Pineapple to help bring on labour

[MadamRose]

Ive heard that the enzymes in pineapple can help bring on labour?
Is this true or is this a myth?
Did you try it if so when a did it work?

I dont want to try it yet but would like some things to start using at 37 weeks as getting impacient

 

[Water Baby]

Its a myth as far as I know - my friend sent her then husband out to buy a pineapple when she had her first, she ate the whole thing and still - NOTHING!!

I heard expressing can start things off so was warned not to 'play' with my new pump. I said I might try that if I go over - don't know how true that one is tho.

And then there's always sex ;o) but that's how we got ourselves into all this LOL

 

[MadamRose]

Yes when i saw my midwife a few weeks ago she told me to start pressing my arolas when i got to 38 weeks for 5 mins on each side. I didnt get why to be honest maybe they do it as a natural way to help baby come?

Love that part

And then there's always sex ;o) but that's how we got ourselves into all this LOL

 

[Pyrrhic]

You have to eat about 8 whole pineapples in one sitting to get enough of the enzyme and even then it will probably just give you the runs

 

[Wispyshadow]

Not sure about the pineapple thing...never heard that one.
Nipple stimulation causes your body to release oxytocin that causes uterine contractions. I work in the NICU and have had a couple of premature babies from Mom getting a head start on pumping while still pregnant. If you pump it will stimulate contractions.

 

[Racheldigger]

I've also been told that the one about pineapple is a myth, but that nipple stimulation can work - you're activating the connection that makes your uterus shrink back to normal size when you breastfeed. I can also confirm that eating curry to bring on labour DOES NOT WORK: I ate nothing but curry for lunch and tea for two weeks before Rowan arrived a week overdue!

 

[QueSeraSera]

the pineapple thing is apparently somewhat true insofar as it does contain enzymes that promote the softening of the cervix, but like someone already said...you have to eat about 8 whole pineapples to have any effect at all. and youre gonna be sick by then. i live in hawaii where we get the most amzing fresh pineapple and it has been a craving of mine throughout this pregnancy. i take it as a snack most days to work, and i go through a medium sized pineapple about every 2-3 days. and i havent had anything happen from it (not that i was trying too..i just cant keep my hands off the stuff) so i dont think its that effective. ive also heard of spicy foods to bring on labour...apparently it can help because it stimulates the digestive tract. but, for me, i fear having a belly full of curry when i go into labour. so im sticking to the walking and bouncing methods

 

[KandyKinz]

I know one women who started eating pineapple on a friday evening when she was 37 weeks... She said she ate 12 pineapples over the weekend and went into labour Sunday night....

Who knows whether the pineapples had anything to do with it.... cause at term she was bound to go into labour at anytime anyways...

 

[MadamRose]

Not sure about the pineapple thing...never heard that one.
Nipple stimulation causes your body to release oxytocin that causes uterine contractions. I work in the NICU and have had a couple of premature babies from Mom getting a head start on pumping while still pregnant. If you pump it will stimulate contractions.

Im guessing this means its safe to get out to the pump when your a lot closer to your due date then?

 

[NeyNey]

I tried it, ate a whole pinapple over the course of a day....didn't work for me lol

 

[Mrs_N]

Pineapple contains an enzyme called bromelain which helps soften the cervix and so can act to help bring on labour.
However, you need to eat about 7-10 pineapples to get enough of the enzyme to do anything. Canned pineapple won't do anything either because the bromelain is destroyed by the canning process.

 

[Wispyshadow]

..........

 

[KandyKinz]

Not sure about the pineapple thing...never heard that one.
Nipple stimulation causes your body to release oxytocin that causes uterine contractions. I work in the NICU and have had a couple of premature babies from Mom getting a head start on pumping while still pregnant. If you pump it will stimulate contractions.

Im guessing this means its safe to get out to the pump when your a lot closer to your due date then?

Yes, if you are within a week of your due date I say break out the breast pump or just get some oil and massage your nipples. The pump will have a stronger effect but massage can stimulate contractions as well. Evening primrose oil can soften the cervix. Black and Blue Cohosh can also bring on labor...just be cautious with using herbs to stimulate labor. I just have to say in my own opinion...Stay Away from Castor Oil....can cause baby to pass meconium in utero and that is bad news and can cause major respiratory distress. Besides anything that causes you to have stomach cramps in order to rev up contractions is miserable.

There's no studies that actually show that castor oil increases the likelihood of mec so that observation is based solely on anecdotal experiences and it's really hard to draw conclusions based on that because most people only use castor oil when they are postdates and postdates significantly increases the chances of mec.

Anyways, I would consider castor oil as a reasonable option if your facing the possibility of medical induction. Even if you factor in a potential of an increase of mec with castor oil it is still the less of two evils when fetal and maternal wellbeing are put into perspective. But I would only use it as last resort... The explosive diarhea and vomiting certainly doesn't make for a fun labour!

 

[Wispyshadow]

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[bunnyg82]

My midwife said to me that the only thing that will work is

I tried absolutely everything and nothing worked, although I do think the helped soften my cervix, nothing brought on labour.

I decided that all of these things are probably just coincidence if labour comes on! xx

 

[teal]

The only thing too much fresh pineapple done for me was burn my mouth! xx

 

[Jem88]

I was reading the labour part of my "your pregnancy week by week" book which is great lol. and it said that having sex starts labour coz of the sperm but also orgasms and eating pineapple can start labour.

 

[delmeg10]

If you are contemplating DTD to go into labor, here's the deal. The sperm is what causes your cervix to soften and the orgasm is what releases the Oxytocin which is the natural form of Pitocin, causing contractions. So, if your cervix is already soft, having an orgasm is the only thing that will cause the contractions. If your cervix isn't soft, then after DTD, you should lay down for at least 10-15 minutes afterwards, to let the sperm ripen your cervix.

Good luck! Nothing has worked for me yet.

 

[Kte]

Before I found out I was pregnant I was eating lots of pineappe and drinking it too and thankfully it didn't do anything!!! I did stop just incase though after I found out. I think you would need an awful lot for anything to happen.

I didn't want to rush things but my OH did, he put chilli powder on my scrambled eggs once Didn't work either, tasted kind of nice though. DTD didn't work but I never tired pumping to set me off.

I was just active as much as possible for as long as possible, she came 1 week late but I was just glad I didn't have to have a sweep - my contractions started the day they had booked me in.

Hope your LO doesn't keep you waiting too long nearer the time

 

[rachael872211]

I heard of someone doing the curry thing.......she went into labor the next day but had diarrhea whilst giving birth.

Or it could have just been time to come, and eating the curry was just a mistake :-S