Continuous contractions

[Kiliki]

Originally Posted by BeccaSueCongdon How much did you take? And how did you take it?

I am curious, too.

I actually HAVE heard of women having bad reactions like that, though it's pretty rare. I think if you have too much too fast, you CAN react badly.

[BeccaSueCongdon]

Yeah. The whole reason castor oil "works" to produce contractions is that it causes cramping, loose stools and vomiting. The increased activity on the digestive organs irritates the uterus and this, along with possible dehydration, contributes to contractions. If a woman's body was ready for labor then it *can* sometimes work to send one into labor. But I've heard clearly split anecdotal evidence of success stories as I have with adverse reactions that sound like this, or corrections that start strong and tire mom out before disappearing and then leave her exhausted for the rest of labor and end up requiring interventions.

I've never tried it myself.

Still curious how much you took and how, OP. And what influenced your decision to use it. :-)

[aemarques]

I took one and a half tablespoons after reading to take between one and three so I chose right in the middle. I just downed it straight and followed with water and a few crackers to get the taste out of my mouth. It was gross.

I took it at about 6pm and woke up the next morning at 330am with the immediate urge to go to the bathroom. I went and then contractions began immediately two minutes apart one minute long.

[BeccaSueCongdon]

Originally Posted by aemarques I took one and a half tablespoons after reading to take between one and three so I chose right in the middle. I just downed it straight and followed with water and a few crackers to get the taste out of my mouth. It was gross. I took it at about 6pm and woke up the next morning at 330am with the immediate urge to go to the bathroom. I went and then contractions began immediately two minutes apart one minute long.

Sounds like pretty standard recommendations from what I've read around message boards. I'm sorry to hear you had such a rough experience. I would really wager to bet that the contraction pattern you had was largely influenced by the castor oil.

What reasons did you have for wanting to take castor oil? Just curious. :-)

[aemarques]

DH work schedule is odd so if she had come the day after I took the castor oil (which she did) he would have 14 days off with us. If she would have come any day after he would have had anywhere between 4 and 8 days. We also had family coming in to stay with us till she came and to stay a while after. So I figured I'd take it just to see what would happen, knowing if my body wasn't ready I'd likely just maybe get diarrhea or nothing at all.
Now I know different and will never ever even think about taking it again. DD is only 11 weeks old but I'm already planning for future births

[BeccaSueCongdon]

Originally Posted by aemarques DH work schedule is odd so if she had come the day after I took the castor oil (which she did) he would have 14 days off with us. If she would have come any day after he would have had anywhere between 4 and 8 days. We also had family coming in to stay with us till she came and to stay a while after. So I figured I'd take it just to see what would happen, knowing if my body wasn't ready I'd likely just maybe get diarrhea or nothing at all. Now I know different and will never ever even think about taking it again. DD is only 11 weeks old but I'm already planning for future births

I was doing the same with mine. :-) I had a planned hospital induction that turned into a cs after complete dilation and 5 hours of pushing with no progress beyond a "0/+1" station, so technically maternal exhaustion with suspected Cephalopelvic Disproportion. But then my DD was born vbac and had the same head and trunk measurements.

:-)

[aemarques]

Hmm that's wierd. Have you ever come to a conclusion as to why that might have happened? Did you have an epidural while pushing before ending up with the csection?

[BeccaSueCongdon]

Originally Posted by aemarques Hmm that's wierd. Have you ever come to a conclusion as to why that might have happened? Did you have an epidural while pushing before ending up with the csection?

I think it was a combination of several factors, but mostly his presentation. I did have an epidural, but I had a nurse who was awesome during the pushing stage and had me up in a full squat with the squat bar and using all kinds of pushing positions. He was posterior and asynclytic, Which means his ear was tucked down to his shoulder and so the presenting diameter of his head was even wider than his actual head circumference bc of the super weird angle. I didn't get to try an all fours or upright position with him, and have wondered if that would have helped. That is the position I instinctively took with my DD, and my active labor with her was only 3 hours including transition and pushing. :-)

[BeccaSueCongdon]

Originally Posted by aemarques DH work schedule is odd so if she had come the day after I took the castor oil (which she did) he would have 14 days off with us. If she would have come any day after he would have had anywhere between 4 and 8 days. We also had family coming in to stay with us till she came and to stay a while after. So I figured I'd take it just to see what would happen, knowing if my body wasn't ready I'd likely just maybe get diarrhea or nothing at all. Now I know different and will never ever even think about taking it again. DD is only 11 weeks old but I'm already planning for future births

And I totally get timing an induction based on having your DH around. My induction with my DS was timed based on my mom being in town. But it backfired bc she had to fly back home while I was still in labor. :-p

[aemarques]

Wow that is an awesome nurse! I just can't wait to try again but with out the castor oil. I'm hoping for a much more "normal" pattern of contractions.

Even though it was intensely painful, it was the best part of being pregnant and I'm so excited to do it all over again!