Are there methods to speed up labor?

Home remedies to speed up childbirth

Many women who want to give birth by natural means try  methods to speed up labor around the due date. On online forums you can find posts about speeding up labor by drinking an infusion of raspberry leaves, castor oil or eating spicy food. Some moms-to-be increase their physical activity a few days before the scheduled delivery, cleaning, walking up and down stairs, all to speed up labor. Physical exertion leads to pressure of the baby’s head on the cervix, which can lead to dilation.

The methods recommended by midwives are nipple stimulation and sexual intercourse, if no contraindications are present. This is because stimulating the nipples affects the secretion of natural oxytocin, which can induce uterine contraction activity. Sexual intercourse has a similar effect, in addition, sperm contains prostaglandins, which at the time of delivery can prepare the cervix and have a contraction effect.

Accelerate childbirth in the hospital

The induction of labor in the hospital takes place when there are specific indications for it. Among those mentioned are. Post-term pregnancy, suspected fetal hypotrophy, and pregnancy complicated by hypertension, diabetes or cholestasis. This is because such a procedure reduces the risk of possible complications for the mother and the baby.

Accelerating labor in the hospital can be divided into preinduction and induction. First, cervical maturity is assessed using the Bishop scale. If it is insufficiently mature, preinduction is carried out with the help of, among other things. Foley catheter (often called a balloon). He stretches the cervix and increases the local secretion of prostaglandins, which have a contractionary effect. Methods of labor induction, meanwhile, include amniotomy, or rupture of the fetal membranes, and drip infusion of oxytocin. How quickly and whether a method works at all depends on a number of factors, which include. Gestational age and the woman’s fertility.

Read more:
What is the difference between induction and preinduction of labor?

Acceleration of labor – contraindications

Accelerated labor is not possible if there are contraindications to it. Do not use methods that induce labor in cases:

• Placenta or progenitor vessels,
• past operations on the uterine corpus,
• A history of intrapartum uterine rupture,
• Invasive cervical cancer,
• Active genital herpes infection,
• abnormal position of the fetus (such as transverse)
• The risk of shoulder dystocia,
• birth disproportionality,
• damage to the anal sphincter during a previous delivery.

Also, it’s always a good idea to discuss your desire to use home remedies with your midwife or health care provider. If a woman has indications of cesarean section delivery, she should not try to speed up labor at home on her own. It is also important to remember that any methods to speed up labor can be used in a term pregnancy.