One traditional way to bring on labour is to eat fresh pineapple. It's meant to boost the levels of prostaglandins in your body to get your cervix ready for the birth. Like all of our suggestions here, it may not work for you, but it's a pretty harmless option to try out!
Your midwife will probably tell you to keep active; bounce on a birthing ball or do lots of housework (you won't get the chance again for a while!). Long walks are regularly suggested. It could move your baby down into the right position.
Acupuncture (or acupressure if you are scared of needles) might work. If your baby is feeling very stubborn and still won't come out to meet you, then the acupuncture will hopefully have made you feel a bit calmer about the wait anyway!
Some people say that nipple stimulation might get your contractions going. It can release oxytoxin into your body, and this is the hormone that causes the womb to contract. Don't do this for too long though as it may stress your baby.
Others recommend raspberry leaf tea in the third trimester to get labour started on time. Raspberry leaves might have other benefits too - some studies have shown that drinking this tea leads to a shorter second stage of labour.
Curries or other spicy foods are supposed to slightly irritate your insides and stimulate your uterus into beginning their contractions. If you don't usually like them, don't force one down now, but if you do fancy a biryani tonight, it's worth a go!
Gentle sex might start your labour off; semen contains prostaglandins and your body will release oxytocin. However, you mustn't start snuggling up to your other half if you think your waters might have already broken as it could lead to infection.
Castor oil, sometimes mixed with orange juice, is another traditional remedy to kickstart contractions. It's basicaly meant to work by making you feel so sick from diarrhoea that your body panics and thinks 'get this baby out!' so, we really wouldn't recommend it!
If none of these options have worked by 41 weeks, your midwife will probably offer to perform a membrane sweep. It can be uncomfortable but it often gets things moving within 48 hours.
If you still don't go into labour, it can be induced by either breaking your waters, using pessaries, or a drip. Induced labours can be more painful as they tend to get more intense more quickly. Make sure you get the pain relief you need and try to focus on meeting your baby soon!
