Are natural induction methods still an intervention?

[3ofhearts]

Hey ladies! I'm not sure this is the best place for my question... Here goes:

Do you consider "natural" induction methods to be interventions? Since it's still possible to put yourself in a long, stalled labor "naturally", make you miserable (with side effects), or have a failed induction -- seems like the natural methods are as much of a dice roll as a shot of pitocin. The only advantage I can see to the natural induction methods is the reduced potential for long-term effects on the fetus.

The reason I ask, I've got ten days to have a baby before I'm no longer "eligible" to go to the birth center. I spent all of last night up and down with a persistant achy back (pms-like symptoms), BH contractions and chills, so I feel hopeful that *something* is going on, but it's much better now. My cervix is soft but high (I actually can't reach it myself) and waaaay posterior. I'm wondering when or if at all it's time to begin acupressure to induce. My alternative would be an herbal tincture.

Alas, I have mixed feelings. I made a commitment to have a natural and gentle birth experience. However, the possibility of ending up in L&D (and likely facing a cytotec induction -- as is the standard at the hospital I would end up in) simply because I've gone over an arbitrary date (so long as there is no fetal distress) seems much scarier and looms in my head.

So my questions mostly: do you support "natural" induction methods? Is there a reason these methods are preferred over a medical induction? Does anyone know of any studies involving potential negative side-effects from herbal, holistic or homeopathic inductions?

There has been a lot of talk on another birth forum I am part of for and against induction, but not much on natural induction... Plus all those women are just as pregnant and hormonal as I am so I am curious as to what this doula community thinks.

Thanks!

[doula Michele]

I guess it totally depends on what you are meaning by natural induction.

I personally chose to use castor oil... and it worked like a charm. But I am sure that all the conditions were right. I also walked a couple miles everyday.

I am not so sure it was natural.. it still made me go into labour, rather than just let nature take its course.

Having sex will help prepare your cervix, thats pretty natural.

I guess it all depends on how you feel about things personally.

I personally would lean more twards natural things I could try at home, if I was looking at facing a medical induction. I would try to do all that I could prior to it. Just my own opinion though.

[earthgirl]

Well with my second I wanted to go into labor and I don't know if what I did worked or if it was a coincidence. Two nights before my due date I had sex with orgasm, walked a mile, ate spicy food (meatless mexican pizza from Taco Bell), then gave myself 1/2 an enema. Baby was born next morning -I'm sorry I don't remember the condition of my cervix
Personally I would refuse medical (drug)induction, and personally I would try natural induction, which is still an intervention, but would want to avoid cytotec AT ALL COSTS!
Talk to your baby, visualize the cervix soft, thin and open, relax, go with your heart, and goodluck.
I hope you have the birth you desire

[DoulaKaren]

i don't know of studies... but from my absorbed knowledge and personal experience, natural at home methods (walking, hesex, spicy foods, castor oil) can kickstart things if conditions are favorble and don't do much otherwise (the spicy foods/castor oil will give you the poops but if you stay hydrated I don't know of any harm). What I would consider to be more drastic natural methods -- stripping membranes, nipple stimulation with a breast pump -- I would still rather try that before going to the hospital for a medical induction.

And fwiw, I don't care what the standard procedure was -- I would personally never consent to a cytotec induction.

[syncreo]

Hi,
Yes, natural methods are still an intervention and I would never suggest a woman look at using them unless she was being 'threatened' with a medical induction. If she was looking at a medical induction and was open to trying natural methods I would absolutely agree that doing this first would be best (barring any medical issues).

Good luck.

[RAnderson]

Well, if you have 10 days I would say you're probably not going to have to worry about it, BUT if you do you can try the least interventive (I hope that's a word) things first and work your way to something like castor oil or nipple stimulation. I have heard some women say they thought castor oil made their water break right away (purely speculation) and resulted in a long and intense labor. But it is less risky than cytotec anyday!

Good luck! And remember, you can always refuse to be induced. It is your choice. Just say what the doctors always say, "I'd like to wait a week because I'll be out of town."

[HamiltonBirthRevolution]

Anything you do to stimulate labour is a kind of induction, no matter how natural or unnatural. Your body is operating on its own timetable and it's important that people don't futz around with that because altering that is unnatural.

