If your due date is around the corner, you are probably looking for some way to induce labor and get the show on the road! You might be bloated, having trouble getting in a full breath, having difficulty sleeping and leaving every 5 minutes to head to the bathroom! It’s no picnic. It makes sense that you want to alleviate all of these discomforts by inducing labor and encouraging that baby to come out.

There are many remedies and natural ways to induce labor. It’s very important to relax. If you are stressed or have high adrenaline levels, this will not help you or your baby. Find ways to calm your mind and your body. A professional massage is an excellent way to manage stress during your pregnancy and can be quite helpful during labor. Once labor has started, your partner can massage your back or any place on your body that you feel needs attention.

Sexual intercourse is another way that is well-known for inducing labor. Semen contains natural prostaglandins – the hormone that helps to ripen the cervix. Sex is how the baby got there in the first place and sex may just be the thing to get the baby out.

You may find you’re not really “in the mood”. There are simple activities that you can do with your partner as part of normal foreplay. Nipple stimulation can be quite effective in inducing labor as it stimulates the release of oxytocin. Some women find that contractions start quite rapidly after the stimulation. If you have tried for over ½ hour, discontinue and perhaps, try later.

Vigorous walking is good for the mom-to-be and just might be the activity to get junior to come out and play. Walking up and down stairs is great exercise and puts pressure on the cervix. However, listen to your body and never overdo an activity.

Another wonderful natural remedy to induce labor is maternity acupressure. Acupressure has been around for millennia and has been used widely in the Far East. It is a simple technique that is gentle and pays high dividends. Maternity acupressure can be used throughout pregnancy to manage anxiety, stress and insomnia.

The method is similar to acupuncture but instead of needles, pressure from thumbs or fingers are applied to certain acupuncture points or meridians. In addition to fingers and thumbs, a person might use an elbow or various devices to assist in applying the pressure.

Acupressure is gaining momentum and acceptance as an effective and reliable method to induce labor. Midwives now use the method as one of their primary ways to induce labor with their patients. Mothers-to-be like it because it is gentle and safe and works with the body instead of against it. You can also use it for post-partum healing, too. As you go through many hormonal changes post-birth, your body could use the stimulation to gain equilibrium again.