7 Action News Reporter Shelley Childers and Digital Reporter Alexandra Bahou were due to give birth last week, but both are still pregnant and wanting to meet their babies face to face!
Via Facebook Live, many viewers shared advice and old wives tales that helped trigger labor for them. After consulting with their doctors, Shelley and Alex were willing to try anything that might help get things moving.
Several women said they went into labor after using a riding lawnmower, that sounded unique enough that it just might work! So Alex and Shelley gave it a try. A big thank you to Billings Lawn Equipment in Royal Oak who loaned them one of their rider lawnmowers to take for a spin.
Both Alex and Shelley were told if they eat 6 dates a day, dilation and labor will take less time. They've been eating dates for weeks, we'll let you know if it makes a difference.
Many people mentioned acupressure as the key to naturally inducing labor.
Michigan Associates of Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine in West Bloomfield Hills specializes in working with women trying to get pregnant and during pregnancy. They have several acupuncture and acupressure treatments geared towards preparing different parts of the body for birth. Some say these treatments trigger labor, others say it makes the labor itself easier. All Shelley and Alex know so far, the treatments felt amazing.
They took a car ride over railroad tracks and a bumpy road, did squats, ate Thai Food, ate Doritos, drank pineapple juice, walked a lot, climbed stairs and danced! After all that, these amazing 'momma's to be' still had the energy to finish out the work day.
Andrea Stainbrook is a doula and the co-owner of Metro Detroit Doula Services. She warns that a common 'old wive's tale' that suggests drinking Castor Oil, is helpful for some, but can be dangerous to others. Shelley and Alex did not try that method.
Here are tips she says seem to work the best:
"The things that you do to get baby in, are the same things you can do to get baby out. Anything that releases oxytocin, the love hormone, from your brain. So things like making out, going out on a nice dinner date, having sex or intercourse will help ripen the cervix," says Stanbrook
"Red raspberry leaf tea is known to help tone the uterus," she says.
But could any of these things actually induce labor? And if so, is it safe?
"None of these things should technically send you into labor, it’s just if your body is ready that some of these things could help trigger it," she adds that you should always check with your doctor before trying anything. Every pregnancy is different and every woman is different.
"It's still kinda of one of those amazing life mysteries as to when baby sends the hormone to say 'OK! Let's do labor!', " says Stainbrook.
Alex and Shelley are hoping their baby girls send that hormone soon! We will keep you posted!
Here are tips to trigger labor from Facebook Live Viewers, if you have one to add, let us know:
Car ride on Bumpy road
Driving over railroad tracks
Dancing
Belly Dancing
Riding a lawn mower
Squats
Acupuncture
Acupressure
Foot rub
Bounce while sitting on an exercise ball
Clean the house
Warm bath
Laugh really hard
Drink pineapple juice
Drink raspberry leaf tea
Eat spicy foods
Eat White Castle
Walk up and down stairs
Walk a lot in general
Have sex
