Review of labour-inducing techniques

So how do you entice a baby into the world who seems happy enough to stay where they are thank you very much?

We are 41 weeks and 1 day so we’re getting desperate and will try most things. Here is a summary of tried and tested techniques although as you may have assumed, none of them have worked yet:

Pineapple – I’ve force-fed my wife several pineapples over the last few weeks. Apparently certain properties in a pineapple can cause ‘movements’ however you want to interpret that. My wife’s Thai aunty never touched the stuff believing pineapple to interfere with ‘monthly’ cycles and many women swear that it can bring on labour. I can vouch that fresh pineapple is certainly very tasty although plays havoc with the acid reflux which really didn’t need to be made any worse.

Curries – Referring back to the acid reflux problem, curries have been off the list. My wife tried a particularly hot Thai green curry the other day but without causing her to begin contractions. Again, a tasty treat but no baby.

A Sweep – This involves a midwife using a digit or two to ’sweep’ the cervix to try to prompt labour and encourage the necessary hormones to kick in.  It is a rather painful and unpleasant experience but not much about labour seems to be that pain-free. At one point the midwife exclaimed that she could feel fingers….both my wife and I both looked at each other thinking she was joking but she was indeed shaking hands with our daughter who had a hand up by her head. If ever impending fatherhood felt real it did then although I couldn’t help feel envy that it was neither my wife or I that was able to touch our daughter.

Acupuncture – To be fair the acupuncturist has only just left after our first session so probably too early to tell how effective it is. Certainly there must be something in manipulating pressure points around the body because the Chinese and many other cultures have been using it for centuries. My wife is now fast asleep so it has had an immediate effect and she could feel the baby move when the needles in her little toes were tweaked so our fingers are crossed that this will do it.

Hopefully the next post will be as a father.

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