{"id":279,"date":"2025-06-05T14:51:48","date_gmt":"2025-06-05T14:51:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mississaugaoffice.com\/?p=279"},"modified":"2025-06-20T09:41:31","modified_gmt":"2025-06-20T09:41:31","slug":"six-methods-people-claim-will-induce-labour-rated-by-a-midwife","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mississaugaoffice.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/05\/six-methods-people-claim-will-induce-labour-rated-by-a-midwife\/","title":{"rendered":"Six methods people claim will induce labour, rated by a midwife"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Meghan tried to twerk her baby out (Picture: Backgrid\/PA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Meghan Markle<\/a> tried to twerk her baby out \u2014 and she might be onto something.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To mark Princess Lilibet\u2019s fourth birthday, the Duchess of Sussex shared a never-before-seen video<\/a> from the maternity ward, filmed before her daughter was born. <\/p>\n

The clip, which some are calling cringeworthy<\/a>, showed Meghan throwing it back to Baby Momma Dance by Starrkeisha, with Prince Harry<\/a> bopping alongside. Just your average royal birth preparation. <\/p>\n

She captioned the video: \u2018Both of our children were a week past their due dates.. so when spicy food, all that walking and acupuncture didn\u2019t work \u2014 there was only one thing left to do.\u2019<\/p>\n

