I Heard You Could Use A Midwife Brew Recipe To Induce Labor?

When I was pregnant for the first time, I was really impatient to meet my little one. The bummer was I surpassed my due date.

I was willing to try any technique to induce my labor and bring my child into the world. While searching for different methods to induce labor, I go to know about many different techniques like exercise, sex, and acupuncture. That is when I came across a cocktail known as the midwife’s brew recipe.

If you’re a mom to be like me or planning your baby soon or even want to help your peers by learning more about this famous labor-inducing drink, here’s the basic knowledge you need to know.

According to my knowledge, the midwives’ brew was supposed to induce labor within 48hrs. However, you should only take midwife’s brew once to induce labor, not more than that. What you need to do is eat 2 hours before drinking the midwife’s brew, to ensure that you have an empty stomach.

You must be wondering…

Midwife Brew Recipe? What Is It?

We’ve heard enough of the word “midwife brew” but what that actually is?

Beginning with the “recipe” itself. The midwife brew is simply a cocktail including the ingredients such as almond butter, apricot juice, castor oil, and lemon verbena tea.

Now, what happens when you drink the midwives’ brew recipe?

Midwives brew is a popular labor-inducing drink that helps in cervical ripening. In this the cervix of the pregnant woman starts to dilate, soften, and becomes thin, this helps the fetus to come out of the mother easily. This recipe and its ingredients tend to cause uterine contractions and induce labor. Since this is a natural labor induction technique to bring your contractions, some women swear by it, and it even has been recommended by doctors as well as midwives and naturalists.

This well-known labor-inducing beverage is also referred to as the “German labor cocktail” or “Castor oil cocktail.” Several ladies rave about it.

So, how does it do its magic and how do we actually make one?

Is Midwife Brew For You?

You should assume midwives brew safe to take if you have had a normal pregnancy meaning without any complications and are at full-term pregnancy.

Midwives’ brew recipes should only be considered when you’ve crossed your due date since this drink tends to induce full-on labor. However, this is recommended only under the supervision of your doctor, your labor and delivery nurse, or your practitioner. Drinking midwives brew can result in a number of side effects like:

1. Nausea, the strong smell and taste of the brew can make a person nauseous.
2. Dehydration, one of the ingredients used in midwives’ brew is castor oil which may lead to dehydration.
3. Cramping, as it helps in spams and contractions, it can cause cramping in pregnant females.
4. Non-labor-related contractions, midwives brew can lead to painful contractions that have little to no relation with labor.

If you experience any of these complications after drinking midwives brew then you should consult a medical professional immediately. Women who have had a cesarean delivery in the past should never use castor oil while pregnant, this is because pf the fact that castor oil can cause uterine contractions which may be not safe for you.

Does The Midwife Brew Actually Work?

To date, there is no scientific evidence that proves the effectiveness of midwife brew, though online many women have shared their respective success stories and have expressed their trust in midwife brew recipes for naturally inducing labor.

Before opting for a midwife brew as a way to induce labor naturally you should be well aware of the side effects to avoid any unwanted panic. Midwife brew recipe has been said to have a success rate of 60% to 80%

Overall, no studies have shown the midwife brew recipes to have any side effects except nausea in pregnant women, hence you should give it a try after getting consulted doctors’ approval.

Induce Labor Naturally With The Midwives Brew Recipe:

While looking for different ways to induce labor at home you must have come across several different techniques. Midwives brew is one of these, used for inducing labor safely.

As compared to the other methods midwives brew shows quick results, usually under the timespan of 24 hours. It is also said that post-term pregnant females are more likely to go into labor when they have consumed castor oil or midwives brew.

What Is In Midwife Brew?

Midwives brew, also referred to as German labor cocktails, can be made at your home with simple household natural ingredients. This recipe is enough to jump-start labor contractions. To make this drink you need have the following natural ingredients:

1. Castor Oil: This ingredient is famous for causing little contractions in the walls of the intestine and it is also believed that castor oil can cause uterine contractions, helping in inducing labor.
2. Lemon Verbena Tea: Though there is not much research about the effectiveness of lemon verbena tea, it is still used while making midwives’ brew. This tea is generally used to cover the intense taste of castor oil.
3. Almond Butter: It is said that almond butter helps with spam as it adds more fat and oil to the brew.
4. Apricot Juice: This is another ingredient that is mainly used for its taste. In addition to that, it also has a large number of vitamins and minerals which are overall great for your body’s health.

