When the awaited little one is not born, this can certainly trigger a sense of worry. now, so that labor occurs immediately, nipple stimulation is believed to trigger the baby to be born quickly, you know.
Nipple stimulation is one of the natural inductions that can be done to speed up the labor process in healthy pregnancies. However, stimulation should only be done when the baby's condition is ready to be born.
In addition, this method should not be used by all pregnant women, especially pregnant women who have a history of high blood pressure, preeclampsia, and diabetes during pregnancy.
What Are the Benefits of Nipple Stimulation?
Stimulation of the nipple is useful for triggering natural contractions. When doing this method, the body seems to react to the baby's sucking on the mother's nipple. This stimulation will make the body release the hormone oxytocin which can trigger contractions in the uterus.
However, keep in mind that light, occasional nipple stimulation won't trigger labor. New uterine contractions can come when this stimulation is done properly.
A study has compared nipple stimulation with other stimulation to speed up labor. As a result, pregnant women who do nipple stimulation can go through a faster delivery process and none of them need a caesarean section in the middle of labor.
This stimulatory effect is very strong, especially in the last trimester of pregnancy. Therefore, before doing so, the doctor needs to make sure that the pregnant woman's body is ready to go through the labor process. This readiness is marked by the cervix starting to thin, soften, and open.
How to Do Nipple Stimulation
After the doctor allows nipple stimulation, pregnant women can use a breast pump, mouth of a toddler, partner's finger, or pregnant woman's own finger to create the effect as if the breast is being used for breastfeeding.
Stimulation is not only done on the nipples. Pregnant women can also take advantage of the dark area around the nipple (areola) for stimulation.
Here are the steps for doing nipple stimulation using fingers:
- Use the fingers or the palm of the other hand to massage the areola. This massage can be done directly on the skin or covered with a thin cloth.
- Place your palms around the areola and make gentle circular motions. Nipple stimulation can be done up to 3 times a day for a total of 60 minutes. Each stimulation session on each breast is a maximum of 15 minutes. Do it alternately between the left and right breasts.
- Temporarily stop the stimulation if in the middle of the stimulation a contraction occurs.
- Record how long the contractions last and how long the pauses between contractions are.
- Continue stimulation when the contractions stop.
Nipple stimulation is effective in triggering contractions. Because of its effectiveness, it is feared that excessive stimulation could occur when pregnant women practice it at home.
Therefore, do not do stimulation if the contractions have lasted for 1 minute and are getting more frequent or only 3 minutes between contractions, because this is a sign that labor is coming soon.
Consider going to the hospital if the contractions are only 5 minutes in 1 hour apart. In addition, immediately contact a doctor if pregnant women experience bleeding or ruptured membranes.
Although classified as natural induction and proven beneficial for speeding up labor, nipple stimulation can harm some pregnant women with high-risk pregnancies. So, first consult with your doctor to find out if nipple stimulation is safe for pregnant women.
