May 13, 2025 • 22 mins
In this episode of Faith Over Fear: The Christian Pregnancy & Birth Podcast, we’re talking all about natural ways to help your body prepare for labor—without fear, overwhelm, or pressure to do “all the things.”
Whether you’re weeks away from meeting your baby or just starting to plan for birth, understanding cervical ripening can empower you to partner with your body, honor God’s design, and prepare from a place of peace. I’m breaking down what cervical ripening actually is, why it matters, how your provider might assess your body’s readiness for labor using something called the Bishop Score, and simple, gentle things you can do to support the process naturally.
If you’ve ever felt unsure about what you should be doing to get ready for birth—or wrestled with the fear of “what if my body doesn’t know what to do?”—this episode will meet you with encouragement, education, and faith.
In this episode, I share:
🌿 What the cervix does as you approach labor—and why ripening matters
🧠 A simple breakdown of the Bishop Score (so it actually makes sense!)
🫖 Gentle natural methods to support ripening (like red raspberry leaf tea, dates, and more)
📖 The mindset shift that frees you from control and anchors you in trust
🙏 How to pray through the waiting and release pressure to perform
Scripture Shared:
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.”
— Ecclesiastes 3:1 (ESV)
A Prayer for You:
I close this episode with a prayer over your heart and your pregnancy—that you would feel God’s nearness in the waiting, be free from fear, and walk in confident peace knowing He is preparing your body and writing your baby’s birth story with care and love.
Mentioned in this episode:
- ✨ Christian Mama Birth Prep Library: Free birth prep tools, worship playlists & more
- 💛 Work with Me 1:1 – Doula Support & Coaching: Explore birth support and childbirth education for your pregnancy and birth journey
If this episode encouraged you, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a friend. Let’s keep choosing faith over fear!
Go here for the full blog post, show notes, and all resources mentioned!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Natalie Portman (00:47):
Well, hello there.
I am so excited to welcome youto episode three today I'm gonna
be talking about natural ways tohelp ripen your cervix.
Maybe you've heard of cervicalripening methods, or maybe you
are completely unfamiliar withthis concept, but let's dive
into what the cervix is and thenwe can talk about ways to help
(01:09):
ripen the cervix and why wemight want to do this.
So the cervix is the lower,narrow part of your uterus or
your womb, and this connects tothe vagina, and this acts like a
gatekeeper between the uterusand the birth canal.
So during your pregnancy, thecervix is firm, closed and long,
(01:33):
and this keeps your baby safelyinside throughout the pregnancy
until you know it's time forlabor.
So as labor approaches, thecervix will begin to ripen, and
what that looks like is it willbegin to soften, it will begin
to thin out, or efface.
It will begin to open up ordilate, and it will begin a
(01:55):
positional change where it willstart to move from the back to
the front of your body.
And then of course, this leadsto the birth of your baby.
So just a helpful analogy, ifyou were to think about the neck
of a balloon and when thatballoon starts to get really
full, thinking of it as Theuterus where your baby is held.
(02:17):
As that balloon fills, the neckis tight and closed to keep
everything inside of theballoon, but then as pressure
builds the neck of the balloonor the cervix starts to open, it
stretches, it thins.
And this is just a, nice way tovisualize what that cervix is
(02:37):
doing.
So again, maybe you have heardof cervical ripening methods.
Maybe you haven't.
But either way, let's touch onsome of the benefits of
implementing some of thesecervical ripening methods.
Some of the benefits includehaving a shorter or smoother
labor, and who doesn't wantthat?
(02:59):
It can also help reduce the riskof, unnecessary interventions
and augmentation of the labor,like having to use Pitocin to
get the labor to continue oreven reducing your chance of
having an unplanned cesareanbirth.
It also helps increase thechance of a successful vaginal
(03:20):
delivery if you have aninduction.
And then if you have a shorter,smoother labor, this helps,
baby's wellbeing because baby isless stressed and then it can
even help, lessen the intensityof your labor.
So you have a less painful laborexperience.
So those are all, incrediblebenefits of cervical ripening
(03:42):
methods.
As a quick disclaimer for thisepisode, the information I share
is just for general educationand encouragement.
So always talk with yourprovider before you try anything
new.
And I even recommend you askyour provider about these
methods by not just asking fortheir permission, but asking is
(04:06):
there any medical reason why Ican't try X, Y, Z?
So instead of asking, is it okayif I try red raspberry leaf tea,
ask, is there any medical reasonwhy I can't try red raspberry
leaf tea throughout mypregnancy?
