The artificial induction of labor in hospitals seems to be more common than ever these days. Many women view their due date as an expiration date on a gallon of milk and believe that if their labor has not started by their due date, something must be wrong. They believe that their body will not know when to start laboring.
My first three children came in their own time without augmention of labor and were born before my due date. My fourth child had other ideas. In telling the story of the birth of my son, I want to partner with the Lamaze Six Healthy Birth Practices to share my story of letting labor begin on its own — with a little help from mother nature.
Expectation of pre-due date labor
I had reached an all-time long length in my pregnancy, at 41 weeks and 1 day. The longest I had ever been pregnant before was 39 weeks and 4 days with my other children. I was very discouraged that I was still pregnant, and I was starting to be concerned for the baby’s health as I was nearly two weeks past the length of pregnancy I was used to. This was an unfounded fear of course (the normal range for a pregnancy is 37 to 42 weeks*), but tell that to a very pregnant woman!
Herbal Induction
I had been in slow-moving labor for about 13 hours. My doula (a birthing companion) and I discovered, during these not very helpful contractions, that my son was leaning out far in front of my pelvis. So she took a large ace bandage and a long strip from an old bed sheet and bound my belly tightly. The point of this was to get him to be in a more vertical position which would apply more pressure to my cervix during contractions.
My midwife came to my house and recommended some herbal induction techniques to get things moving, since the baby was already much later than with my other births and I was ready to try to help things along naturally. I drank piping hot super-strength red raspberry leaf tea (one ounce of tea to one pint of water) to help my contractions be more effective and an herbal tincture of blue and black cohosh to act as a natural labor inducer.
When it did not seem like the herbal induction was doing anything, I was really feeling at the end of my rope emotionally. I had a little pow-wow with my birth team around 11:30 p.m. I voiced my fear that the baby might suddenly pass away in the womb because he was getting to be so much later after my due date than I was used to.They reassured me that “late” was only in comparison and all signs were that he was fine. We talked about a plan for further induction help if the herbal induction didn’t work.
Natural Labor Induction Success
I tried to sleep after a few painful contractions that were spaced 10 to 15 minutes apart. My 2- year-old woke from a nightmare and was screaming for me, so I went to hold her and walk around in the basement with her. I guess the exertion plus that cathartic chat helped things along! Labor started around 2:30 a.m. I never really did get contractions any closer than 5 minutes apart or longer than 45 seconds, and largely, the first 4 hours were not terribly painful. I spent about the first 2 hours on a birthing ball (a fitness or exercise ball put to a great purpose!), hoping to open my cervix further by applying pressure to it with baby’s engaged head. Later, I coped with the contractions on my hands and knees in the birthing pool and rocked front to back. I was starting to feel as if I were on the clock and not producing a baby in enough time, but I quieted my heart and thanked God for each contraction that was bringing me closer to the baby being born, since I had felt so raw and desperate the night before.
Standing Up to Give Birth
After moving through 3 different birthing positions, my son was finally being born! His head was out, but the rest of him wasn’t coming. My midwife checked to see if his chin had come out, and it had not. That told her that his shoulders were stuck behind my pubic bone.
She asked me to stand up in the water to deliver him, and I was holding onto the side of the birthing pool. She knew that the standing position would provide a better and wider escape route for him! She stuck her fingers in and dislodged his shoulder with my next push, guiding him out and handing him to my husband. He was beautiful baby, of course. He had some bruising and swelling from how hard I was pushing, but everything worked itself out within a few days!
If you would like to read more about labor onset, labor induction, and natural labor, please visit Lamaze Healthy Birth Practice #1.
*American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. (2002). How your baby grows during pregnancy.
**This article shares the personal story of one pregnant women and is not intended to provide medical advice. Women are encouraged to work with their medical health care professionals during their pregnancy, labor and birthing experience.**
