Tips and myths to induce labor

Many mothers will recognize this: the moment that due date comes into sight, you suddenly become restless. For months you have been looking forward to this moment, maybe even thought a couple of times that the little one would really come earlier, and now it feels a bit like waiting for a ticking time bomb. But when it goes off, no one knows. Let me help you out of the dream: only five percent of babies are born on the due date. born, so don't hold on to this too much. Research shows that the average pregnancy duration for a first child is 41.3 weeks. If you keep this in mind instead of those 40 weeks, it can only be a pleasant surprise.

You would like to have a bit of control over this, and so you start searching like crazy for ways to somewhat induce labor. I also googled all the lists: eating pineapple or drinking tonic seems to stimulate the uterus, which can kickstart labor. The same principle can happen when you experience an orgasm, but whether you really feel like that in the last week... A nice pregnancy massage helps you relax well, so you feel mentally and physically ready for labor. And drinking a large cup of raspberry leaf tea every day seems to strengthen and relax your uterine muscles, so you get strong contractions and labor goes more smoothly. But I wouldn't place hope on an earlier due date with the above list. I started acupuncture a month before my due date. For someone with a huge phobia of needles, that's quite a challenge, I can tell you. It was supposed to prepare your body for labor and even ensure that the whole process goes more smoothly. Now Otis was born a day before the due date, which is quite neat for a first, so perhaps those needles genuinely helped a bit. In hindsight, I was glad that the little man didn't want to come even earlier, as we were still up to our necks in the renovation of our rooftop terrace half a day before. Final conclusion: I truly believe that the little one only comes when the mama in question is completely ready, so avoid ridiculous renovations, moves, or other stressful activities in the last weeks. But somehow it seems like almost all pregnant women want to schedule such a big event ‘just quickly’ before labor.