Some providers are veryunfamiliar with these methods
and so you don't want tonecessarily put them on the spot
(04:26):
about them if they'reunfamiliar.
But if they just know outright,say you have gestational
diabetes, you shouldn't beeating a ton of dates, which is
one of the cervical ripeningmethods listed here.
So that's my advice.
Again, this is not medicalinformation.
One of the ways that providerscan measure how favorable your
(04:46):
cervix is before the start oflabor is by finding out
something called the Bishopscore.
I.
And it sounds kind of clinical,but it's a pretty
straightforward method.
And so I'm gonna break that downfor you now.
So there are five components tothe Bishop score.
The first component is dilation.
(05:06):
This refers to how.
Open the cervix is.
So zero centimeters iscompletely closed, 10
centimeters is completely open.
So before you can push out yourbaby, your cervix needs to be 10
centimeters.
So zero to 10.
If you are completely closed,you get a score for the bishop
(05:28):
score of zero points.
If you're already dilated one totwo centimeters, you get a
point.
If you're dilated three to fourcentimeters, you get two points.
And if you're five centimetersor more, you get a score of
three points.
So that's just that firstcomponent dilation.
The next one is effacement.
(05:49):
So this refers to how thick orthin the cervix is.
If the cervix is 0% efface dit's pretty thick.
If it's zero to 30% effaced, youget zero points for that.
If it is 40 to 50% effaced, youget a point for that.
(06:11):
If your cervix is effaced 60 to70%, you get two points.
And if your cervix is effaced80% or more, you get three
points and.
100% effacement is your cervixis paper thin.
So if you think, you know, thecervix is an inch, if it's 0% to
thin as paper that just kind ofgives you a gauge of effacement
(06:34):
there.
The next component is StationStation refers to how high or
low the baby is in the pelvis.
If you look at a, pelvis model,they're these two points,
they're called the ischialspines, and it kind of looks
like a little hourglass in themiddle of the pelvis.
(06:56):
And so when baby's head is.
To that point in the pelvis,it's considered zero station and
for every centimeter above thatzero station, so babies kind of
higher up, still like prettyhigh up in your belly we
consider that actually negativenumbers.
So zero station baby is right atthose ischial spines for every
(07:19):
centimeter above it.
Negative one if the baby is, onecentimeter above.
And then if baby is threecentimeters above, then it's
minus three station, if thatmakes sense.
And then positive numbers meansthat baby is coming out and
down.
So the way I think about it isobviously we want baby to come
(07:40):
out.
So I think positive numbers, youknow, baby is getting lower.
If that helps you, it helps me.
So if baby is.
Pretty high up minus threestation, that's zero points.
If baby is minus two station,you get one point.
If baby is at zero station orminus one station, you get two
points for that.
(08:00):
That's still pretty low.
And then if baby is positive oneor positive two station, you get
three points for that one.
So the next component iscervical consistency.
So this refers to how firm orsoft the cervix is.
And as a way to kind of imaginethis, I want you to touch the
tip of your nose.
(08:21):
And that's kind of a firmfeeling.
So if your cervix is firm, itwould feel about the consistency
of feeling the tip of your nose.
If your cervix is kind of amedium consistency, I want you
to feel your chin.
And then if your cervix is soft,I want you to feel your upper
(08:42):
lip like just below your nose.
So that just kind of gives youa, an analogy of, of what to
kind of visualize when it comesto cervical consistency.
So if your cervix is firm, youget zero points.
If your cervix is consideredmedium, you get one point.
And if the cervix is soft, youget two points and then cervical
(09:03):
position.
If your cervix is positionedtowards the back, which is it
where it will be most of thepregnancy.
If it's tilted back, you getzero points.
If your cervix is starting tomove forward, it's kind of in
that mid position.
You get one point.
And if your cervix is tiltedforward or anterior, you get two
points for that.
(09:24):
And so if you add up all of thepoints based on those five
components of the Bishop score,if you score zero to five
points, this means that yourcervix is not favorable.
And you would definitely benefitfrom cervical ripening methods
first ahead of an induction.
Or you know, you going intolabor spontaneously.
(09:45):
If you score six to sevenpoints, your cervix is
considered moderately favorable.
And then if you get eight pointsor more, your cervix is
considered very favorable andyou have a really good chance
that you'll start labor on yourown.
Or if you do need an induction,there's a good chance that
induction will go prettysmoothly and successfully.
