Every woman who has ever been pregnant knows how uncomfortable the last few weeks of pregnancy can be.
Some moms-to-be are so ready to meet their babies (and are so uncomfortable being pregnant) that they try to induce labor.
Although there are a number of doctor-approved methods of doing this, some women opt for more alternative methods.
One such method is known as the "coffee potty method," in which pregnant women squat over boiling coffee grounds for 20 minutes to try to induce labor. Some women swear by this technique, but most doctors recommend against it.
Coffee has a lot of natural health benefits — like high levels of antioxidants — but these come from drinking coffee, not squatting over it.
Find out more about this interesting labor "hack" below, and learn why doctors think it's not necessarily a safe way to get the birth process started.
Photos: Max PixelWikimedia / Elke Wetzig
[H/T: People]
Coffee has a ton of health benefits.
It can reduce constipation, protect against type 2 diabetes, reduce the symptoms of Parkinson's disease, and even increase longevity.
Some women also believe that coffee can induce labor — but not by drinking it.
In what's become known as the "coffee potty method," women steam their vaginas with boiling coffee grounds in order to get a jump start on labor.
People who believe in the coffee potty method say that the caffeine from coffee grounds can make a pregnant woman's uterus contract.
They also believe that the steam will loosen the mucus plug. The contractions, along with the loosened mucus plug, can lead to labor.
Although some women say this method helped them induce labor, doctors don't recommend this technique.
According to OB-GYN Donnica Moore, who spoke to Health.com, "There are no clinical research trials to say whether it works or not and, in pregnancy, you don't want to do any interventions that have not shown to be safe and effective."
Dr. Moore explains that there are multiple dangers involved with the coffee-steaming technique.
For one, you could irritate or burn the vagina and vulva, which are very sensitive to heat, with the hot steam.
In addition, the heat and steam can "change the vaginal flora and change the balance of good and bad bacteria that then creates the perfect environment for yeast, which women don't want, especially during pregnancy," Dr. Moore adds.
There's another reason pregnant women shouldn't try this method: they have terrible balance.
If a pregnant woman tries to squat over boiling coffee or coffee grounds, she may lose her balance and end up slipping, or bumping the coffee and burning herself.
If you're considering trying to induce labor, you should consult a doctor before doing anything.
Some pregnancies are more high-risk than others, so you should always speak with your OB-GYN before making any decisions regarding your pregnancy.
Unless your doctor gives you explicit instructions to try to induce labor yourself, it's best to wait for Mother Nature to bring on labor.
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