Getting Real with Kira Hazledine
The third trimester of pregnancy is when time screeches to a halt. Even if your entire pregnancy has soared through each week, you hit the third trimester and you are shockingly aware of how pregnant you are. It can be tempting to induce your own labor through “natural” methods, and although some are encouraged, others are ridiculous. I know you’re tired mama, but these induction methods are unsafe for both you and baby.
Castor Oil
No. No. No. Do NOT drink castor oil. I thought that this method had already proved itself outdated, but it’s still popping up on my birth board as an option for impatient mothers. At no point in your pregnancy, even if you’re overdue, should you reach for the castor oil. Best case scenario, you’ll spend a lot of time shitting yourself and causing uncomfortable contractions. Worst case scenario, you could harm your baby and the distress could have fatal outcomes. It’s not worth it.
Running
I honestly didn’t know this was a thing people did in the third trimester. If you’re a marathon runner, maybe you can still hike it down the road at 9 months pregnant, which is amazing. Otherwise, you’ll really hurt yourself. Moderate walking is advised at every stage of pregnancy, but a baby isn’t just going to fall out because you’ve decided to go for a jog. You could put both you and baby in distress, so please don’t. Your balance is also crap, which means you could fall. Not smart.
Nipple Stimulation
This is really advised against in general, but there are circumstances in which it is doctor recommended. However, unless your doctor says “Yes, you should definitely spend your days tweaking your own nipples” just don’t. It can release hormones before your body is truly ready for birth, causing painful contractions that will get you nowhere. Don’t break out the breast pump early.
You didn’t sacrifice your body for 8 long months to screw it up in the final weeks. Don’t be that pregnant woman who induces labor before her child is ready. You’ve made it this far, so don’t give up quite yet. Just a few more weeks, or even days, and you could be holding your precious babe in your arms. No need to make pregnancy more complicated than it already is.
Even a hospital induction is connected with more medical interventions, some avoidable, some not. In most cases, your body knows what to do, so let it happen on its own terms.
