Natural Ways to Stop and Prevent Pre-term Labour/Labor

Pre-term labour is defined as labour which begins earlier than 37 weeks of gestation.  If you are reading this, then I’m guessing that you’re already experiencing some contractions earlier than what’s considered “normal” and that you know the benefits of keeping your baby inside as long as you can.

But what if it feels like your uterus has other ideas… well there are a number of natural ways that you can encourage your uterus to relax and  calm down.

This post is meant to offer you some alternative therapies.  I hope these ideas will help keep your little one inside where he/she can grow best.

Rest and Relaxation – First off the best thing you can do is relax and take it easy.  Relaxation in cases of pre-term labour are associated with calming the uterus down and stopping or weakening the contractions (or surges as I like to call them).

Very likely your doctor or midwife will take you off work.  This does not mean that you are now free to work at home.  REST is what is required by your body to help grow your baby.  So if you have other small children – get help for childcare or keep them in their dayhome or daycare. At home, spend time RESTING rather than “getting stuff done”.  Your most important job right now is to grow your baby.  Make sure your family knows this, so they can support you.

Baths – Taking baths is also a really effective way to get your uterus to calm down when it starts to become active.  This is especially helpful if you notice an increase in the frequency or intensity of the surges.  Whenever this happens (often in the evenings) draw yourself a nice relaxing warm bath.  Often this will be enough to settle things down.  Remember to keep the water at body temperature (36 degrees Celsius)

Relaxation CD – A recording with a guided relaxation can be wonderful to help you become deeply relaxed.  If  you are already doing hypnobirthing, keep listening to the CD but increase the frequency – twice or three times each day rather than just once a day.  If you don’t have access to a CD – please email me or call (306) 502-5477 and I will be happy to get one to you.

Visualization Practice – Your mind and your body are intimately connected.  You can create physical change in the body by changing thoughts and feelings in your mind.  Often when women are diagnosed with pre-term labour they simply accept that their baby will come early.  When in fact – this is only a possibility.  It is also a possibility that you will carry your baby to term.   So why not focus on the positive outcome and put your mind’s energy in that direction.

Beautiful blue satin ribbons can be used to represent the internal muscles of the uterus which run in concentric horizontal circles around the cervix up toward the top of the uterus.  Typically in labour you visualize these muscles swirling up and out of the way.  In the case of pre-term labour – you visualize the opposite happening.  Keep the ribbons/muscles tight and secure holding baby in place.   Visualize your beautiful beautiful blue ribbons, instead of them being loose and soft, imagine instead that they are neatly and securely tied in bow, hammocking and protecting baby and keeping the cervix closed, until they are required to open.

If you are familiar to hypnobirthing, use the control valve – but change it so that the control valve controls the surges and the uterus.  Imagine a dial like the control knob on your stove, move the dial over from surges being high/medium or low – to off.   Some days  you might have to “check in” with your subconscious mind and make sure the surge control valve is still set to off.  If you experience a day with more surges (contractions), then check in – and if you find the valve has moved over to the on position – create a “hold button” – so that the surges stay off.  I have worked with many women who were able to hold off their labour using this technique.  The power of our own minds never ceases to amaze me!

Affirmations – Be attentive to your own self-talk.  Watch if you have unconsciously adopted beliefs such as “My baby is coming early”.   Change those to affirmations or statements of belief which help to keep baby in, rather than acerbate the problem.  Write affirmations pertinent to your situtation such as… “My uterus is calm and quiet.” “My baby is growing and maturing to be ready for life outside my womb.” “Staying calm and relaxed helps my body to keep my baby safely inside.” You’ll think of many others.  Repeat these affirmations to yourself continually.