However!

Just like there is a definite time and place for things like epidurals or use of pitocin, there is a time and place for less invasive induction methods.

I would suggest making a list of all the "natural" induction methods and ranking them from least to most invasive. As long as your midwife/OB were on board, you could start working up the list from least to most invasive. You might have walking as a low invasive induction method and membrane stripping as a high invasive induction method.

I would recommend doing a lot of research into anything ingested. Some things like blue cohosh (black?) and castor oil have been linked to higher incidences of meconium in the amniotic fluid, so you might want to leave those off your list or maybe just put something like castor oil at the high invasive end of your list.

Other things like sex with orgasm and male ejaculation, nipple stimulation, meditation, walking/hiking... are all much gentler forms of labour stimulation and are far less likely to have ill side effects.

As with anything that will affect the fetus, check with your HCP that not only is your plan a good one but that your HCP knows that you are doing these things at all.

[doula Michele]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RAnderson Well, if you have 10 days I would say you're probably not going to have to worry about it, BUT if you do you can try the least interventive (I hope that's a word) things first and work your way to something like castor oil or nipple stimulation. I have heard some women say they thought castor oil made their water break right away (purely speculation) and resulted in a long and intense labor. But it is less risky than cytotec anyday! Good luck! And remember, you can always refuse to be induced. It is your choice. Just say what the doctors always say, "I'd like to wait a week because I'll be out of town."

My dr actually told me to try castor oil before medical induction. And she gave me the dosages to use.
It did not cause my water to break, it just made my puke and S**t. Then nothing for about 3 hours. I started ctxing at 11:30pm, and had my son at 2;10 am. the labour was very short, and not very intense until the last 1/2 hr or so.

So as with everything else, everyones body will react differently. I do believe my cervix was already thin and open to about 3cm. I had been having regular braxton hicks for weeks, that intensified everynight with my long walks.

[HerthElde]

Okay, I'm not a doula yet, but have done a lot of reading on both childbirth and energy health philosophies . . .
It depends on the method. Energy medicine, such as homeopathy and acupressure/acupuncture, doesn't work solely on the physical level, it also addresses the spirit and the emotions as well. So, if it's an emotional block that's keeping you from going into labour, the correct homeopathic will clear that block in order to allow your body to take its course. That is not even close to the same as hospital induction.
As far as sex goes . . . I think that in my case there's a reason I can't get enough of dh when I'm in the last trimester of a pregnancy. I actually started both my labours with sex back to back. My second I also used bodytalk. I don't consider any of these invasive because they all work on all levels.
I don't know enough about herbs to speak to their use. I believe the effect of a herb can be physical/emotional/spiritual, but it can also be too much on the physical spectrum when not handled in a certain way. (I'm also considering shaman work but don't know much as of yet, for now I'm just a bit of a witch )

Good luck with whatever you choose to do.

[3ofhearts]

Thanks for the advice ladies!

I think that if I were my client I would also advise to try to naturally induce at home before a medical induction -- knowing that there can be complications with either. My midwives and my doula are all a bit more conservative than I am and seem to think I should wait it out and see what happens. It isn't that I'm against waiting, I'm trying to avoid L&D -- which is where I'll be in ten days even if I do refuse induction.

Quote:

I would suggest making a list of all the "natural" induction methods and ranking them from least to most invasive. As long as your midwife/OB were on board, you could start working up the list from least to most invasive. You might have walking as a low invasive induction method and membrane stripping as a high invasive induction method. I would recommend doing a lot of research into anything ingested. Some things like blue cohosh (black?) and castor oil have been linked to higher incidences of meconium in the amniotic fluid, so you might want to leave those off your list or maybe just put something like castor oil at the high invasive end of your list.

That's an excellent idea! And thanks for the heads up on the cohosh & castor oil. It's my understanding that castor oil is no better than an enema, but can be more unpleasant. I've never experienced either and wasn't planning on trying it.

Black cohosh is a uterine tonic & blue cohosh is said to stimulate contractions. I understand both are to be used with caution. I already do EPO & RRL tea, meditation & visulization, sex of course (!) and well, walking is out because of the rain lately, but I spend a lot of time on my yoga ball (well, I did walk to Dairy Queen in the rain the other day...).

