foods that induces labor
Unfortunately, the statistics are out on this one - there is simply not enough research to support that any foods are effective in inducing labor. Anecdotally, women have sworn the following are foods that will induce labor: Pineapple. Spicy Foods. Chinese Food. Eggplant Parmesan. Licorice.
Be it Mexican fare or Indian curry, spicy food is often hailed as a labor inducer. In a 2011 study in the journal Birth, Zaid Chaundry and colleagues examined the methods pregnant women use to induce labor on their own and found 10.9 percent of survey respondents ate spicy food.
Castor Oil. While it's not exactly a food, pregnant women have ingested castor oil to induce labor for centuries. The oil is extracted from the bean of the castor plant. Research studying the efficacy of castor oil as a labor inducer is inconclusive; though some women swear it helped stimulate their contractions.