Here's the word: I'm as ready to be a mom as our tireless crew of midwives is to not have me be pregnant, so tomorrow morning we're kicking the monkey out of my comfy-cozy womb. How? The old fashioned way: castor oil. Beginning at 4am I'll begin swallowing a total of 4 oz of the wretched stuff, which is all but guaranteed to kick-start labor. Tune in below for more (possibly too much) information:
FAQ:
Q: What's castor oil?
A: It's the oil of the castor bean. The plant is poisonous but the oil is not. This is one of the most old-school, tried and true methods of "natural" induction, used all over the world.
Q: How's it work?
A: Well, castor oil is also a laxative. My non-medical understanding is that it throws your guts, uterus, you name it, into overdrive. If a baby is fully cooked, this WILL start labor. If it doesn't get labor started, that's a pretty clear indication that the due date is off and the baby isn't done yet.
Q: Why 4:00am?
A: It's late enough that I have a prayer of having gotten enough sleep in case labor really gets going, but early enough that I likewise have a hope of going back to sleep before the party starts. This way we might also be spared being up all night in labor.
Q: Why not just do pitocin or cervadil or a c-section?
A: Seriously? You probably don't want to get me started, but if you really want to know, here are a couple of resources, or I'll be glad to have that conversation with you some other time:
Pushed, by Jennifer Block
The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth, by Goer and Wheeler
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2 comments:
Castor oil worked for my aunt recently. And 4:00 a.m. sounds like as good a time as any--that's when my water broke, and then Leo was born at 2:00p.m.! I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you!
so if William leaves early. He still has time to a big ride on Saturday, no?
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