![]() ![]() Therefore, if the uterus starts contracting the very night of a flavoursome lamb vindaloo with extra chilli, no-one can tell for certain whether it was all due to Mrs Patel’s superb cooking or it was just coincidence. The fact is that once pregnancies have reached 38 weeks gestation, the chances that labour will spontaneously kick in at any moment sharply rise over the ensuing weeks. I would like to head off a chorus of outrage that may be stirring in the hearts of many who have had positive experiences from these strategies. So, although safe, acupuncture lies beyond the realm of conventional medicine. Acupuncture and labourĪcupuncture depends on the existence of meridian lines and qi energy that can neither be seen, felt or detected in any way nor explained by conventional science. Whether or not I have uncovered a major scam, I do not think that raspberry leaf tea-as delectable as the brew may be-really helps women go into labour. My pet conspiracy theory is that raspberry leaf tea is the by-product of a cunning marketing strategy of yesteryear-its labour-inducing properties entirely made up to sell seriously underperforming tea. And it’s generally not a feature of anyone’s weekly grocery list. If you think about it, it’s a pretty niche tea (it’s not even the potentially delicious raspberry but the leaf). I have a theory as to why something as bizarre as raspberry leaf tea has wheedled its way onto the common list of strategies to start natural labour. Drinking raspberry leaf tea to induce labour Sadly, the study did not find sex kicked off labour. They persuaded highly obliging couples to be randomly allocated by the researchers to have regular sex or to abstain (which I am sure heavily pregnant women did not mind one bit). Interestingly, whether sex can precipitate natural labour was put to the test in a clinical trial by an adventurous Malaysian research team. But given both can be safely done during the long months of pregnancy without activating preterm labour (which is a good thing), it seems unlikely to me that these activities would suddenly acquire the superpower to trigger labour simply because women have reached term gestation. Presumably crude shaking physically jolts the uterus into action. I am not sure how more sex and vigorous walking is meant to set off labour. But I personally think it is unnecessary to set your tongue (and innards) ablaze by ordering the hottest available tikka masala. For those visiting an Indian restaurant while heavily pregnant, I hope you enjoy the meal. The theory behind this is probably similar to castor oil (set off the bowels. And perhaps keep the hair in a high ponytail. Sounds messy.įor those who still wish to give it a crack, go for it by all means but do keep a toilet handy. One account on the history of castor oil observed that it was freely prescribed from 1931 until 1948 to induce labour but fell out of favour “due to the side effects of violent diarrhoea, resulting in patient exhaustion”. ![]() I suspect the uterus doesn’t really care how gurgly and unsettled the bowels are. Sadly, although drinking straight castor oil will no doubt get the bowels really annoyed, I do not think it gets the uterus going. Somehow, whipping the bowels into a gaseous, gurgling frenzy is thought to persuade its quiet neighbour-the uterus-that it really ought to awake from its slumber and start contracting. The tenuous theory holds that for those who manage to scull the stuff (and keep it swallowed), the oil will incite hideous bowel symptoms-loose bowel motions, diarrhoea and vomiting. ![]() He responds to all the popular ways to bring on labour, including the “stretch and sweep”. Beyond 37 weeks pregnant and waiting? Pondering whether this will be the day? Professor Stephen Tong is one of Australia’s top professors of obstetrics and gynaecology. ![]()
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