If you are confident that your baby’s due date is accurate and the length of the pregnancy matches your other pregnancies you can ask for more Doppler scans to assess the efficiency of the placenta.
There are some non-medical techniques that some people believe help to encourage natural labour. They include eating foods, such as pineapple or spicy foods. There’s very little evidence to suggest these will actually induce labour. Raspberry leaf tea has been documented to make the uterus contract more effectively, but it’s not proven to induce labour.
Making love with your partner or having them stimulate your clitoris or nipples may help as the prostaglandins in semen can help ripen your cervix and the stimulation will boost oxytocin levels which will help with contractions.
We would recommend you talk to your birth team if you are going overdue, and get their advice.
If you decide you’re happy for intervention to get your labour started, your midwife will probably initially suggest a cervical “sweep”.
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If the sweep doesn’t work, medical induction will be suggested.
Alternatives include:
This is a naturally occurring hormone which triggers the softening of the cervix. It is delivered in gel, pessary or tablet form, by a midwife in the hospital. You then need to go home (if you are low risk and there are no concerns regarding your or your baby after the prostaglandin is inserted) and wait. If after gel or tablet your labour hasn’t started within 6 hours, you’ll be asked to return for another dose. 3 doses is the most you can have. If you have the pessary, you’ll be asked to return after 24 hours. If your cervix was already starting to soften, a prostaglandin induction can start labour within 24 hours.
The balloon rubs against and stretches the cervix causing it to produce a hormone called prostaglandin. The prostaglandin causes the cervix to become shorter and soften (ripening). This prepares the cervix for labour and allows your midwife or doctor to break your waters.
If prostaglandin doesn’t work for you, you might then be offered membrane rupture.
This technique is also known as ARM or the artificial rupture of membranes, and amniotomy. The midwife breaks your waters to get labour started. This happens in the hospital since there is a risk of infection.
Women generally go into labour within 24 hours of membrane rupture.
Your body produces oxytocin naturally when your baby’s head starts pressing down on your cervix – and this triggers labour.
This is another option if prostaglandin hasn’t worked and is the most common form of labour induction in the UK. It is usually given through an intravenous drip.
If none of these work, you will probably be offered a C-section, but you will be involved in any decision making.
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