Is it just my perception or are there more and more ladies going overdue these days? Over the last year I have treated many, many women who went past their due date and were booked in for a chemical induction in hospital but came to see me for a natural alternative.
In this article I’m going to explore what it really means to go ‘overdue’ & how herbs can assist you in achieving the birth experience you want.
What triggers labour? Should we just let nature take it’s course?
It still is unclear what causes labour to begin, there are several theories. One is that the mother’s pituitary gland secretes oxytocin when the baby is fully developed and ready to be born. (Oxytocin is the hormone that stimulates contractions.)
For many years, it was believed that the mother’s body was responsible for starting labour. Some researchers now believe, however, that the baby actually starts labour. The baby sends a signal to the mother’s body that causes labour to start. One theory is that the baby’s lungs secrete an enzyme when they are fully developed. This causes prostaglandins to be released into the mother’s system. The prostaglandins then triggers changes in the cervix and results in contractions.
Another theory is that the baby’s adrenal glands (the ‘stress’ glands that sit on top of the kidneys) send a signal to start labour. When the baby is ready to be born, the adrenal glands produce hormones. These hormones cause hormonal changes in the mother. These changes are then responsible for the process that starts labour.
If it’s actually the baby that signals that it’s ready to be born then should we force labour to start?
Even if you are genuinely post-dates, these are the chances of you going into labour naturally.
“of women at 40 weeks, 65% labour spontaneously within the next week. Of those at 10 days over their dates, 60% will enter spontaneous labour within the next 3 days.” Women’s Health site page on Prolonged Pregnancy.
Are you really ‘overdue’?
The chances are that you will not actually reach 42 weeks anyway, as when the true date of conception is known very few women actually go past 42 weeks. This is quite unusual. Many pregnancies which are thought to be “overdue” are just inaccurately dated.
Standard pregnancy dating based on your last period date (LMP) is only accurate if you have a 28-day cycle and you ovulated on day 14. If your cycles are sometimes longer than this then there is a good chance that your due date is actually later than the ’standard’ one.
One very thorough study of over 24,000 pregnant women in the UK who had dating scans which were compared with their LMP date, found that:
“Most pregnancies undergoing post-term medical induction are not post-term when assessed by ultrasound dates” Br J Obstet Gynaecol 1997 Jul;104(7):792-7
What if you really are ‘overdue’? Is it vital that I be induced?
The rate of stillbirths and neonatal deaths does rise as pregnancy becomes more and more prolonged as the placenta will start to deteriorate over this time. However, many of these deaths are due to congenital abnormalities, or occur in babies with intra-uterine growth restriction. It is not clear how much the death rate rises for normal babies who do not show any signs of being growth-restricted and are otherwise healthy. It can be alarming to hear that the death rate for pregnancies over 42 weeks doubles, but it is perhaps more informative to let people know the figures rather than the relative chance. Some sources suggest that the death rate for apparently normal babies, ie those without detected abnormalities, may rise from around 1 in 1,000 to 2 in 1,000, which although is double is not as high a rise as some women think. Taken from www.homebirth.org.uk
In our next article I will be talking about chemical inductions and also Herbal Induction Mixes.
A herbal induction mix requires a consultation and medicine is prescribed on the day for the patient to take away with them.
A 30 minute consultation is all that’s needed for patients that I’ve seen before and costs £30. For those patients that I haven’t seen before I would need 1hr and the cost for this is £40. The herbal induction mix is usually around £10.
Testimonial for the Herbal Induction Mix
“A bouncing baby girl model arrived to day at 01:36. 7lb12 or 3230g with all fingers and toes where they should be! She is called Nina Carole 
a massive thanks goes out to Jodie Foreman for the herbal tonic to move things along.” S. Spratley, Folkestone
(Quoted from Facebook with permission)
For more information and to discuss your needs further do contact us on 01303 760001.
Jodie Foreman
Medical Herbalist
Image: Clare Bloomfield / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Related posts:
- Herbal Induction of Labour – A Herbalist’s Perspective Part 2 Chemical Induction in Hospital The orthodox medications used to induce...
- Testimonial for Herbal Induction of Labour at Foreman & Jones Testimonial for the Herbal Induction Mix “A bouncing baby girl...
- Natural Pain Relief during Labour Over the years I have treated many patients to help...
- Pregnancy Workshop at Foreman and Jones Everything you need to know about natural labour, birth and...
- Help for Breastfeeding Mums in Folkestone Last week was Herbal Medicine Week which we combined with...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
Herbal Products