(10:06):
So now that you kind of have anunderstanding of what cervical
ripeness kind of looks like andcan be scored as such let's now
talk about the natural andgentle ways that you can support
cervical ripening.
Starting at 20 weeks drinkingred raspberry leaf tea is a
great way to help tone theuterus.
(10:29):
By the end of your pregnancy,your uterus becomes the biggest
and strongest muscle in yourwhole body.
So when you have a toned uterus,those contractions are very
powerful and that can thenshorten the amount of time
you're in labor because your,contractions are very efficient.
So I would start drinking at 20weeks, one to three cups a day.
(10:53):
You can drink it like hot tea,or you can even steep the tea
bags in water overnight.
And that way you don't have todrink it hot, especially if it's
like dead of summer and you'repregnant in the summer.
And then at 37 weeks you canactually even start steeping up
to four tea bags.
I prefer, putting that in amason jar put it in your fridge
(11:14):
or just out on your counter.
And that's just a really greatway to get like a, a lot of that
red raspberry leaf concentrationin a, 20 to 32 ounce.
Beverage.
And then you can get thisanywhere, you can get this at
the grocery store.
I think even like CVS sells redraspberry leaf tea.
I prefer to get it on Amazon andI'll send you the, the link in
(11:34):
the show notes.
the one that I use it's a 100count organic red raspberry leaf
tea and like the eco-friendlyteabag.
And then starting at 36 weeks Iwould definitely start ramping
up the amount of chiropracticadjustments you're receiving.
I highly recommend that you'reseeing a chiropractor well
(11:55):
before 36 weeks.
And I'm gonna give you kind of ageneral guideline of how often I
would, recommend seeing achiropractor, and again, this is
a general guideline.
Some women need.
Way more adjustments.
Some may need way less, but inthe first trimester, I would
start going about once a month.
And the second trimester, Iwould start going twice a month
(12:16):
and then, and the thirdtrimester in the first six weeks
going once a week, and then inthe last six weeks going about
twice a week.
But of course, if you're havinga baby who is malpositioned,
whether the baby is breech,where their butt is presenting
first.
Or baby is just not facing in agreat position.
Say they're, they're op, orposterior or sunny side up, if
(12:37):
you're familiar with any ofthese terms that's considered a
less optimal position.
And so getting regularchiropractic adjustments can
help baby navigate into a moreoptimal position for the start
of labor.
And that's one of the biggestbenefits as well as you just
being much more comfortable inyour pregnancies.
Like I said, in my birthstories, I could not have
(12:59):
survived without mychiropractors.
It was extremely helpful for meto be able to move.
And my babies always found greatpositions for labor, and so that
also to me is just personalevidence that it's very, very
effective.
And then at 37 weeks you canstart eating dates.
This helps just again, ripen andsoften the cervix.
(13:21):
There are so many recipes outthere.
Kind of a simple way to do it isI would eat three in the
morning, three in the evening,but to eat dates with like
unsweetened peanut butter orcashew butter, almond butter,
something like that.
And then when I was pregnantwith Daniel, my favorite way to
eat'em was to put it in asmoothie.
And again, so many recipes outthere.
Just do a little bit of researchon like what flavors you like,
(13:43):
but smoothies and eating it withnut butter is my two favorite
ways.
Just be careful if you'rewatching the amount of sugar you
have, if you have gestationaldiabetes or something.
I would avoid this methodbecause, you know, obviously
dates have a lot of naturalsugars in them.
Another thing I would recommend37 weeks is taking an evening
primrose oil supplement so youcan start taking a thousand
(14:07):
milligrams orally twice a day.
So just taking one capsule inthe morning and one in the
evening.
And then having sex is a reallygreat way to help the cervix
become more favorable.
And that's because semen, whenit comes in contact with our
cervix it contains somethingcalled prostaglandins, which is
(14:27):
what is also in medication tohelp ripen and soften the
cervix.
If you look.
At the medication version oflike cervical ripening methods,
it contains about three times asmuch as just having sex one
time.
So if you have sex three timesin a short period of time,
you're getting the same dose ofprostaglandins as if you had
(14:49):
medication.
So that's really, really cool.
And the other benefit of havingsex is if you orgasm, you
release a lot of oxytocin, whichcan certainly trigger really
great regular uterine activity.
And then in addition to havingsex, you can also include breast
or nipple stimulation whileyou're having sex, and that also
(15:11):
releases a lot of oxytocin.
But you can also just handstimulate your breast.
And start getting some of thecolostrum, which is that early
milk.
