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Honeychild · 05-25-2005, 04:11 AM

Hi All

I thought you would all be the best people to ask this of.

I was speaking to my mum today and she said that when she went into labour, there was an old wives tale that it helped shorten or at least ease the child out of the birth canal more easily, by taking a tablespoon of castor oil straight.

She did this with all four pregnancies during 1st stage of labour.

Anyway, do any of you have any tips of what really made a difference or shortened the length of your labour?

bren7 · 05-25-2005, 05:15 AM

I would not take castor oil.

I have been through 4 full term birth deliveries, I have found once that you are in the hospital and they put you in the bed, that if I lay on my right side the labor went quicker. My DD the 1st was 8 hrs labor, my 2nd DS was 3 hrs, 3rd my DS 2 hrs 45 min, 4th my DS 1 hr 6 mins. With my 4th child I laid on my right side basically the whole labor.

I hope that helps

Spanish · 05-25-2005, 02:19 PM

I can't see that castor oil would help at all. Your stomach isn't connected to your uterus at all so it can't make any difference...unless it makes you feel so ill that you don't notice the labour pains!

Things I've heard to shorten labour are to keep active, standing up and walking about as gravity is then helping the baby to be born rather than you having to do all the pushing. Whether you can keep mobile is going to depend on whether you are restricted by monitors or epidurals etc.

I've also been told that the more relaxed you are the shorter the labour will be. This is because if you are relaxed the muscules in your uterus can work efficiently to push the baby out, but if you are tensed up the muscles don't get a good supply of oxygen and don't work as efficiently.

Perhaps I should just say that this is just stuff that I've read. This will be my first baby so I'm certainly not talking from any personal experience!!

Spanish

JenW67 · 05-26-2005, 04:57 PM

I wouldn't take caster oil. I don't know who it was but someone on here in the past 6 weeks talked about having taken casor oil and she ended up getting horrible diarrhea which really was a drain during delivery. She had horrible cramping and was dehydrated.

I would stay away from it at all costs.

-Jen

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