Natural ways to bring on labour

PUBLISHED BY IS BABY COMING? · 26 OCTOBER 2026

This page is informational, not medical advice. Decisions about your pregnancy belong with your midwife or doctor. Every method below says what was tested, what the best current evidence found, the effect in plain numbers where reported, how strong the evidence is, and the safety cautions. None of the studies tested or validates any product brand.

Membrane sweep

A membrane sweep is done by a midwife or doctor, not at home. During a vaginal examination the clinician sweeps a finger around the cervix to separate the membranes from the lower uterus, which releases hormones that can encourage labour. In the UK, NICE guideline NG207 says clinicians should discuss membrane sweeping at antenatal visits after 39+0 weeks, obtain verbal consent first, and explain that pain, discomfort and vaginal bleeding are possible. It also asks them to check earlier scans for a low-lying placenta before a sweep.

The best synthesis is the 2020 Cochrane review (44 studies, 6,940 women, searches to February 2019; PMID 32103497). Compared with no treatment, sweeping made spontaneous labour more likely (average risk ratio 1.21, 95% CI 1.08 to 1.34; 17 studies) and made a formal medical induction less likely (average risk ratio 0.73, 95% CI 0.56 to 0.94; 16 studies). It made no clear difference to caesarean rates.

How good is the evidence? Low certainty for starting labour, graded down for study design and inconsistency, and moderate certainty that it does not change caesarean rates. It is the only method on this page offered routinely by a national guideline, and it is also the only one performed by a clinician.

Dates

Eating dates in the last weeks of pregnancy has been linked to more spontaneous labour starts and less need for induction, with weak-to-moderate certainty. The full evidence summary, including the 2024 review of 48 studies and the gestational diabetes caution, is on the 2026 research update page.

Nipple and breast stimulation

Stimulating the nipples releases oxytocin, the hormone that drives contractions, which is why the idea is plausible. The main evidence is a 2005 Cochrane review (6 trials, 719 women, searches to March 2004; PMID 16034897). After 72 hours, 62.7% of women using breast stimulation were still not in labour, compared with 93.6% with no intervention. The difference was not significant in women whose cervix was not yet ready (unfavourable).

How good is the evidence? Old and thin. The review has not been updated in over 20 years and the trials are small. Safety is the reason for caution. The trials comparing it with no intervention reported no uterine hyperstimulation, but three babies died in the stimulation groups (1.8% vs 0%). That difference was not statistically significant, and the numbers are too small to rule out harm, so the reviewers concluded it should not be used in high-risk pregnancies until its safety has been properly evaluated. Only try nipple stimulation if your midwife or doctor has agreed, and stop if contractions become very strong or very close together.

Sex

Semen contains prostaglandins, the same hormones used in medical induction, so the theory is reasonable. The trials do not back it. The 2001 Cochrane review found a single study of 28 women, too little to draw conclusions (PMID 11406072). Two later randomised trials found no effect: Tan 2007 (210 women; spontaneous labour 55.6% vs 52.0%; PMID 17906015) and Omar 2013 (1,150 women; induction rates 22.0% vs 20.8%; PMID 23145957).

How good is the evidence? Moderate for no meaningful effect, from one large and one medium trial. Both trials tested advice to have sex, and many women in the comparison groups had sex anyway, so they measure the effect of the advice. NICE lists sexual intercourse among the methods the evidence does not support for induction. Sex in late pregnancy is considered safe for most women, but avoid it if your waters have broken (infection risk), if you have placenta praevia or unexplained vaginal bleeding, and ask your midwife first if you have been told you are at risk of preterm labour.

Walking and staying active

Walking is one of the most repeated suggestions and has very little trial evidence behind it. One small randomised trial, Pereira 2022 (planned for 60 women per group; PMID 32223479), had low-risk women walk at 4 km/h for 30 minutes three times a week from 38 weeks. The walking group had fewer inductions (17.5% vs 33.3%, adjusted odds ratio 0.28) and fewer forceps or ventouse births (20.6% vs 38.1%). The authors concluded that walking encourages labour to start on its own, but the trial found no difference in the week of pregnancy at which spontaneous labour began. No problems were recorded during the walking sessions.

How good is the evidence? Weak. A single small trial is not enough to say walking brings labour forward, and the trial itself found no difference in when spontaneous labour started. Staying active in late pregnancy is safe for most low-risk pregnancies and worthwhile for general health; treat it as good practice rather than an induction method.

