Nipple stimulation

Breast (nipple) stimulation is an evidence based option to help induce spontaneous labor!

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How does it work?
Massaging the nipples release oxytocin hormone. Oxytocin is responsible to initiate the labor! If you can boost the oxytocin, you may have a fast-track lane to labor!

How does it look like?
Pick your way (partner, breast pump, yourself)
Stimulate one breast at a time
Limit constant stimulation to 5 minute intervals and wait 15 minutes in between
Make a pause during contractions and continue in between
Stop nipple stimulation once your contractions are 5 minutes apart and the strength is increasing

Don’t try it until week 39 cause it’s honestly & truly effective way!
P.S. Stalled labor? Give it a try, too!

What the research says?

“It is a natural method that requires no cost and tool, and it can be performed at any time and place depending on a pregnant woman’s own initiative.
In the systematic review analysis of 6 trials consisting of 719 women by Kavanagh et al. involving a comparison of the effect of breast stimulation with no intervention, they found a significantly low number of women who were NOT in labor at 72 hours after the stimulation (62.7% vs 93.6%; relative risk, 0.67; 95% confidence interval, 0.60 to 0.74). <…> The minimum breast stimulation time to induce spontaneous labor was reported to be 1 hour each day for 3 days.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5813971/

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