Midwives Brew – How to Make it, Does it Work, and Stories from Real Moms
How to Naturally Induce Labor with Midwives Brew
There’s nothing quite like the end of pregnancy. You wake up every morning thinking, “is today the day?” You find yourself researching ways to induce labor at home and are ready to try anything to kickstart those contractions. If you’ve passed your due date and are ready to try a labor inducing method that has a pretty high success rate, Midwives Brew might be for you.
What is Midwives Brew
Midwives brew, or German Midwife’s Cocktail, is a mixture of ingredients that is known to bring on contractions and naturally induce labor. This simple recipe can jumpstart contractions, sending you into labor, and therefore, help you avoid a hospital induction.
Related: How to Prepare for a Natural Childbirth
Midwives Brew Ingredients
- 2T Castor Oil
- 2T Almond Butter
- 10 oz Apricot Juice
- 8 oz Pure Lemon Verbena Tea
How to Make Midwives Brew
Directions:
Step 1: Brew the pure lemon verbena tea.
Step 2: Add the brewed tea, almond butter, castor oil, and apricot juice in the blender and blend until you get an even consistency.
Step 3: Pour into a glass and try your best to consume this concoction within 30 minutes. You can drink the Midwives Brew cold or room temperature.
Can you Make Midwives Brew without Castor Oil?
The idea of ingesting a laxative at the end of pregnancy is enough to scare many women away from midwives brew. Unfortunately, you can’t make this drink without it. Castor oil is the main labor inducing ingredient. The laxative can stimulate your bowels, which in turn can jumpstart contractions. Think about it like when you have period cramps in conjunction with period poops. Sometimes, bowel contractions and uterine contractions go hand in hand.
When Should you Drink Midwives Brew?
You should only drink midwives brew when you have reached or surpassed your due date. Midwives brew should be consumed on an empty stomach, therefore, first thing in the morning is the best time to drink this labor inducing concoction. Try drinking midwives brew on a day where you don’t have any other plans. This drink can take you from nothing, to full blown labor in a very short amount of time.
How Long after Drinking Midwives Brew does Labor Start?
Most women report the midwives brew taking effect within 48 hours of drinking it. However, many women say that it took much less time for this castor oil based drink to put them into labor.
Related: 10 Ways to Prepare for Labor and Delivery
Is Midwives Brew Safe?
Midwives brew is made of natural ingredients and is considered safe if you are at or past your due date. You should be at least 40 weeks pregnant before considering midwives brew as a natural labor induction technique. Even then, it is best to consult with your medical provider before trying midwives brew or any other labor inducing strategy.
Side Effects of Midwives Brew
Here’s the thing about Midwives Brew… it isn’t tasty. In fact, it’s so bad, many women have said that they haven’t been able to finish the drink or vomit shortly afterward. The main labor inducing ingredient in midwives brew is the castor oil. Castor oil has been known to cause diarrhea, which in turn can cause dehydration. Castor oil can also cause cramping, nausea, and sometimes dizziness. Because of the other ingredients in midwives brew, these side effects can be less common than if you were consuming plain castor oil.
Does Midwives Brew Actually Work?
While there are no studies on the effectiveness of midwives brew, there have been a few studies on the use of castor oil to induce labor. While there needs to be more research, it has been shown that castor oil can effectively put pregnant women into labor, especially at or past 40 weeks gestation. Midwives brew itself has been rumored to have a 60%-85% success rate.
Related: Labor and Delivery – 20+ Women Share what they Wish they Would have Known
Midwives Brew Success Stories – What to Expect from Midwives Brew
As an expecting mother, sometimes the best information can come from other mothers who have been through the experience. That’s why we interviewed several women who have tried midwives brew so you can learn more about their experience with this crazy concoction.
Nicole’s Midwives Brew Story
How far along we’re you when you tried midwives brew?
41+5
Why did you decide to try it?
Doctor suggested it, and mentioned she personally used it. I also didn’t want to be induced at the hospital.
Did it put you into labor?
Yes.
If so, how long after did you go into labor?
8 hours later.
How long did your labor last?