Before consuming midwives brew, make sure you are not allergic to any of the substances mentioned above, if yes then you can use midwives brew recipe substitute like :

1. You can use mango nectar and raspberry leaf tea instead of lemon verbena tea.
2. You can substitute apricot juice with pineapple or orange juice.

Along with all of these, you can also consume spicy food, this is because eating spicy food while pregnant is a great way to naturally induce labor. Some might say that eating spicy food may be a better way to induce labor as compared to drinking castor oil.

Method:

Now if you have all the ingredients mentioned above, you can make it by the following method:

1. Take a pot of water and boil it.
2. Pour the boiling water carefully into a cup, then place a verbena tea bag it in. Let the tea bag sit in the hot boiling water for 9 minutes.
3. Take a blender and blend all the other ingredients which are fruit juice, castor oil, and almond butter. Also, pour the verbena tea into it.
4. Blend till it forms a smooth paste.

How To Safely Induce Labor Using Midwives Brew?

Though midwives brew has a success rate of 60% to 80%, it has its side effects. If we talk about the ingredients used in the midwives’ brew individually, the following are their side effects:

1. Castor oil: Drinking castor oil can cause vomiting, diarrhea, and nausea in pregnant women. Furthermore, castor oil can lead to contraction of high intensity which can cause exhaustion to the mother as well as the baby. You should also watch out for dehydration when consuming castor oil.
2. Almond butter and apricot juice: Both of these ingredients are generally very healthy but you should be well aware of your allergies and both of these can lead to extreme allergic reactions which can be harmful to the mother and the baby.

During this stage of pregnancy, women are understandably very impatient and want their delivery day to arrive as soon as possible, But a pregnant woman should be very careful during this stage of the pregnancy.

Taking labor-inducing drinks like midwives brew before completing the pregnancy term can be very harmful causing maternal or fetal complications. And can even result in abnormalities in the baby. Trying to induce labor before your body is ready for it may lead you to have a cesarean section instead of a natural delivery. Now you must be thinking,

What is the best time to drink midwives brew?

To avoid complications you should start consuming midwives brew when you have at least reached your due date. But still, you should not try to induce labor at home without getting approval from your medical doctor because reaching the due date does not mean that you and your baby are ready to go into labor.

How Often Can I Drink Midwife’s Brew?

When you have reached your due date, you can start drinking the midwife brew first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. Try to finish the drink in about 20 to 30 minutes, but do not rush yourself as it may result in nausea.

The mixture should be around 20oz, if that is the case then you should not make another cup for 2 days. This is because the mixture contains castor oil, too much intake of castor oil can result in contractions that are highly severe and can be dangerous for the baby and the mother. midwife women who shared their midwives brew success stories have said that they went into active labor right after 24 hours of drinking midwife brew.

Side Effects Of Midwife Brew Recipe:

Though midwife’s brew has an overall great effect on a pregnant women’s body still just like any other thing it has its own set of side effects. following is a list of side effects of midwives brew:

Before consuming drinks to induce labor your should first talk to your medical provider for suggestions that fit your situation best.

Other Ways To Induce Labor:

If you are having a hard time drinking midwives brew then you can try other methods to induce labor. There is no scientific evidence that proves the liability of these methods but there are many pregnant women who swear by them.

Following is a list of different labor induction techniques:

1. Exercise: This can help in increasing your heart rate, it is a great way to relieve stress.
2. Sex: Sexual intercourse can cause your body to release oxytocin which is a hormone that helps in stimulating contractions. In addition to this men have prostaglandin hormones that help in cervix ripening.
3. Nipple Stimulation: This is another natural method to stimulate contractions as nipple stimulation causes our body to release oxytocin.
4. Acupuncture and Acupressure: Though the workings of Acupuncture are still unclear, it is said that acupuncture can help in stimulating contractions. In addition to this, acupressure is another natural method of releasing stress and inducing labor.

Before using any of these labor induction techniques you should talk to the doctor who is in charge of your labor and delivery nurse.

Take Away:

There are plenty of techniques through which you can induce labor, one of these is drinking midwives brew. This is a German cocktail that has ingredients like castor oil that help in inducing contractions in the uterine muscles. It is believed that midwives’ brew is safe and works effectively. Midwives’ brew success rate is around 60% to 80%. You may start using midwives brew when you are near your due date or have passed it. Though midwives brew is overall very safe, it has its side effects like nausea, vomiting, dehydration, etc. So before using midwives brew as a labor induction technique you should contact a doctor who can help you in taking the best decision for yourself.