How to bring on labour is a huge topic amongst many pregnant woman nearing the end of their 9 month pregnancy marathon. We have been through it all, sickness, cravings, mood swings, weight gain, stretch marks, uncomfort…. etc etc And now we just want it to be over! We want to hold our little baby in our arms safe and protected from the world by mummy. It is understandable why we are eager to bring on the inevitable labour when we are near the end, we worry about the baby growing too big, the longer it is inside, whether the Placenta can sustain the baby if it goes over 40 weeks and all other kind of worries – Just to reassure you, I went 9 days over with Thomas, he was perfectly fine, the placenta can sustain for at least 2 weeks over so there is no worry there, They usually induce you if you are more then 10 days past your due date anyway.

A couple of weeks before my due date, I started reading about the different methods on how to bring on labour. All the methods were not scientifically proven, yet they had worked for some women! Also I think when your near the end of your pregnancy your willing to try anything, if only to keep your mind occupied and keep you busy while you wait…and wait.

1. A Hot Bath
I took full advantage of this old wives tale to bring on labour! Apparently a hot bath will relax your muscles and help them to open up bringing on the labour process. I had a hot bath every night, with candles and relaxing music! I loved it, time on my own gave me chance to relax and think about things, I am so glad I took full advantage of my baths when I was pregnant as since having Thomas I am lucky if I get a bath, it’s usually a quick shower while he is asleep.

2. Raspberry Leaf Tea
I read that the natural ingredients within raspberry leaf tea will soften your cervix, although for this to occur you need to take raspberry leaf tea for a number of weeks. On the other hand It is important not to start drinking Raspberry leaf tea too early as it could bring on a miscarriage due to the softening of the cervix (It does say this on the Raspberry Leaf Tea packet). I took raspberry leaf tea from around 35 weeks although it had no effect. If you are not keen on the tea there are also the Raspberry Leaf  Tea capsules – Some people say the tea is better others disagree and say the capsules are best.

3. Sex
I did not enjoy this method of bringing on labour,  was huge! Felt really unattractive with my stretch marks and all my weight gain. Nevertheless I gave it a whirl, apparently semen has something in it that weakens the sack around the baby which will encourage your waters to break. Having sex late in your pregnancy can’t harm your baby as nothing goes near the baby. I also remember reading that a female orgasm can also help to bring on labour. This wives tale is meant to be the most true of them all as there is some scientific proof.

4. A Hot Curry
A hot curry is meant to bring on labour as they often make you need to go to the toilet, any form of diarrhoea or bowel movements will loosen you up down there, encouraging labour. Some people have a spoonful of Castor Oil to create the same effect, although I think castor oil can make you go to the toilet in the extreme, therefore it is highly Not recommended to try as it may cause some complications.

5. Squats
Any form of gentle exercise is said to help bring on labour as you are naturally aiding the baby to get into position, pushing it down into the birthing canal. I borrowed a large yoga ball and used this to sit on and bounce gently several times a day. I also did squats and plenty of walking, I am a strong believer that exercise during pregnancy is great for both mum and baby! When a mum to be is out of breath slightly through exercise she passes lots of positive hormones onto the baby which will make the baby feel good and give it a burst of energy. Squats help to get the baby into position and increases mums stamina ready for birth.

I tried all the methods named above in attempt to bring on labour, although they were all done in vain as my cheeky chappy decided not to turn around! He was quite happy to stay head up, it wasn’t until I was 8 days overdue the doctor realised I had a breached baby! You can read about my birth experiences here. In hindsight I should have sat back, relax and make the most of my final weeks of pregnancy as I have not had a chance to since Thomas was born! Plus no matter how many methods I tried to bring on labour nothing would have worked because I had a breached baby. I do agree though that it is important to keep your mind occupied at this important time, therefore trying a few of the methods cant hurt I suppose.

I often take Thomas to our local childrens center during the weekdays to take part in all kinds of fun activity sessions with other babies and parents. I really enjoy taking him to the activities sharing quality time together and seeing him interact with other babies on their own level. One of the activities we have recently shared together is Baby Babble – Baby Babble focuses on aiding the development of speech through song, play and story time. We also used simple sign language with the spoken word in order to encourage baby to communicate in a variety of ways while their speech is developing. The babies in the group were mesmerised by the stories, bubbles and fun we all enjoyed. I learned a lot from the baby babble sessions, I try to make time for our own little babble session every day at home, where I do a lot of the activities I learned at home with Thomas, we enjoy the quality time together.

One of the activities introduced to me at Baby Babble was Treasure Baskets – Treasure baskets are great for babies that are able to sit up but are not yet mobile. The concept of a treasure basket is to have a small, low wicker type basket filled with lots of exciting exploratory items for baby to rummage through touch, bang, study, or chew. All the items should be made from natural materials no plastics, so you could have – Loathers, nail brushes, spoons, metal soap dish, whisks, sponges etc. You can even pop a lemon in there, if you prick the lemon with a folk your baby will get a bitter surprise! Due to the items being hard it is important that your baby is supervised at all times when playing with their treasure box, and the items are regularly cleaned and inspected the first sign of damage they should be thrown away.

Treasure baskets should be brought out for supervised play, then put away until next time – This will also ensure baby doesn’t get bored of the items as they are not available all the time. Treasure baskets are fantastic at encouraging your babies hand eye coordination, their imaginations, speech development, play and much more.

I have been collecting various items to make a treasure basket for Thomas, he has only just started to sit up on his own for short periods this past week so I have made him a small treasure basket from a small square wicker basket I picked up from a pound shop. At the moment I have a whisk, Pastry brush, spoon, loather and sponge in our treasure basket – I soaked all the items in some Milton Sterilisation fluid and let them dry naturally before letting Thomas play with them. This morning I sat with him and acted as a support in case he toppled over, placed the treasure basket in front of him and watched him at first study the basket, touching the wicker, he then grabbed the whisk and put it straight to his mouth where he slobbered the item learning all about its touch. It was fantastic to see him exploring the treasure basket items! As he becomes more stable I plan to add more treasure items and buy a larger basket.

I hope you enjoyed reading my experiences with wicker baskets, if you have a little one who is sitting up but not yet mobile, why don’t you give it a try? I would definitely recommend it! Please feel free to leave a comment sharing your experiences if you do give it a go, I would love to read them and I am sure other mums thinking about starting a Treasure baskets would also love to.