It kind of like is a honeyconsistency, like it's really,
thick.
But you can hand expresscolostrum or you can put on your
breast pump if you are familiarwith your breast pump or you
just wanna kind of get familiarwith it.
(15:32):
And you can pump five minuteseach side, so that's what, 10
minutes a session per day.
So that's another way you can dothat as well.
And then starting at 39 weeks,start talking with your provider
about something called amembrane sweep.
And if your cervix is at leastdilated one centimeter and your
provider is willing to do amembrane sweep.
(15:54):
They take a gloved finger, theyinsert it into the vagina, and
they separate the amniotic sacfrom the cervix.
And that separation releasesprostaglandins, which we just
talked about, helps to ripen andsoften the cervix.
And this is especially.
A great method to try if you'retrying to avoid an induction or
(16:15):
if your body's just like righton the cusp of going into labor.
You're having lots of laborsigns, but your body just is not
going into labor.
Many times you do membrane sweepand your body goes into labor,
which is exactly what happenedfor both of my labor.
Says I had a membrane sweepwithin 24 hours before I
actually went into labor.
So also can speak personallythat it, it's a great way to get
(16:36):
things going.
Another thing that I did in bothmy pregnancies is acupuncture
and just find somebody who isfamiliar with labor induction
acupuncture.
Again, if you're in theJacksonville area I'll link in
the show notes where you can goto find my recommendation for
who to see in Jacksonville.
But that's an excellent way toget things going as well.
(16:59):
And the key with all of thesemethods is it is not about doing
all of these things expectingthat your cervix is gonna be
perfectly favorable.
You're gonna have a bishop scoreof, you know, eight plus, and
your body's gonna have the mostefficient labor ever if you do
all these things.
That is not the point of doingthese things.
It is truly just a way to.
(17:22):
Help your body along to feelmore like you're partnering with
your body to get this processgoing and to just give your body
the best chance it can to havean efficient labor, but just go
into it without expectation ordisappointment.
Say you're doing all the thingsand you have your provider check
you at 41 weeks and your cervixis still completely closed don't
(17:43):
be discouraged by that.
Just keep doing what you'redoing.
and also just pray about it.
Pray about any of the methodsthat I have mentioned here.
If they just do not seem rightor appropriate to you, don't do
them.
Just really do whatever you feellike the Lord is calling you to
do.
And don't let it stress you oroverwhelm you either.
If you do none of these things,you will still have your baby.
(18:05):
If you do all of the things.
It's not like this is the cheatcode there's so many factors to
labor.
Just go into this with a veryhealthy mindset that there's no
expectation there, but it iscertainly a way to help
facilitate things in yourpregnancy and to help facilitate
a more straightforward labor.
(18:25):
I wanted to read you a verse asencouragement.
This comes from Ecclesiastesthree one and it says, for
everything there is a season anda time for every matter under
heaven.
So again, just to reiterate, I.
There is a season foreverything.
There is a season to try theacupuncture.
There is a season to sit andwait and try.
(18:47):
None of these methods.
So seek the Lord in thosethings.
Do not enter into these methodswith fear or pressure or doubt
in yourself because your bodywill go into labor in the Lord's
Perfect timing.
I think we all.
Okay, I'll speak for myself.
I know that I can have thismentality that if I don't do my
(19:08):
part, then bad things are gonnahappen.
And that is absolutely not true.
The Lord is completely andutterly sovereign over
everything that's happening, andyou are not so powerful that you
can out will God's will.
His will will be done.
And so I'm gonna pray for youand then we'll wrap up here.
And before I do, I also wantedto mention all of the methods
(19:31):
that I mentioned in this episodeare in a handout.
If you go to the Christian Mamabirth prep library and sign up
for that free library accessthis cervical ripening methods
handout is in there as well.
So whether you are still, youknow, an early pregnancy or say
you're at the very end of yourpregnancy make sure to sign up
(19:51):
for that.
You can sign up in the shownotes.
I'll have the link there.
Or go to faithoverfearbirth.comto grab this cheat sheet.
Let's go ahead and pray.
Dear Lord, I just thank you somuch for this sweet sister that
is hearing my voice right now.
I pray, Lord Jesus, that youwould just come alongside her,
wrap her in your arms and justhelp her feel your peace.
(20:13):
During this waiting time, Ipray, Lord, that you would just
help her release control.
I pray that you would removefear because fear is our enemy
Lord, and we just wanna havefaith in you and just faith to
do what we feel like you arecalling us to do, not what
anyone else is telling us to do.
