Preparing for labour.

I took 5W with the gremlins, don't know if it helped but it didn't do any harm - I had a 6 hour induced labour with both babies delivered naturally which was a lot faster/easier than my first birth, but then I didn't take anything at all with #4 and she flew out in under two hours so it could have just been coincidence with the gremlins.

Supazo

I used EPO in my last pregnancy and my labour was 1 hr 45 mins, I went from 5cm to 10 cm in 15 mins. My other 5 pregnancies I didn't use anything and they lasted from 3 hrs right up to 32 hrs.
I've just brought my EPO for this time and you can get 180 1000mg capsules for $15 from Pav N Sav and I really don't think that it really makes a difference what brand they are.

Oh and trust me , they are not uncomfortable to insert, easier than a tampon and you don't feel them at all.

Roksana wrote: I wanted to feel it...as you dont go thru this every day,

yeah ..and thank GOD for that! i wanted drugs, oh my i was screaming for them ....but left it too long , ah well , i lived, and at least i know if need be i can do it again without drugs ....yyyaaayyy....

joyceeeeeeeee wrote: Motherof6 You mean you instead of swollen EPO, inserting it to your under....?

I use it both ways..I take 3 a day and I also insert 1 at bedtime. lol

I drank raspberry leaf tea with my last pregnancy. Not sure if it helped, but it sure stained my teeth. Had to go to the dentist at 39weeks to get them cleaned!


This time around I will take 5w as I have heard good things about it.

Off topic a little, but I would highly recommend that you visit a osteopath or chiropracter in your last month of pregnancy to make sure your pelvis is correctly aligned and the gap is as big as it can be.


Edited by *Lou*

I saw an osteopath right through my pregnancy, mostly because it was ACC follow-up from a fall and ongoing problems I had after my m/c last year. I think it made a huge diff, so would definitely recommend it.

I took 5W and raspberry leaf tea from about 39wks. My aunt swore by them as she only took them with her fourth baby and though all her kids were overdue, her fourth was the easiest delivery by a long way.

I don't think it sped up delivery for me, as I ended up 3 days overdue and had a long labour. But I will definitely take them next time, as my labour/birth experience was entirely positive with no tearing etc. which I was delighted about!

Oh, and while I was in the early stages of labour my mw recommended some of the ingredients that were in the pre-birth spray, so DH picked some up for me. Chances are it made a diff and sped things up slightly from that point on, but it is hard to tell. As an aside - definitely have rescue remedy on hand for labour and birth! I also used it at times during the first few days after delivery as I was quite shaky, probably because of my tiredness due to the length of my labour more than anything else.

I had one cup of raspberry leaf tea and one evening primrose capsule and my waters broke the following morning (37weeks4days). So in hindsight perhaps I should have avoided such things lol.... well at least until after my due date.

Another excellent book is "Ina Mays Guide to Childbirth", which is about natural birth. Half of the book helps you to mentally prepare for labour, with excellent tips on dealing with pain, and the other half is devoted to birth stories (very inspirational). I'm usually a bit of a control freak, but reading this book helped me to realise that during labour your body takes over from your mind and does its job - it knows what to do. Trust that and go with the flow .

I started taking EPO orally, 3 capsules daily from 38 weeks onwards and DD was born 6 days later. I had a fast, easy labour (6 hours from start of contractions to DD's arrival) and was back at home 4 hours after DD's birth

Can't say that it was the EPO which contributed to the easy labour, but I'll take it again with #2 just in case!

I'm no earth mumma and was completely open to having drugs and an epidural if I felt I needed it but found I coped so much better than I thought I would and only used gas. Key factors for me were staying at home for as long as possible - by the time I got to hospital I was 9cm dilated, and breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth through contractions - it worked surprisingly well.

I drank raspberry leaf tea, and took EPO orally and "down below" and my labour went for 3 days! I was only 2 days overdue when I went into labour though, and the long labour was because bubs was facing the wrong way so it took ages for everything to dilate. Thank God for drugs, is all I can say.

I think that distracting yourself from "wanting" to go into labour around the time you are due, is a good idea... have stuff planned to do, rest up with books and movies etc.

And prepare your mind... when you go into labour, just think to yourself that soon you will be holding your baby. Even if the labour goes for 3 days, like mine, it is still only 3 days of your entire life, and it really is worth it.

sweetpea, Chloe was face presentation... they offered a c-section but I wanted to stick it out so she ended up being a forceps baby.