by Carol Swift

Created on: November 02, 2009

Many pregnant women, as they get closer to their expected due date, start looking for ways to induce labor. After 41 weeks of pregnancy it's been a good job and you have many choices available to mothers in that situation.

You can choose from two various ways to induce labor - let your doctor do it, or do it on your own.

Most medical ways to induce labor include "stripping" or with drugs. The most common drug is called pitocin, and is often the one used by hospitals to start inducing labor.

For those women looking for home based ways to induce labor, there are many different options.

Before discussing the various ways to induce labour, remember if your baby is not at a late enough term, labor induction is often not a good idea. For instance, trying to induce labor before 38 weeks is not recommended.

Popular Ways to Induce Labor Yourself

Stay Relaxed - Staying stressed out is very hard on a pregnant woman's body. If you keep this extra stress - even if it's just working too hard - you might be preventing your baby from coming out. Whatever you can do that will encourage relaxation can lead to a more stable environment and keep you focused.

Physical Movement - Sometimes labor will not start if the baby is not descended into the proper pre-birth position. In some cases, simply doing light physical activity like jogging or swimming is enough to get your baby to descend.

Food Remedies - Many women swear that eating a spicy plate of Mexican or Thai food induced labor. Other research suggests that various enzymes in pineapples or mangoes lead to the ripening of your cervix. This can bring on labor. For those who like to eat, this is one of the fun ways to induce labor!

Use Acupressure - Similar to acupuncture (but easier!), acupressure is the stimulation of specific pressure points on your body. It's a long-standing Chinese practice, and recent medical studies prove it often induces labor. Acupressure can be done at home.

Nipple Stimulation - As mentioned before, when doctors learn how to start labor, they frequently use a drug called pitocin because it often begins contractions in pregnant women. What they don't tell you though is that pitocin is just a synthetic version of the hormone oxytocin - a hormone your body makes daily. To cause the release of this hormone into your body, many women rub their nipples. This can often bring on elevated levels of oxytocin in your body which can induce labor.

Just a friendly reminder: If you have problems or think something is seriously wrong, please talk to your doctor or midwife about your concerns.

Those are the primary ways to induce labor at home. If you want simple and safe ways to get your contractions going, I recommend these.

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