I pray, Lord Jesus, that youwould just remind us of who you
are, that you spoke everythingwith a word and you are so
(20:37):
powerful.
And we just, we just wanna trustyou more deeply.
We want to love you more deeply,and we cannot wait for what
you're gonna do in this.
Pregnancy in this birth and withthis precious child that we're
carrying.
I pray, Lord Jesus that we wouldjust give all glory to you and
we love you, Jesus.
It's in your name we pray.
Amen.
(20:58):
That's it for today's episode.
I'm really excited for next weekI'm gonna be interviewing Sarah
Salain.
We already recorded that episodeand her birth story and
testimony is absolutely amazing.
So please check out that shegoes into detail about her
struggles with infertility andwhat all the Lord is.
Doing now to actually use her toserve other women who are
(21:22):
dealing with infertility, PCOSand other wellness issues.
So check that one out as well.
Well, hello there.
I am so excited to welcome youto episode three today I'm gonna
be talking about natural ways tohelp ripen your cervix.
Maybe you've heard of cervicalripening methods, or maybe you
are completely unfamiliar withthis concept, but let's dive
into what the cervix is and thenwe can talk about ways to help
(01:09):
ripen the cervix and why wemight want to do this.
So the cervix is the lower,narrow part of your uterus or
your womb, and this connects tothe vagina, and this acts like a
gatekeeper between the uterusand the birth canal.
So during your pregnancy, thecervix is firm, closed and long,
(01:33):
and this keeps your baby safelyinside throughout the pregnancy
until you know it's time forlabor.
So as labor approaches, thecervix will begin to ripen, and
what that looks like is it willbegin to soften, it will begin
to thin out, or efface.
It will begin to open up ordilate, and it will begin a
(01:55):
positional change where it willstart to move from the back to
the front of your body.
And then of course, this leadsto the birth of your baby.
So just a helpful analogy, ifyou were to think about the neck
of a balloon and when thatballoon starts to get really
full, thinking of it as Theuterus where your baby is held.
(02:17):
As that balloon fills, the neckis tight and closed to keep
everything inside of theballoon, but then as pressure
builds the neck of the balloonor the cervix starts to open, it
stretches, it thins.
And this is just a, nice way tovisualize what that cervix is
(02:37):
doing.
So again, maybe you have heardof cervical ripening methods.
Maybe you haven't.
But either way, let's touch onsome of the benefits of
implementing some of thesecervical ripening methods.
Some of the benefits includehaving a shorter or smoother
labor, and who doesn't wantthat?
(02:59):
It can also help reduce the riskof, unnecessary interventions
and augmentation of the labor,like having to use Pitocin to
get the labor to continue oreven reducing your chance of
having an unplanned cesareanbirth.
It also helps increase thechance of a successful vaginal
(03:20):
delivery if you have aninduction.
And then if you have a shorter,smoother labor, this helps,
baby's wellbeing because baby isless stressed and then it can
even help, lessen the intensityof your labor.
So you have a less painful laborexperience.
So those are all, incrediblebenefits of cervical ripening
(03:42):
methods.
As a quick disclaimer for thisepisode, the information I share
is just for general educationand encouragement.
So always talk with yourprovider before you try anything
new.
And I even recommend you askyour provider about these
methods by not just asking fortheir permission, but asking is
(04:06):
there any medical reason why Ican't try X, Y, Z?
So instead of asking, is it okayif I try red raspberry leaf tea,
ask, is there any medical reasonwhy I can't try red raspberry
leaf tea throughout mypregnancy?
Some providers are veryunfamiliar with these methods
and so you don't want tonecessarily put them on the spot
(04:26):
about them if they'reunfamiliar.
But if they just know outright,say you have gestational
diabetes, you shouldn't beeating a ton of dates, which is
one of the cervical ripeningmethods listed here.
So that's my advice.
Again, this is not medicalinformation.
One of the ways that providerscan measure how favorable your
(04:46):
cervix is before the start oflabor is by finding out
something called the Bishopscore.
I.
And it sounds kind of clinical,but it's a pretty
straightforward method.
And so I'm gonna break that downfor you now.
So there are five components tothe Bishop score.
The first component is dilation.
(05:06):
This refers to how.
Open the cervix is.
So zero centimeters iscompletely closed, 10
centimeters is completely open.
So before you can push out yourbaby, your cervix needs to be 10
centimeters.
So zero to 10.