Diet – What you eat affects your baby.  Calcium especially is supposed to help prevent preterm labor.  So eat food rich in Calcium. Nettle leaf herbal tea is a good source and safe for pregnancy.  The daily amount recommended is 1500mg of calcium and 750mg of magnesium daily for this purpose, as an aside magnesium sulfate is sometimes used in hospitals to stop labor.  Colonization of the vagina by certain bacteria can also increase the chances of pre-term labour, so re-establishing good bacterial flora is a good idea.  Natural yogurt is a good source as are probiotics.   Eating a diet rich in vitamin C seems to help keep the bag of water intact longer.  So eating an orange a day is a good routine to get into.  Re-examining your diet to make sure you are meeting all of your nutritional needs is a good idea.  Stay away from inflammation increasing foods such as refined sugars, polyunsaturated vegetable oils (such as safflower, soy, sunflower, and corn oil) and processed meats.  Eats lots and lots of fruits and veggies.  They reduce inflammation which has been link to preterm labour.  Increase your consumption of omegas from safe fish.  No tuna ladies; it’s got too much mercury.   Remember to drink plenty of water–eight 8oz glasses a day. Be sure to take your prenatal vitamins.

A Glass of Wine – I know this seems crazy since you have hopefully been abstaining from alcohol during your pregnancy.  However these days many doctors and midwives advocate the use of alcohol to forestall labor. Studies have shown that a glass of wine can relax the muscles enough to lower activity in the uterus. This small amount of alcohol late in the pregnancy will not harm your baby. Stay off your feet and relax as much as possible afterward.  And as always, it’s always best to check with your care provider first.

Homeopathic Remedies – There are a number of homeopathic remedies which are said to help in this situation.  Most traditionally trained doctors won’t know what to make of these remedies and will often dismiss them offhand.  That however doesn’t mean they aren’t effective.  In fact I have know many women to took them remedies in conjunction with the above techniques and held off labour until term.   They are safe for pregnancy – but it is a good idea to take them in the dosages recommended by someone trained in homeopathic medicine.  Ask around in your area for a good naturopathic or homeopathic doctor.  If you live in my area (Regina, Saskatchewan) contact me directly I will point you in the right direction.   Some remedies to ask about are Black Haw tincture, Valerian root, a herb that promotes healthy sleep, Wild Yam capsules (which also discourage contractions) and  Crampbark. Flaxseed Oil is not difficult to come across and is believed to be helpful, too.  As mentioned above – PLEASE PLEASE take these remedies under the supervision of a care provider.

Polar Bear Position – Spend time (a lot of time) in the polar bear position – see picture to the right. This will take pressure off your cervix. I personally know a woman who had early surges and cervical change and her cervix actually closed again due to the polar bear position.  (There is a picture of this position in the Hypnobirthing textbook near the back about page 260 at the end of the section on birth positions.)  It’s a position that moves baby closer to your lungs and away from the cervix.  Spend some time (15 minutes x 4 times a day)  in this position every day.

Avoiding Oxytocin and Prostaglandin – These are two of the major hormones responsible for labour.  Your midwife or doctor may have already recommended that you limit your release of these hormones.  You can do this by using a condom during sex, since semen contains prostaglandins, the chemicals which soften the cervix and lead to contractions.  Also avoid breast or nipple stimulation and having an orgasm, all of which release oxytocin – the hormone which initiates contractions.

Finally I want to state that pre-term labour is a serious issue.  Please make sure that you are getting the medical help and support that you need.   My deep hope is that care providers will begin to use natural methods to stop pre-labour in conjunction with their typical treatment protocals.  Remember the more ways that you come at this, the more likely you are to change your health for the better.

If you begin to suddenly experiencing strong pre-term labour, do not try to self-treat.  The March of Dimes urges:

Call your health care provider or go to the hospital right away if you think you are having preterm labor. The signs of preterm labor include:

• Contractions (your abdomen tightens like a fist) every 10 minutes or more often
• Change in vaginal discharge (leaking fluid or bleeding from your vagina)
• Pelvic pressure—the feeling that your baby is pushing down
• Low, dull backache
• Cramps that feel like your period
• Abdominal cramps with or without diarrhea

(Source: Preterm Labor and Birth: A Serious Pregnancy Complication)

Once you are getting medical care, add in the above-listed natural ways which are appropriate for you.

And may your birthing day be blessed!

Marie

ps. If you have any stories or tips to share please do so by responding to this post.