To increase successful labor induction, stay active (walking), manage stress with relaxation/breathing, try nipple stimulation or sex (if waters intact), use acupressure/acupuncture if advised, and work with the medical process by staying present and mobile during hospital induction, focusing on oxytocin flow through comfort and connection.
Remember what your goal is and why you're having this induction, but remain flexible and make the most of whatever situation you're in during the process. Keeping these in mind will help when making your decisions and will keep you moving towards your goal.
In the NHS context, choice of induction method is typically between prostaglandins and oxytocin combined with artificial rupture of membranes.
Getting up and moving around may help speed dilation by increasing blood flow. In a 2022 study , researchers reported that walking for half an hour at a moderate pace (2.5 miles per hour) three times a week from week 38 of pregnancy may help induce labor.
Several factors are considered as predictors of induction failure such as Bishop's score < 6, nulliparity, gestational age < 41 weeks, maternal age > 30 years, pregnancy complicated by preeclampsia, premature rupture of membranes (PROM), isolated oligohydramnios, gestational diabetes, and hypertension [3–5].
Nonpharmacologic Cervical Ripening
Walking and exercise often make it to the top of the list of things to try. While there's no research that says it will induce labor, 30 minutes of moderate exercise at least five times a week can be helpful in any stage of pregnancy.
There is no strong evidence that induction of labour with intravenous oxytocin in the evening is more or less effective than induction in the morning. Consideration may be given to start induction of labour with oxytocin in the evening when indicated.
Your provider may recommend inducing labor if: Your pregnancy lasts longer than 41 to 42 weeks. After 42 weeks, the placenta may not work as well as it did earlier in pregnancy. The placenta grows in your uterus (womb) and supplies your baby with food and oxygen through the umbilical cord.
When a woman and her fetus are healthy, induction should not be done before 39 weeks. Babies born at or after 39 weeks have the best chance at healthy outcomes compared with babies born before 39 weeks. When the health of a woman or her fetus is at risk, induction before 39 weeks may be recommended.
Things to Remember
Please do not shave or wax your abdomen, thighs, or the area around your vagina for at least one week before your induction of labor. Take a shower with an antibacterial soap such as Dial and wear freshly laundered clothes.
Amniotomy: Your healthcare provider inserts a small, plastic hook through your cervix to break your amniotic sac. Your cervix needs to be partially dilated and effaced for this procedure. This isn't painful.
Staying in bed isn't likely to delay early labor and delivery, and it could lead to health concerns. When you're pregnant, being told to stay in bed for a few days or a few weeks might seem like just the welcome break you need.
"I wish I'd known about the intensity of induced contractions. Mine came one on top of another, with no 'rest' period as there is with natural contractions to let me catch my breath." "If you want an epidural, ask for it early on, preferably before you have the drip.
How to Make Your Water Break
Meals to Eat Before Labor Induction
What is the Golden Hour? The Golden Hour is a special period of skin-to-skin contact between a birthing parent and newborn for the first hour (or two) after birth. During the Golden Hour, we keep interruptions, including exams and measurements, to a minimum to make the skin-to-skin contact as continuous as possible.
The "5-5-5 rule" in a labor/postpartum context is a guideline for new mothers to prioritize rest and recovery in the first 15 days after childbirth, suggesting 5 days in bed, followed by 5 days on the bed (minimal movement), and then 5 days near the bed (gentle movement around the home). This promotes healing, bonding, and reduces stress, though it's a flexible guide, not a strict mandate, with some experts suggesting early movement can help prevent blood clots, making a modified approach ideal.
Climbing stairs also opens your pelvis, putting pressure on the cervix and helping put the baby in the correct position for delivery. The evidence on whether exercise puts you into labor is mixed. Anecdotally, exercise can be an effective natural induction method.
Squats open the pelvis and can encourage baby to put added pressure on the cervix, which helps with dilation. It's important to have good support when in a squatted position during labor, and to keep your feet as parallel as possible instead of in a "V" shape.
While your cervix is dilating, you may also feel backache or abdominal pain similar to menstrual cramps. You also might feel sudden shooting pains in the vaginal area, called "lightning crotch." Lightning crotch is caused by pressure on nerves in the pelvic area.
Some of the signs of cervical effacement may include:
1 centimeter fits one finger tightly. 2 centimeters fits one finger loosely. 3 centimeters fits 2 fingers tightly. 4 centimeters is 2 loose fingers.
Things you'll want to get done before you go into labour