evening primrose oil?

[gamergal]

I'm not really sure where to post this, but i have gotten such good advice from this forum in the past I thought I should try here. My apologies if its OT.

I'm 39 weeks, and my midwife suggested I use primrose oil to ripen my cervix.

Has anyone out there used it? How long does it take to work? Or does it even work? I'd be interested in any feedback or stories from anyone.

The thing is, I really do *not* want the baby to come this week. I think it would stink to have your bday be so close to Xmas. I mean, if she did come on her own, I'd be happy to see her, but I don't feel right using something to speed things along in a way that will make life a little harder for her down the line.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

[rebeccav]

EPO does not induce labour, it simply softens and ripens the cervix so when you do go into labour your cervix is ready and more favourable to effacing and dilating.

I used it starting at 37 weeks on the recommendation of my midwife, and the day before I went into labour I had an internal exam and she said my cervix was very ripe and ready. I took the EPO tablets internally, inserting them in the vagina at bedtime (although there was sometimes some leakage in the morning).

I was a doula for a client who also used EPO, and she had to be induced at 38 weeks, and her cervix was ripe and soft at the time of induction, I think, because of the EPO, which made her an "excellent candidate" for induction (her doc's words). She had a six hour labour, first time mom, so I think it helped.

Good luck with it, and make sure you follow the recommendations of your midwife if you decide to use it.

[Benny's Mom]

Hi...Posting on Christmas I am! We're Jewish so chinese food, the movies and storknet with my husband home are my joys for the holiday! I'd add my experience with Evening Primrose. I took it beginning at 36 weeks as my midwife instructed because to take it earlier will ripen the cervix too soon. Take any time after 36 weeks, it will not induce labor but only ripen the cervix so that it will be soft and ready for labor when contractions begin. I took it orally. It did soften my cervix and even if it doesn't work for you it will not cause your labor to start. I'd also add that evening primrose is also very healthy for you and the baby. It is omega-6 fatty acids.

[tera301]

I started taking Evening Primrose Oil a week before my due date , and baby still isn't here a week and one day AFTER my due date (it was Dec 18), in spite of being 2cm dilated, having a "soft and anterior cervix" having had two stretch and sweeps, 3 different homeopathic remedies my midwife recommended, bd, red raspberry leaf tea, and nipple stimulation! I was 3 days early with my first. The bottom line is that baby won't come until it is ready.

Tomorrow I am scheduled for an induction.

[January]

Thank you ladies, this was very helpful for me! I am a cronic overdue-er

14 days DS 1
10 days DS 2
??????? DChild 3

I will ask my midwife in my 36ish apt to see what she says. I do remember red rasberry tea and balsamic vinegar dressings from my previous midwife...

Thanks again!

[gamergal]

Thanks from me too!! Especially to Sorsha. I didn't know to take it with food, and the very last thing I want is yet more GI distress. You ladies are the best--you always have great advice for me.

I've begun the EPO orally. The midwife said either way was fine, and I am more comfortable with that. I am so glad it isn't going to induce me, but at the same time I am feeling worried about *everything*. I'd ask if that was normal, but I know that, for me, it is. I'm a control freak, and I can't control this at all. Talk about frustrating!

January--I can vouch for the raspberry tea. I don't know what it does, but it makes me feel better. And dh's friend's wife, who is a mw, swears by it. She said it is great for uterine health.

[January]

When can you safely start red rasberry tea? I remember my midwife telling me last preg that I couldn't start it until a certain week in preg. I'll ask at next visit of course, but does anyone know??

[hedra]

Do note that taken orally, EPO is associated with both shortened AND extended labors, as well as with problems with descent of the baby. It also has zero impact on the date of birth (overdue, early, on time). The range of birth dates relative to due dates is exactly the same with EPO as without. IF it works for you (and it does, for some), it will shorten labor. IF it does nothing, it will do nothing. And if it interferes, it will interfere. You don't know which you are, though.

I was part of the (so far ONLY) research study on its effectiveness at keeping labor from being overdue and affect on duration of labor (published in Midwifery Today, I think, back in 1998 or 1999?). My labor was an outlier (80 hours), but IIRC, what the curve did was flatten - instead of most people being in the middle, with a few very short and a few very long, more labors were shorter than average, and more than usual were longer than average, too.

Topical use (application directly on the cervix) has also not been studied clinically, but presumably has a more local effect, and is not associated with extended labors (so far as we know).

Just my word of caution. Have your m/w check out the article. It was preliminary (not definitive), but it is also worth noting the increased problems, so you are fully informed.