orange juice castor oil drinkI'd heard the horror stories about castor oil inductions. About how sick it made you and how unpleasant it could make labor. I swore I'd never try it. Until I did...

With my midwife's permission and guidance, I attempted to induce myself using castor oil at 39 weeks pregnant. We knew the baby was already at least 9 pounds and I was hugely uncomfortable. I'd already tried other, less icky, induction methods, and I was at the end of my rope and ready to try almost anything. 

Castor oil is a laxative. It causes cramps in the intestines. If all goes well, labor is stimulated when these cramps move to the uterus. Basically it gets things moving (and gets you moving to the bathroom as a consequence).

There are different recipes for how to take castor oil. I found that its taste wasn't nearly as unpleasant as the texture. It's a thick, thick oily substance and hard to swallow. I mixed mine with orange juice and lots of ice. Other women make milkshakes with it. But honestly, it doesn't matter what you do to try to disguise it, castor oil is just plain disgusting.

After gagging my OJ mixture down, I waited for what was to come. And then I waited some more. You're supposed to feel sick in about 2 hours, but I felt nothing until 6 hours later. The sickness came, but didn't bring a baby with it.

My castor oil induction was a failure in all ways except one. It did change my attitude. I went from "Get this baby out of here NOW!!!" to "It'd be very nice if the baby came out soon, but I'll wait until he's ready". I was calmer after I tried it and willing to wait and let nature take its course - I'd done all I could do. He was finally ready 2 weeks later - all 11 pounds, 2 ounces of him.

Would you or have you tried a castor oil induction? Did it work?

Please remember that this is just my personal experience. Be sure to consult your own doctor or midwife before trying castor oil or any other induction method.