HerthElde, I agree that energy work is on a different level than anything ingested. I myself use reiki, reflexology and accupressure regularly, but I would be cautious to perform any kind of physical manipulations on a woman who is as pregnant as I am Therefore I am hesitant to seek that kind of treatment myself.

Thanks for the opinions! This will be helpful in advising future clients!

[1stimestar]

Yes, even "natural" induction is an intervention and more likely to lead to a c-section. Empower yourself with learning about informed refulsal. They can not force you to use Cytotec or Pitocin. They wont come to your house if you do not show up. Good luck.

[Neshama]

Yup. They are interventions, just like breaking the waters when they are not going to break on their own.
Now, just because something is an intervention does not make it bad in all situations. You have to take it at face value and if its the best choice, then an intervention may be better than waiting it out.
In my humble opinion that is really rare, however. But not totally invalid.

[CatieDoula]

I'm in the "yes they are still an intervention" camp. IMO, anything that is done that on some level tells mom her body can't or isn't doing something right is an intervention. Same goes for baby too. I'm not even a fan of putting a hat on the baby once it is born...but that is me personally.

[DoulaDani]

In my opinion, yes, natural methods are still inductions. Sometimes they're safer and more pleasant than the alternative (think good sex... with an orgasm and walking) or riskier and more unpleasant (Which IMHO is where castor oil lands... who wants to push out an 8 pound baby after hours of diharrea)? Not to mention, we need mom WELL HYDRATED to labor effectively, that won't happen after she's had castor oil!).

The things I haven't seen suggested? I've had clients who have had luck with a chiropractic adjustment. Plan for a few. See ICPA4kids.org to locate a chiropractor who works with pregnant moms. One mom went into labor within an hour or two and had her baby by that evening, another mom went to her chiropractor when she was stuck at 6cm (homebirth) and had her baby before the midwives and I (who had given her a bit of space) could make it back.

The other thing? I have a great massage therapist who is willing to do the accupressure points during a massage. Maybe you have one of those nearby? If nothing else it will relax you and make the other things more likely to succeed.

I think, with 10 days left that your body is going to decide to do it on it's own, but it's probably not a bad idea to think about this before it actually happens. I always hate when I have clients who want nothing to do with natural methods (incluing walking and sex) until the night before their induction and then they stress themselves out so much they couldn't go into labor if they tried!

[CCMcC]

First of all, you have the right to refuse interventions. Just because you are "overdue" doesn't mean induction is the best way to go. Most women go into labor naturally 8 to 10 days after the "due date"....if that "due date" is correct. Once you get to 42 weeks, consider doing kick counts and a bio physical to relax your caregiver's stress of needing to induce. (Should ease your mind also.)

If the only reason you are considering doing home inductions is to avoid hospital interventions.... I would stick with biophysical and kick counts. However, if you really feel it necessary to induce, I would go the home induction way first. But like everything else, they tend to work best when it's time to go into labor. You can still have a long drawn out labor with them because your body wasn't quite ready yet. There are other factors I would consider also. What's baby's position? If baby is still kinda high, that alone will slow labor down. Plus, there are things we just don't know about. I'm so glad I didn't try any induction methods, my DD would have been in stress since the cord was wrapped around her body several times. I think anytime we force our body into doing something it's not ready to do... it can cause more problems.

WARNING-Do not read if you only want happy thoughts: As for cytotec induction, DO NOT AGREE TO THIS! Not only is cytotec an off label use, it is a contradiction! On the box that contain the tablets is a picture of a pg women with a red circle around it with a slash over it. Not only is it on the box of cytotec, but every individually wrapped application of cytotec has the same warning! It's the amniotic fluid immulism from cytotec that kills within a minute or so. If this happens, there really isn't anything the doctor can do for the mother, and only sometimes the baby survives if measures are taken immediatly. -end

So I guess I am against interfering- whether it be natural or a medical method. However, there is a time to use natural inducing methods and sometimes medical (never cytotec though). So relax, let your body go into labor naturally, and think good thoughts. Sending prayers up that you go into labor naturally.