Castor oil is a very potent and
old-fashioned way to get labor started.
 
 
My name is Greta Gill I'm a Certified
Nurse Midwife. Castor oil can be found in
the laxative section at your natural
food grocer or in that section at a
commercial pharmacy. Castor oil is
odorless and colorless and doesn't have
any kind of flavor although it's very
thick, thick like motor oil thick and
what you do is buy a four ounce bottle
and to get labor going you're gonna have
to drink the whole thing. Sometimes
you'll find it's easier to start by
mixing it with a smoothie or mixing it
with juice. Some women cook with it.
For example, scrambled eggs or they'll put it on a salad instead of olive oil but
however you plan to take it the first
dose is two ounces and after that you
can expect to have some stomach cramping
and some belly irritation followed by
frequent bowel movements including
diarrhea. To really get labor going you
have to drink the other two ounces in
the bottle four hours after the first
dose and when you drink that second you
will have more diarrhea, more cramping,
which eventually you will notice is
turning into labor contractions. Feeling
a little bit different a little bit more
rhythmic and definitely having a
beginning and end. If you do choose to
drink castor oil, again I don't recommend
it prior to 39 weeks of pregnancy and I
don't recommend it if you know that your
cervix is closed or firm or otherwise
not ready for labor because if you drink
the castor oil you will have frequent
bowel movements and diarrhea and not go
into labor and it can be quite
uncomfortable. If you do the castor oil
regimen to start labor I always
recommend that you do it first thing in
the morning.
Never in the afternoon and Never in the
evening. You don't want to start this
process without having a full night's
sleep. The other thing that's really
important is that you are replacing the
fluids that you will lose by having
those frequent bowel movements. So having
some electrolyte drinks, some water or
other kinds of fluids that are appealing
is very important to make sure that you
are replenishing what you're losing in
the process.
