Evening Primrose Oil to Prepare for Labor

(via)

(Disclaimer: I am NOT a doctor or in any way medically trained. Please consult your doctor before you try ANY method of inducing or helping labor!)

When I was pregnant with Lila and hit my due date, my midwife suggested I try Evening Primrose Oil to help my cervix soften and prepare for labor. I had never heard of Evening Primrose Oil, but trusted my midwife, so immediately after my appointment I went right to the store to find some. (I also did a little research of my own. A few informational sites here and here.) Evening Primrose Oil doesn't induce labor, but it does help to soften and ripen the cervix, which will help with dilation.

I followed my midwife's prescribed regimen, which is as follows:

Day 1: 3000 mg (6, 500-mg capsules taken at 6 different times during the day)

Day 2: 2500 mg (5, 500-mg capsules taken at 5 different times during the day)

Day 3: 2000 mg (4, 500-mg capsules taken at 4 different times during the day)

Day 4-baby comes: 1500 mg (3, 500-mg capsules taken at 3 different times during the day)

(Note: I started the capsules on a Friday night and went into labor Sunday night! I think the EPO capsules definitely helped with dilation)

I found my EPO caplets at Smith's (the Kroger store in my area); EPO capsules can also be found at health food stores and perhaps other grocery stores, as well.

Pregnancy Back Saver: Cat Cow Pose

I took Bradley Method classes when I was pregnant with Lila. (Side note: if you're in the Southern Utah area and interested in Bradley, call Trisha Baird. She's amazing. And she's not paying me to say this, I just like her that much.) In the very first class, you learn a few exercises that you're instructed to do two to three times every single day to help prepare your body for labor. At first, the multiple-times-every-day thing seemed a little excessive. But soon, I realized that the exercises--particularly the cat-cow or the "pelvic rock," as Bradley calls the exercise--were saving my back. I had major sciatic pain with Lila and found that when I neglected to do my daily cat-cow exercises, the sciatic pain was much worse.

I can't describe the cat-cow effectively in words, so here is a picture diagram of the stretch.

(via)

Fig 1 shows neutral position. Fig. 2 shows the "cow" position. Fig. 3 shows the "cat" position. And Fig. 4 goes back to neutral.

If pictures alone don't help, you can see a video of the stretch here.

I did the cat-cow three times a day, ten reps each time for the first few weeks, and gradually built to twenty reps each time I did the stretch. If my back was particularly sore during the day, I'd throw in an extra cat-cow session.

The cat-cow is a traditional yoga pose. I found that prenatal yoga really helped me during pregnancy, especially if I was particularly sore. Many areas offer prenatal yoga classes, but because I had the boys I didn't really have time to make it to an exercise class. I usually watched a program that was broadcast on TV and did the exercises right in my living room. If you'd like to do other prenatal yoga exercises, you can check out my favorite prenatal yoga exercise program here. This show has several fantastic yoga workouts, but includes other types of exercise, too (like aerobics and kickboxing). And, while the program is not prenatal only, there is almost always a pregnant woman showing how to modify the exercises for pregnancy.

My First Guest Post: Lila's Birth Story!

Reed and Asher were both born in hospitals. For various reasons, Ryan and I decided to use a birth center--The Birth Sweet in St. George, Utah--for Lila's birth. I'll write a post about why we made the decision later. We loved our experience at The Birth Sweet, so when my midwife, Cyndi, asked if I would write Lila's birth story for her to use on her blog, I immediately said yes. You can find Lila's birth story here if you'd like to read it!