How to Induce Labor when You Are Pregnant

Did you know that 70% of all babies born are born late? If you are a woman (or in my case, a man who has had to deal with an extended third trimester), then you know how frustrating it can be to want to, as my wife put it so eloquently, go on and get it over with. In this article, I plan to talk about how to go into labor quickly and the different methods available for mothers-to-be who simply want to "get it over with".

Go into labor with medical induction- This is the most common common way to induce labor and was actually the way my first child was born. Medical induction is typically done within a time frame and is usually a scheduled labor.

There are typically two different drugs that are administered and both use IV drips and are gels...

Pitocin

Oxytocin

There are upsides and downsides to a medical induction. The upside, of course, is that you will know (in a round about kind of way) that your labor is about to begin and it will be done in a controlled environment.

The downside is that a typical medical induction will also increase the chances of other medical interventions such as a c-section if the labor induction is unsuccessful or an epidural (which my wife didn't want to use but mid-labor reconsidered due to pain.)

There are other ways to induce labor other than a medical induction though. Here are some natural ways to induce labor at home.

Walking can induce labor- Believe it or not, gravity does play a part in inducing labor and doing something like walking around the block could actually induce labor. In fact, any light exercise should help you go into labor.

Sex can help with labor induction- Probably the best way to induce labor, hands down, is the old fashioned way...through sex. The reason why sex works so well is in large part due to a chemical found in semen that helps to soften the cervix; softening the cervix is critical to the onset of labor.

Labor Acupressure- Labor acupressure is another way to not only help induce labor but make the experience during labor more pleasant.. This deals with certain pressure points found on the body that are supposed to release chemicals to help with induction as well as chemicals that will help relieve the pain of child birthing.

And there you have it....one conventional way of inducing labor and 3 unconventional ways that will make the process of child birthing a little easier than you would think. If you want the easiest route to knowing how to go into labor, my advice is to first try sex as it is the way us humans have been doing since the beginning of time though.