Doing certain prenatal yoga poses to induce labor, like butterfly pose, can be particularly helpful as your body transitions to the main event. Sit on the floor with knees wide and the soles of your feet together. You can place your hands under your knees for support.
You might recognize the butterfly pose from dance or yoga class, but did you know it can increase flexibility in your pelvic joints, improve blood flow, and make childbirth easier? To get into the pose, sit upright on the floor, and bring the soles of your feet together while bending the knees.
Butterfly Stretch
This is an exercise that strengthens and stretches muscles in your back, thighs, and pelvis, and improves your posture. It also keeps your pelvic joints flexible, improves blood flow to your lower body, and eases delivery.
Walking around the room, doing simple movements in bed or chair, or even changing positions may encourage dilation. This is because the weight of the baby applies pressure to the cervix. People may also find swaying or dancing to calming music effective.
Side-lying with upper knee bent
It's OK to lie down in labour. Lie down on one side, with your lower leg straight, and bend your upper knee as much as possible. Rest it on a pillow. This is another position to open your pelvis and encourage your baby to rotate and descend.
Try herbal remedies
Some herbal remedies such as red raspberry leaf tea, black and blue cohosh, and evening primrose oil have been known to help soften the cervix and prepare the body for labor. But before trying an herbal remedy, talk to your doctor or midwife to ensure it is safe for you.
Giving the hormone prostaglandin to help ripen the cervix.
This is typically done overnight in the hospital to make the cervix "ripe" (soft, thinned out) for delivery. Administered alone, prostaglandin may induce labor or may be used before giving oxytocin.
Studies show that a massage can raise your body's level of oxytocin, that hormone that can bring on labor contractions. Some massage therapists swear by their ability to help jump-start labor when a mom-to-be is overdue.
Sitting position
You can sit on a birthing ball, a chair, the toilet seat, or any other chair which allows you to sit and open your legs a bit. This position is relaxing and should be the first one that you try.
Researchers now believe that when a baby is ready for life outside his mother's uterus, his body releases a tiny amount of a substance that signals the mother's hormones to begin labor (Condon, Jeyasuria, Faust, & Mendelson, 2004). In most cases, your labor will begin only when both your body and your baby are ready.
Inducing labor should be for medical reasons only. If there are medical reasons to induce your labor, talk to your provider about waiting until at least 39 weeks of pregnancy. This gives your baby the time she needs to grow and develop before birth. Scheduling labor induction should be for medical reasons only.
You can't feel your cervix thinning, but you might pick up on a few cervical effacement symptoms. When your cervix effaces, you may feel pressure down there, Thiel says. You might also notice an increase in cervical mucus or discharge.
“I've seen patients become dilated about 3 or 4 centimeters without active labor,” says Williams. “They're usually in their late third trimesters.” On the flip side, it's also normal for the cervix not to be dilated at all before labor.
If a woman is performing self-massage, she may wish to place her fingertips just outside the areola, then massage inward toward the nipple. It is best to massage the nipple gently, in a rolling motion. Massaging one breast at a time to avoid overstimulation. Limiting the duration of the massage.
It is not uncommon for the cervical ripening to take up to 24-36 hours!! It is also not uncommon to use different techniques to ripen the cervix. You may feel contractions during this process. If the contractions become painful, you will be able to request medication to relieve your discomfort.
You might notice an increase in vaginal discharge that's clear, pink or slightly bloody. This might happen several days before labor begins or at the start of labor. However, if you have vaginal bleeding that is as heavy as a typical menstrual period, contact your health care provider immediately.
Some women, nevertheless, feel that the pressure and massage used to the feet and lower legs during a pedicure might help to induce contractions. Although there is no hard evidence that this approach works, several women swear by it!
However, massage of the tummy or breasts can cause contractions of the womb. If you notice strong contractions, stop that part of the massage. You may find that you are more sensitive to smells than usual.