Using Castor Oil To Induce Labor - Another Mommy Blogger (2024)

Parenthood

Sierrah Schmidt / January 1, 2019

If you had asked me in my first trimester if I planned on using castor oil to induce labor I definitely would have told you no.

I thought, or at least hoped, that labor would come naturally when the time was right.

But barely pregnant, can still tie her own shoes Sierrah, and overweight hasn’t seen her feet in weeks, 12 days past her due date Sierrah were two completely different women.

I. Was. Done.

So done with being pregnant that I decided to try to induce labor with castor oil.

In this post I will tell you about my experience using castor oil for inducing labor and some other information about castor oil to help guide you in your decision making.

This post contains affiliate links. For more information, please read my disclosurehere.

Does using castor oil to induce labor work?

Yes and no.

I was 12 days past my due date. I took castor oil and went into labor 3 hours later. So it worked for me.

But that’s not the case with all pregnant women. It works for some and not for others.

What I have seen and heard are more success stories in women who are far past their due date than those who are not.

You absolutely should not take castor oil to induce labor unless you are full term.

In my opinion, take it or leave it, castor oil should only be used as a last resort.

From what I researched, more women had said inducing with castor oil was better than being induced with pitocin.

I took castor oil the night before I was going to be induced to avoid pitocin.

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How much castor oil should I take to induce labor?

I was nervous to take the castor oil because of everyone telling me that it tasted absolutely disgusting.

Call me crazy, but I really didn’t think it was that bad. It just left a greasy feeling in my mouth.

I was told of a few ways to take it but I went with the heated chicken broth recipe.

2 tbs Castor Oil

How long does castor oil take to induce labor?

There are very few studies done about using castor oil to induce labor.

Of the women who had success in the studies, most went into labor within 24 hours.

Like I mentioned before it worked for me after three hours.

I took it at 8pm, went to bed at 9pm and woke up at 11pm having a contraction.

I started timing them and they were two minutes apart!

It was my first pregnancy and from what I knew contractions don’t start out that close together so I thought I was doing something wrong.

We called the hospital and they told us to get there right away. I had Alexa 7.5 hours later.

Related Reading: What I Should Have Done Before Baby Arrived

Is castor oil dangerous for inducing labor?

From the few studies that have been done, castor oil was not found to be dangerous as long as the women were full term and ready.

You should talk with your doctor and get the okay from them before attempting using castor oil for inducing labor.

What are the side effects of using castor oil?

Some doctors will advise against castor oil because of the side effects.

They include:

Diarrhea

Nausea

Vomiting

In my personal experience I didn’t have any nausea or vomiting.

I did pass a little while giving birth (which is common whether you take castor oil or not) and had diarrhea the first time I used the bathroom after giving birth but it wasn’t that bad.

Castor oil has been effective in inducing labor for some women and not for others. Everyone has different experiences during pregnancy.

Castor oil may or may not work for you. Talk with your doctor and weigh the pros and cons.

Good luck mamas ❤️

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