If you are completely closed,you get a score for the bishop
(05:28):
score of zero points.
If you're already dilated one totwo centimeters, you get a
point.
If you're dilated three to fourcentimeters, you get two points.
And if you're five centimetersor more, you get a score of
three points.
So that's just that firstcomponent dilation.
The next one is effacement.
(05:49):
So this refers to how thick orthin the cervix is.
If the cervix is 0% efface dit's pretty thick.
If it's zero to 30% effaced, youget zero points for that.
If it is 40 to 50% effaced, youget a point for that.
(06:11):
If your cervix is effaced 60 to70%, you get two points.
And if your cervix is effaced80% or more, you get three
points and.
100% effacement is your cervixis paper thin.
So if you think, you know, thecervix is an inch, if it's 0% to
thin as paper that just kind ofgives you a gauge of effacement
(06:34):
there.
The next component is StationStation refers to how high or
low the baby is in the pelvis.
If you look at a, pelvis model,they're these two points,
they're called the ischialspines, and it kind of looks
like a little hourglass in themiddle of the pelvis.
(06:56):
And so when baby's head is.
To that point in the pelvis,it's considered zero station and
for every centimeter above thatzero station, so babies kind of
higher up, still like prettyhigh up in your belly we
consider that actually negativenumbers.
So zero station baby is right atthose ischial spines for every
(07:19):
centimeter above it.
Negative one if the baby is, onecentimeter above.
And then if baby is threecentimeters above, then it's
minus three station, if thatmakes sense.
And then positive numbers meansthat baby is coming out and
down.
So the way I think about it isobviously we want baby to come
(07:40):
out.
So I think positive numbers, youknow, baby is getting lower.
If that helps you, it helps me.
So if baby is.
Pretty high up minus threestation, that's zero points.
If baby is minus two station,you get one point.
If baby is at zero station orminus one station, you get two
points for that.
(08:00):
That's still pretty low.
And then if baby is positive oneor positive two station, you get
three points for that one.
So the next component iscervical consistency.
So this refers to how firm orsoft the cervix is.
And as a way to kind of imaginethis, I want you to touch the
tip of your nose.
(08:21):
And that's kind of a firmfeeling.
So if your cervix is firm, itwould feel about the consistency
of feeling the tip of your nose.
If your cervix is kind of amedium consistency, I want you
to feel your chin.
And then if your cervix is soft,I want you to feel your upper
(08:42):
lip like just below your nose.
So that just kind of gives youa, an analogy of, of what to
kind of visualize when it comesto cervical consistency.
So if your cervix is firm, youget zero points.
If your cervix is consideredmedium, you get one point.
And if the cervix is soft, youget two points and then cervical
(09:03):
position.
If your cervix is positionedtowards the back, which is it
where it will be most of thepregnancy.
If it's tilted back, you getzero points.
If your cervix is starting tomove forward, it's kind of in
that mid position.
You get one point.
And if your cervix is tiltedforward or anterior, you get two
points for that.
(09:24):
And so if you add up all of thepoints based on those five
components of the Bishop score,if you score zero to five
points, this means that yourcervix is not favorable.
And you would definitely benefitfrom cervical ripening methods
first ahead of an induction.
Or you know, you going intolabor spontaneously.
(09:45):
If you score six to sevenpoints, your cervix is
considered moderately favorable.
And then if you get eight pointsor more, your cervix is
considered very favorable andyou have a really good chance
that you'll start labor on yourown.
Or if you do need an induction,there's a good chance that
induction will go prettysmoothly and successfully.
(10:06):
So now that you kind of have anunderstanding of what cervical
ripeness kind of looks like andcan be scored as such let's now
talk about the natural andgentle ways that you can support
cervical ripening.
Starting at 20 weeks drinkingred raspberry leaf tea is a
great way to help tone theuterus.
(10:29):
By the end of your pregnancy,your uterus becomes the biggest
and strongest muscle in yourwhole body.
So when you have a toned uterus,those contractions are very
powerful and that can thenshorten the amount of time
you're in labor because your,contractions are very efficient.
So I would start drinking at 20weeks, one to three cups a day.
(10:53):
You can drink it like hot tea,or you can even steep the tea
bags in water overnight.
And that way you don't have todrink it hot, especially if it's
like dead of summer and you'repregnant in the summer.
And then at 37 weeks you canactually even start steeping up
to four tea bags.
I prefer, putting that in amason jar put it in your fridge
(11:14):
or just out on your counter.
