Is it true that food can trigger contractions so that you give birth quickly?

Have you ever heard that food is said to be a natural induction for rapid childbirth? They say, there are foods that can help make childbirth easier, you know!

Before trying it, mothers need to find out the facts about food to speed up the birth of a baby. Find out more information here, let's!

Is it true that there are foods that can stimulate rapid childbirth?

Approaching the D-day of delivery, usually pregnant women have provided preparation for delivery so that they are not surprised when they experience contractions as a sign of childbirth.

However, on the grounds that it is easy to give birth normally, there are pregnant women who consume certain foods and drinks that are considered natural induction.

This is because certain foods and drinks are thought to trigger labor contractions.

Launching from the Mayo Clinic page, the purpose of labor induction is to encourage uterine contractions to appear before childbirth arrives.

Induction of labor is generally given by doctors with medical drugs depending on the condition of the mother.

The reason for induction of childbirth is usually because the water has broken, but labor has not yet arrived.

Other causes of labor induction can also be because the placenta has separated from the uterine wall before giving birth (placental abruption).

Pregnant women who have certain medical conditions, such as kidney disease, diabetes, and obesity, can also get labor induction.

The next question is, is it true that food and drink can be a natural induction to give birth quickly?

The following foods and drinks are considered to help speed up normal labor:

1. Dates

Dates are said to be food to give birth quickly as well as a trigger or support for contractions.

This is confirmed in research from the Jordan University of Science and Technology published Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

According to the study, women who regularly eat dates during late pregnancy are reported to have had a smoother normal delivery process.

Dates produce the hormone oxytocin which functions to stimulate uterine contractions and facilitate labor.

During childbirth, weak contractions will usually be given additional oxytocin through a needle to re-strengthen the uterine contractions.

In this study, the group of pregnant women who ate dates at the end of pregnancy required lower oxytocin than the group who did not regularly eat dates.

Although eating dates in the last few weeks before childbirth can bring benefits for later delivery, these results are not significant enough.

Yes, the benefits of dates as a natural induction food so that labor quickly gives birth still cannot match the work of medical labor induction.

2. Castor oil

A study published in the journal Maternal-Fetal and Neonatal Medicine discusses the use of castor oil for natural induction.

Pregnant women who drink castor oil or castor oiltend to experience more rapid contractions and go into labor within the next 24 hours.

Unfortunately, until now there are no specific rules on how much castor oil should be consumed as a natural induction method to give birth quickly.

If not done carefully, drinking too much castor oil can actually trigger stronger contractions.

Instead of having a beneficial effect, blood flow to the baby actually decreases.

As a result, the baby in the womb is deprived of oxygen and it can be fatal if not treated quickly.

Not only that, the infrequent use of the oil can also cause irregular and painful contractions.

This of course can make mothers and babies become stressed so they experience fatigue and dehydration.

It also causes your baby to experience meconium or first baby feces mixed with amniotic fluid, before giving birth.

This condition is at risk of causing health problems after the baby is born.

In short, castor oil can actually be used as a drink or mixed with contraction foods so that you can give birth quickly.

However, make sure you talk to your doctor about how much castor oil is safe so you don't overdo it.

What foods have not been proven to speed up the birth of a baby?

Meanwhile, foods that have not been proven to be able to work so that mothers give birth quickly, namely:

1. Spicy food

Spicy food generally makes the stomach hurt and heartburn so it is believed to stimulate labor contractions.

Spicy food is also suspected to cause the body to release prostaglandin hormones through the digestive process to trigger contractions in the uterus.

However, the theory that spicy food can speed up birth is actually incorrect.

Until now, there is no relationship between the food stored in the stomach with the work of the uterine muscles to contract.

The assumption that spicy food is a way to quickly give birth may start from a suggestion. Some people can experience stomach cramps after eating spicy foods that are often seen as an early sign of contractions.

In fact, stomach cramps are caused by a buildup of gas from the symptoms of stomach ulcers and stomach acid reflux.

These two things are common problems for people who eat spicy foods, especially if their stomachs are sensitive.

2. Pineapple fruit

The assumption that pineapple fruit is used as food to give birth quickly is actually wrong.

As you probably already know, pineapple contains the enzyme bromelain which is useful for breaking down protein.

This enzyme content of bromelain also often makes the tongue tingle and causes mouth sores when eating pineapple.

Reportedly, the enzyme bromelain in pineapple can flow into the cervix (cervix), causing tissue to become damaged.

The tissue damage is considered to be able to make the cervix soften so that it stimulates labor.

Unfortunately, there is not sufficiently strong evidence to support this theory.

When the pineapple enters the body, the bromelain enzyme is no longer active in the stomach and only part of it can be absorbed by the body.

Ask your doctor before eating food so that you can give birth quickly

In fact, so far it has not been proven true that natural labor induction, including food for rapid delivery, can beat the work of medical induction.

It is not impossible that food eaten with the aim of making it easy to give birth normally can actually be harmful to the health of both mother and baby.

This may be because the mother did not consult a doctor before eating certain foods.

In fact, excessive intake of certain foods in order to give birth quickly can also be a risk to the health of the mother and baby.

So, it would be better to ask questions and consult a doctor before eating food in order to give birth quickly.

This is because every pregnant woman who is about to give birth has different conditions with different treatments.

In fact, the type of delivery for each pregnant woman will also be different.

Take for example there are normal delivery methods, caesarean section, gentle births, water births, and hypnobirthing.

Medical labor induction provided by doctors is not intended for all pregnant women.

Usually, medical labor induction is not given to women who have had a cesarean section with a vertical incision from the navel to the pubic bone.

Pregnant women with the position of the baby's bottom in the womb in the birth canal are also not possible to be given medical labor induction.

In essence, doctors will of course still review whether the mother really needs medical labor induction as well as considering her condition.

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