Category: Hormones

Does Sex During Pregnancy Spur Labor?

February 9, 2010 | Filed under: Evening Primrose Oil, Hormones, Sex | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

I’m really into these ABC news stories. It’s not that they are incredibly factual (they really aren’t), but I guess I’m just happy that some truths are seeping into mainstream media. In this older ABC news article, they ask if sex during pregnancy can actually spur labor. Well, let me tell you how that all works:

Semen contains prostaglandins. Prostaglandins are the lovely hormones that help ripen the cervix. If you have sex, dad deposits the semen next to the cervix which helps it ripen. By ripen I mean start to become soft and thin (effacing) and dilating. It’s also helpful if you also have an orgasms because the oxytocin that is produced during orgasm also helps get labor going.

Now mind you – this all won’t happen until you and baby are ready to go into labor. So don’t worry about having sex or orgasms during pregnancy. You won’t make yourself go into labor too soon. You also won’t make yourself go into labor after your due date if you and baby aren’t really ready. Labor is really best started when it’s baby’s idea.

But what if you don’t feel like having sex and the idea of torturing yourself at 40 weeks with sex is the last thing you ever want to do – EVER! Well, starting at 36 weeks you can use Evening Primrose Oil on your cervix at night. These contains the precursors to progesterone and can help soften your cervix. Take the oil from a few capsules and run your cervix. You can also just slip a few capsules into your cervix at night. During your sleep that will melt away along with your cervix (hopefully). You can do this up until labor.

Continue reading »

Things That Can Suck About Being Pregnant

February 8, 2010 | Filed under: Flower Essences, Herbs, Hormones, PPD, Pelvic Floor Work, Pregnancy, Reiki | Tagged | Comments (0)
  • No one ever says you have to be happy. In fact, a lot of women suffer from depression during pregnancy. Of course, this is talked about even less that Postpartum Depression, but it does exist. Yes, you are excited about having a baby and looking forward to being a mom and all that goes with it. But you might also be sad. And that’s okay. You don’t always have to be happy and glowing. Get rest, keep eating, talk to someone and try homeopathy.
  • Being pregnant hurts. Your gums bleed. Your teeth feel loose. Your pelvis gets wonky and your back sore. Your feet swell and you can’t wear your rings anymore. This is all a normal part of being pregnant, but that doesn’t mean you just have to deal. Go see a chiropractor to help with your muscle and bone aches. Drink oatstraw tea to help with bleeding gums. Rest as much as possible. Take care of yourself and your baby. Get a massage and try Reiki.
  • Sex may not be fun anymore. As pregnancy advances you may hate the idea of having sex. And that’s okay as well. You don’t have to have sex. The other option is to try to get creative with positions that accommodate your growing belly. Keep in mind that you probably won’t be having sex for the first 6 weeks postpartum and sex now may help you relax a little. But in the end, this is your body and you know best how you feel.
  • We spend our whole adult lives trying not to pee in our pants and then we get pregnant and we sometimes pee in our pants. Relaxin is a hormone that helps get your body nice and stretchy and ready for labor. This hormone, along with the pressure of the baby and uterus and amniotic fluid sitting right on top of your bladder, may cause you to accidently pee a little. It’s okay, nothing is wrong with you. This may also happen postpartum. You can visit a practitioner who does pelvic floor work or a chiro to help you on with this one.
Continue reading »

Birth Poetry by Stephanie Elliott

December 23, 2008 | Filed under: Birth Poetry, Hormones | Tagged , | Comments (1)

This exaggerated hip swing, 
The rocking of my own cradle;
Relaxin relaxes my joints into soft sensual submission, 
Allowing me to open, open, open.

How did I get here?
Oxytocic orgasm, 
Estrogen and Progesterone, mounting, mounting, mounting,
Leaving me cry, cry, crying, over spilt milk. 

How did I know I was here? 
HCG whispered it in my ear
Two blue lines, in parallel
The tell tale sign, that every woman anticipates and fears.

Oxytocin awakes me at 2am, 
I feel the pulling
The downward force 
My body is moving
…without my permission.

Still, it says yes, and asks for more.
More oxytocin… more….
More pain, more force.

The hours go by…
I pace and dance 
With my relaxin hip swing.

I feel the baby drop down

                                                Down

                                                                Down.

Prostaglandins are massaging my cervix, 
Softer, thinner, 
Creating gentle passage for my child.

Down and through he slides…

Just when I think I can take no more, 
When I can do no more to birth my child.
Endorphin release…

Things get less sharp…
The sights, the sounds, the pain.
Suddenly it is just me 
And this child… Working together, a team.

Finally the time is coming
Rushes of oxytocin are overwhelming
I feel a rush of urgency and fear
Catecholomines.

Noradrenaline is telling me to get this baby out…

So I push… 
My heart pounds and I push….

                                                And I push…
And the child bursts forth, and lies before me…
Shakes its head and begins to scream.

I feel something come over me,
Something I never knew I could feel
Overwhelming love, intoxicating….

I hold my child on my chest,
He slowly bobs towards my breast.
I watch him with tears in my eyes. 
Prolactin and oxytocin bring me so close to my child.

These hormones have made me a mother today.

Continue reading »