And that's just a really greatway to get like a, a lot of that
red raspberry leaf concentrationin a, 20 to 32 ounce.
Beverage.
And then you can get thisanywhere, you can get this at
the grocery store.
I think even like CVS sells redraspberry leaf tea.
I prefer to get it on Amazon andI'll send you the, the link in
(11:34):
the show notes.
the one that I use it's a 100count organic red raspberry leaf
tea and like the eco-friendlyteabag.
And then starting at 36 weeks Iwould definitely start ramping
up the amount of chiropracticadjustments you're receiving.
I highly recommend that you'reseeing a chiropractor well
(11:55):
before 36 weeks.
And I'm gonna give you kind of ageneral guideline of how often I
would, recommend seeing achiropractor, and again, this is
a general guideline.
Some women need.
Way more adjustments.
Some may need way less, but inthe first trimester, I would
start going about once a month.
And the second trimester, Iwould start going twice a month
(12:16):
and then, and the thirdtrimester in the first six weeks
going once a week, and then inthe last six weeks going about
twice a week.
But of course, if you're havinga baby who is malpositioned,
whether the baby is breech,where their butt is presenting
first.
Or baby is just not facing in agreat position.
Say they're, they're op, orposterior or sunny side up, if
(12:37):
you're familiar with any ofthese terms that's considered a
less optimal position.
And so getting regularchiropractic adjustments can
help baby navigate into a moreoptimal position for the start
of labor.
And that's one of the biggestbenefits as well as you just
being much more comfortable inyour pregnancies.
Like I said, in my birthstories, I could not have
(12:59):
survived without mychiropractors.
It was extremely helpful for meto be able to move.
And my babies always found greatpositions for labor, and so that
also to me is just personalevidence that it's very, very
effective.
And then at 37 weeks you canstart eating dates.
This helps just again, ripen andsoften the cervix.
(13:21):
There are so many recipes outthere.
Kind of a simple way to do it isI would eat three in the
morning, three in the evening,but to eat dates with like
unsweetened peanut butter orcashew butter, almond butter,
something like that.
And then when I was pregnantwith Daniel, my favorite way to
eat'em was to put it in asmoothie.
And again, so many recipes outthere.
Just do a little bit of researchon like what flavors you like,
(13:43):
but smoothies and eating it withnut butter is my two favorite
ways.
Just be careful if you'rewatching the amount of sugar you
have, if you have gestationaldiabetes or something.
I would avoid this methodbecause, you know, obviously
dates have a lot of naturalsugars in them.
Another thing I would recommend37 weeks is taking an evening
primrose oil supplement so youcan start taking a thousand
(14:07):
milligrams orally twice a day.
So just taking one capsule inthe morning and one in the
evening.
And then having sex is a reallygreat way to help the cervix
become more favorable.
And that's because semen, whenit comes in contact with our
cervix it contains somethingcalled prostaglandins, which is
(14:27):
what is also in medication tohelp ripen and soften the
cervix.
If you look.
At the medication version oflike cervical ripening methods,
it contains about three times asmuch as just having sex one
time.
So if you have sex three timesin a short period of time,
you're getting the same dose ofprostaglandins as if you had
(14:49):
medication.
So that's really, really cool.
And the other benefit of havingsex is if you orgasm, you
release a lot of oxytocin, whichcan certainly trigger really
great regular uterine activity.
And then in addition to havingsex, you can also include breast
or nipple stimulation whileyou're having sex, and that also
(15:11):
releases a lot of oxytocin.
But you can also just handstimulate your breast.
And start getting some of thecolostrum, which is that early
milk.
It kind of like is a honeyconsistency, like it's really,
thick.
But you can hand expresscolostrum or you can put on your
breast pump if you are familiarwith your breast pump or you
just wanna kind of get familiarwith it.
(15:32):
And you can pump five minuteseach side, so that's what, 10
minutes a session per day.
So that's another way you can dothat as well.
And then starting at 39 weeks,start talking with your provider
about something called amembrane sweep.
And if your cervix is at leastdilated one centimeter and your
provider is willing to do amembrane sweep.
(15:54):
They take a gloved finger, theyinsert it into the vagina, and
they separate the amniotic sacfrom the cervix.
And that separation releasesprostaglandins, which we just
talked about, helps to ripen andsoften the cervix.
And this is especially.
A great method to try if you'retrying to avoid an induction or
(16:15):
if your body's just like righton the cusp of going into labor.
You're having lots of laborsigns, but your body just is not
going into labor.