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<strong>Metro <\/strong>asked Lesley Bland, lead midwife for education at My Expert Midwife, to share her thoughts on the most popular labour-inducing tricks \u2014 and how effective they are out of five.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Dancing: 5\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Turns out Meghan\u2019s dancing wasn’t so random after all. \u2018If you are going to try anything, try a little boogie, shimmy, or a wiggle,\u2019 says Lesley. <\/p>\n<p>The midwife explains dancing \u2014 or similar exercise \u2014 can encourage the baby\u2019s head to descend through the pelvis, which in turn puts pressure onto the cervix, which can start uterine contractions.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>However, she adds: \u2018As always, there is no guarantee that your Lambada or Salsa will induce labour, but you might have fun doing it, which will release that incredible hormone of love, oxytocin, which in itself is associated with labour.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Lesley advises giving it a try. \u2018At best, your labour will kick in; at worst, you’ll have fun!<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Walking: 4\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Lesley says this is another method of encouraging labour that she can get on board with. \u2018Adopting an upright mobile position can help to get the baby\u2019s head down into the pelvis, which puts pressure onto the cervix and kickstarts early labour.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>She says gentle walking three to four times a week, and curb walking (where one foot is on the curb and one on the road) have been recommended. <\/p>\n<p>\u2018Exercise in general can have positive effects on labour and recovery in the postnatal period,\u2019 she adds. While it\u2019s not guaranteed to induce labour, she suggests trying it to boost your mental health and general well-being too.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"728\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"article-image wp-image-23325391 lazyload\" alt=\"Caption: Happy birthday to our beautiful girl! Four years ago today she came into our lives - and each day is brighter and better because of it. Thanks to all of those sending love and celebrating her special day! (Picture: @meghan\/Instagram) Provider: @meghan\/Instagram\" loading=\"lazy\" data-src=\"https:\/\/mississaugaoffice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/SEI_254234446-0803-e1749021520558.jpg\">\t<\/div><figcaption>Meghan posted the video to Instagram, alongside other posts of Lilibet (Picture: @meghan\/Instagram)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Having sex: 3\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>This is a commonly suggested way to induce labour, but is there any truth to it? Lesley says: \u2018There have been some trials looking at sexual intercourse to induce labour, but the results are very spurious, and the conclusions are uncertain. <\/p>\n<p>\u2018We know sperm contains prostaglandins, which are hormone-like substances that are used in the induction of labour to make the cervix more favourable.\u2019 She adds that sex can also release the love hormone, oxytocin, which is associated with labour.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Is there any harm in trying it? Lesley says: \u2018Some women find having sex at the end of the pregnancy really uncomfortable, while others enjoy the intimacy it brings with their partner before the sleepless nights.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>She adds that sex should always be avoided if you have a low-lying placenta, have experienced any vaginal bleeding or have an amniotic water shave broken. If you have been advised not to for any other reason by your healthcare team, you should also abstain.<\/p>\n<div class=\"factbox\" data-ico=\"factbox_article\" data-track-module=\"factbox_article\">\n<h2 class=\"factbox-title\">\n\t\t\t\tMake sure to check with your midwife before testing \t\t\t<\/h2>\n<div class=\"factbox-content\">\n<p>Becca Mascarenhas, Midwife at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hcahealthcare.co.uk\/locations\/hospitals\/the-portland-hospital\">The Portland Hospital <\/a>(part of HCA Healthcare), tells Metro: \u2018Expectant mums are often keen to try natural ways to bring on labour, but it\u2019s important to know which methods are based on evidence, and which ones are more of a myth. <\/p>\n<p>‘It\u2019s also important to speak to your midwife before trying any labour-inducing techniques.\u00a0Every woman and every pregnancy is different, so personalised advice is key.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I would also add that we only ever recommend any of these techniques from 37 weeks pregnant to reduce the risk of pre-term labour.\u2019<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Eating spicy food: 1\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Lesley says: \u2018This one has done the rounds for years, and, to be honest, is probably one of the ones that I would be encouraging women not to try.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Spicy food can cause a degree of irritation to the gastro system, which is more likely to cause diarrhoea than induce labour, according to Lesley. <\/p>\n<p>\u2018If you enjoy spicy food, then there is no reason not to have it if you really fancy it, but as a midwife, I wouldn\u2019t be using it as a means of inducing labour.\u2019<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Eating prunes:\u00a01\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Some suggest eating prunes for the same reason as eating spicy food. <\/p>\n<p>Lesly says: \u2018It\u2019s more likely to give you loose bowels than induce labour, but if you fancy some then go for it.\u2019<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Drinking raspberry leaf tea: 2\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Drinking raspberry leaf tea has been shared far and wide on social media as a natural remedy to induce labour. However, Lesley advises against it. <\/p>\n<p>She explains: \u2018Raspberry leaf tea helps to strengthen the smooth uterine muscle wall, which means that when contractions do start, they are more effective and efficient, helping labour to progress well.’<\/p>\n<p>So, the fruity tea gets an extra point for helping during labour, but as Lesley says: ‘There is no evidence to support the theory that drinking it will actually induce labour, and as a midwife, I would not recommend this for that purpose.\u2019<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Castor Oil: 0\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Lesley explains that the method of drinking castor oil was used in the past as an alternative method for inducing labour, even during the 20th Century.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>She says: \u2018As a registered midwife, I would strongly recommend not even giving it a go. <\/p>\n<p>‘There has been some evidence that suggests castor oil can cause some uterine contractions, but if we are being honest about it, the effects are more likely to be an upset stomach and diarrhoea, nausea and vomiting than induction of labour.\u2019<\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Do you have a story to share?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Get in touch by emailing <a href=\"mailto:MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk\">MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Meghan tried to twerk her baby out (Picture: Backgrid\/PA) Meghan Markle tried to twerk her baby out \u2014 and she might be onto something.\u00a0 To mark Princess Lilibet\u2019s fourth birthday, the Duchess of Sussex shared a never-before-seen video from the maternity ward, filmed before her daughter was born. The clip, which some are calling cringeworthy,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":281,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-279","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mississaugaoffice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mississaugaoffice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mississaugaoffice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mississaugaoffice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mississaugaoffice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=279"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/mississaugaoffice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":284,"href":"https:\/\/mississaugaoffice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279\/revisions\/284"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mississaugaoffice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mississaugaoffice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mississaugaoffice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mississaugaoffice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}