Castor oil

Castor oil is a strong laxative, and the resulting bowel stimulation is thought to trigger uterine contractions. The 2013 Cochrane review (3 trials, 233 women; PMID 23881775) found no evidence of a difference in caesarean or instrumental births, meconium in the waters or low Apgar scores, and the trials were too small to detect anything except very large effects. One finding was consistent: every woman who took castor oil felt nauseous.

How good is the evidence? Weak. Each of the three small trials used a single dose, and the reviewers said the results should be read with caution because of poor methodological quality. NICE lists castor oil among the methods the evidence does not support. Nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea can leave you dehydrated before labour even starts. Do not take castor oil without your midwife or doctor agreeing first, and do not treat it as a harmless home remedy.

Raspberry leaf tea and tablets

Raspberry leaf is traditionally taken from about 32 weeks to tone the uterus. The only controlled trial is old and small: Simpson 2001 (192 first-time mothers, tablets from 32 weeks; PMID 11370690). Raspberry leaf did not shorten the first stage of labour. The second stage was about 10 minutes shorter and there were fewer forceps births (19.3% vs 30.4%), but the authors described these as clinically rather than statistically significant and reported a lack of significant differences overall. The trial did not test whether raspberry leaf starts labour.

How good is the evidence? Weak. One 25-year-old trial with 192 women cannot carry the claims made for it, and no trial has tested raspberry leaf as a way to bring labour on. NICE lists herbal supplements among the methods the evidence does not support. The trial found no harms, but absence of reported harm in one small study is not proof of safety.

Acupuncture and acupressure

The 2017 Cochrane review (22 trials, 3,456 women, searches to November 2016; PMID 29036756) found no clear benefit of acupuncture or acupressure on caesarean rates or most other outcomes. Acupuncture showed some benefit on cervical readiness for labour, measured by Bishop score, in single trials.

How good is the evidence? Mixed. Compared with sham acupuncture, there is high-quality evidence of no clear difference in caesarean rates; other comparisons are lower quality, and many trials had a moderate risk of bias. It may ripen the cervix slightly; it has not been shown to start labour, and NICE lists acupuncture among the methods the evidence does not support. If you want to try it, use a practitioner experienced in pregnancy and tell your midwife.

Methods with no good evidence

Some popular suggestions have never been properly tested, or have evidence pointing the wrong way. The honest summary is that there is no good evidence for them, rather than proof they do nothing.

• Spicy food. No clinical trials have tested it. The theory is bowel irritation triggering contractions, the same idea as castor oil.
• Pineapple. No human trials. A 2016 laboratory study (PMID 27426506) found that fractions of a pineapple extract made strips of pregnant rat and human uterine muscle contract in the lab. That is a long way from showing that eating pineapple starts labour.
• Evening primrose oil. The evidence is inconsistent and there is a published safety concern. A 1999 retrospective study (108 women; PMID 10380450) found that oral evening primrose oil from 37 weeks did not shorten pregnancy or labour, and that it may be associated with more prolonged rupture of membranes, oxytocin use, stalled descent and ventouse births. A small 2024 trial of vaginal capsules (96 women; PMID 38377980) reported a better Bishop score, but one small single-centre trial does not settle the question. Ask your midwife or doctor before using it.
• Homeopathy. The 2003 Cochrane review (2 trials, 133 women; PMID 14583972) found insufficient evidence to recommend it, and NICE lists homeopathy among the methods the evidence does not support.

When medical induction is offered

Natural methods matter less as time passes, because the balance of risks shifts. NICE NG207 advises discussing induction from 41+0 weeks, because the risks of a pregnancy continuing, including stillbirth, increase beyond that point. In the US, ACOG's patient FAQ on labor induction lists a pregnancy lasting more than 41 to 42 weeks among the reasons for induction, and says elective induction should not happen before 39 weeks. The 2018 ARRIVE trial (6,106 low-risk first-time mothers; PMID 30089070) found that induction at 39 weeks lowered the caesarean rate (18.6% vs 22.2%) with no significant difference in the composite outcome for the baby (4.3% vs 5.4%). ACOG now says induction may be considered for healthy women at 39 weeks to reduce the chance of a caesarean.

The maternity care comparison page covers how the US, UK and Nordic countries differ on induction timing in more detail.

Getting ready, not bringing it on

A birthing ball and perineal massage are preparation and comfort measures, not induction methods: the ball evidence is about pain and positioning during labour, and the massage evidence is about reducing perineal injury. Neither has been shown to start labour. Dates are the exception above, with weak-to-moderate evidence for helping labour start spontaneously. The picks below are the region-aware versions of the products covered on the 2026 research update page.