Many times you do membrane sweepand your body goes into labor,
which is exactly what happenedfor both of my labor.
Says I had a membrane sweepwithin 24 hours before I
actually went into labor.
So also can speak personallythat it, it's a great way to get
(16:36):
things going.
Another thing that I did in bothmy pregnancies is acupuncture
and just find somebody who isfamiliar with labor induction
acupuncture.
Again, if you're in theJacksonville area I'll link in
the show notes where you can goto find my recommendation for
who to see in Jacksonville.
But that's an excellent way toget things going as well.
(16:59):
And the key with all of thesemethods is it is not about doing
all of these things expectingthat your cervix is gonna be
perfectly favorable.
You're gonna have a bishop scoreof, you know, eight plus, and
your body's gonna have the mostefficient labor ever if you do
all these things.
That is not the point of doingthese things.
It is truly just a way to.
(17:22):
Help your body along to feelmore like you're partnering with
your body to get this processgoing and to just give your body
the best chance it can to havean efficient labor, but just go
into it without expectation ordisappointment.
Say you're doing all the thingsand you have your provider check
you at 41 weeks and your cervixis still completely closed don't
(17:43):
be discouraged by that.
Just keep doing what you'redoing.
and also just pray about it.
Pray about any of the methodsthat I have mentioned here.
If they just do not seem rightor appropriate to you, don't do
them.
Just really do whatever you feellike the Lord is calling you to
do.
And don't let it stress you oroverwhelm you either.
If you do none of these things,you will still have your baby.
(18:05):
If you do all of the things.
It's not like this is the cheatcode there's so many factors to
labor.
Just go into this with a veryhealthy mindset that there's no
expectation there, but it iscertainly a way to help
facilitate things in yourpregnancy and to help facilitate
a more straightforward labor.
(18:25):
I wanted to read you a verse asencouragement.
This comes from Ecclesiastesthree one and it says, for
everything there is a season anda time for every matter under
heaven.
So again, just to reiterate, I.
There is a season foreverything.
There is a season to try theacupuncture.
There is a season to sit andwait and try.
(18:47):
None of these methods.
So seek the Lord in thosethings.
Do not enter into these methodswith fear or pressure or doubt
in yourself because your bodywill go into labor in the Lord's
Perfect timing.
I think we all.
Okay, I'll speak for myself.
I know that I can have thismentality that if I don't do my
(19:08):
part, then bad things are gonnahappen.
And that is absolutely not true.
The Lord is completely andutterly sovereign over
everything that's happening, andyou are not so powerful that you
can out will God's will.
His will will be done.
And so I'm gonna pray for youand then we'll wrap up here.
And before I do, I also wantedto mention all of the methods
(19:31):
that I mentioned in this episodeare in a handout.
If you go to the Christian Mamabirth prep library and sign up
for that free library accessthis cervical ripening methods
handout is in there as well.
So whether you are still, youknow, an early pregnancy or say
you're at the very end of yourpregnancy make sure to sign up
(19:51):
for that.
You can sign up in the shownotes.
I'll have the link there.
Or go to faithoverfearbirth.comto grab this cheat sheet.
Let's go ahead and pray.
Dear Lord, I just thank you somuch for this sweet sister that
is hearing my voice right now.
I pray, Lord Jesus, that youwould just come alongside her,
wrap her in your arms and justhelp her feel your peace.
(20:13):
During this waiting time, Ipray, Lord, that you would just
help her release control.
I pray that you would removefear because fear is our enemy
Lord, and we just wanna havefaith in you and just faith to
do what we feel like you arecalling us to do, not what
anyone else is telling us to do.
I pray, Lord Jesus, that youwould just remind us of who you
are, that you spoke everythingwith a word and you are so
(20:37):
powerful.
And we just, we just wanna trustyou more deeply.
We want to love you more deeply,and we cannot wait for what
you're gonna do in this.
Pregnancy in this birth and withthis precious child that we're
carrying.
I pray, Lord Jesus that we wouldjust give all glory to you and
we love you, Jesus.
It's in your name we pray.
Amen.
(20:58):
That's it for today's episode.
I'm really excited for next weekI'm gonna be interviewing Sarah
Salain.
We already recorded that episodeand her birth story and
testimony is absolutely amazing.
So please check out that shegoes into detail about her
struggles with infertility andwhat all the Lord is.
Doing now to actually use her toserve other women who are
(21:22):
dealing with infertility, PCOSand other wellness issues.
So check that one out as well.
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