Women have used castor oil to help induce labor, but it should only be used under the direction of your doctor. It can provide good results if you are already in early labor. It is believed to work by causing spasms in the intestines, which surround the uterus toward the end of pregnancy. These spasms, in turn, cause the uterus to cramp, which might result in labor. There has been much debate over whether taking castor oil to induce labor will cause the baby to have its first bowel movement in the womb before birth. This pre-birth bowel movement, called meconium, can be dangerous, because if baby inhales some of it it can cause pneumonia in the lungs. Meconium is also a widely-held signal that the baby is in some sort of distress. Most professionals with any experience with castor oil inductions agree that this is untrue. They have found that there is no increased occurrence of meconium in castor oil induced labors over spontaneous labors.

Personal experiences and information:

• When I was 37 weeks and had been in early labor for 2 weeks, I tried castor oil. Twice. It worked great for my friend but not so well for myself. All I did was throw up and have the runs....really, really badly. I think it all depends on your body, not how well others swear by it because your body can have a different reaction to chemicals and oils versus other people's bodies.

• You should always use Castor Oil only under the supervision of your midwife or doctor. It's also good to know that Castor Oil should be used only when your cervix is already well dilated (if not, use Maternity Acupressure method to help your cervix to dilate first!) Remember that Castor Oil is a strong laxative and you will be at the toilet a lot. Thus, drink enough fluids to prevent dehydration due to diarrhea.

• You can go into false labor, have horrible runs, and just get sick. You should make sure you are willing to deal with this if it doesn't promote labor.