process.
  
  

Considerations

• Remember that while doulas provide professional labor assistance, they are not midwives or doctors. Always consult with your care provider before trying any type of natural remedy to induce labor since every woman's situation is different. While the methods offered by Minica are unlikely to harm a woman or her baby, some do-it-yourself labor techniques, especially those involving castor oil, black or blue cohosh, and nipple stimulation, can prove harmful if not undertaken under a doctor or midwife's supervision.