Contractions Started 10pm, 10cm by 2:30am
Tell us about your labor and delivery.
Contractions started at 10pm, contractions were 1-2 mins apart lasting for almost a min by 1/1:30am. At this point we went to the hospital. Assessed at hospital at 1:30/2am and was 9cm. Once it was time to push, I pushed for 2 hours with not much progress made. I was suggested an epidural so I could relax and sleep for a bit. Then pushed for 1/2 hour more. Now that I had an epidural I had a very hard time feeling when to push and wish I hadn’t gotten one. My doctor brought in another doctor for an opinion as I wasn’t progressing, baby was stressed, and there was meconium. Things changed quickly when the second doctor came in and we were told we had to get baby out via C-section. She came out, doctors assessed and suctioned her, and then I was able to hold her on my chest. She’s perfect.
Would you try midwives brew again?
No, not after learning more about castor oil. And I just feel like there are better options for induction.
Tiffany’s Midwives Brew Story
How far along were you when you tried midwives brew?
I was 39 weeks and 5 days.
Why did you decide to try it?
Why I decided to try it was purely based on mother’s intuition. Everything was going well with the pregnancy but I kept getting a bad feeling about the birth process. To be honest I thought me or the baby would die if I waited any longer. I did other things to try to go into labor. Sex, walking, bouncing on a ball, pineapples, red raspberry leaf tea. My other two kiddos came late by more than a week.
Did it put you into labor?
It absolutely put me into labor. I went from nothing to contractions to full labor within the hour of drinking it.
If so, how long before you went into labor?
My labor from 0-10 dilation lasted 5 hours.
Tell us about your labor and delivery.
My labor contractions were erratic at first. They came one minute apart for the first 2 1/2 hours I would say. I kept track of how long and the intensity of my contractions on a note pad while I bounced on a yoga ball at home. My contractions were pretty intense immediately, which was different than my other two childbirth experiences. I called the birth center to let them know what was going on because it was night time. The midwife instructed me to take a shower and lay down for a half an hour and see if that slowed down contractions. While in the shower, my husband and I decided to head to the birthing center which was attached to a hospital. The contractions were very intense. I got to the birth center and labored for another hour. It felt different than before, I knew something was wrong, and my midwife could tell something was going wrong. When they checked on the baby he was having decelerations in his heart rate with contractions and they weren’t recovering well. So we went over to the hospital side very quickly on a gurney. By the time I got on the hospital side, I was only able to push three times, they tried a vacuum and it didn’t work. They couldn’t get it attached. He wasn’t coming down very far in the birth canal. It felt as though I was pushing against a brick wall. So I was rushed into the OR where they were able to get him out and it turned out he was wrapped in his umbilical cord, and I was actually partially abrupted. So I did hemorrhage, but luckily we both made it out alive and healthy.
Would you try midwives brew again?
In this situation, after knowing that there was something wrong like I thought, yes, I definitely would use it again.
Anything else you’d like to add?
I realize my delivery is not typical. If I knew about midwives brew with my oldest daughter who is now 15, I definitely would have used it because I was two weeks overdue with her and miserable. If I knew about it with my other son who is now 11 years old I would have used it instead of laying on my back in the hospital being induced because I feel like the labor could’ve gone a lot better for my body. So all in all I would definitely use it again although I didn’t drink the whole thing for it to work. Downside is I did poop right before I got to the surgery. I read lots of stories about women just crapping themselves because of the ingredients. Also I couldn’t find some of the ingredients (rather my husband couldn’t find some of the ingredients in our area) so we substituted with the next best thing. Also I am an RN so I felt comfortable doing this and I felt like I knew my body well enough. I was also prepared for natural delivery I had been meditating while drinking the brew and doing deep breathing exercises. So it might’ve been a combination.
Morgan’s Midwives Brew Story
How far along were you when you tried midwives brew?
I tried it around 38.5 – 39 weeks.
Why did you decide to try it?
I decided to try it when all other options weren’t making me progress any further. I felt like I was stuck at a ‘tight 1cm’ from 36 weeks on. I did curb walking, bouncing on the ball constantly, sex, spicy food, pineapple, hibiscus tea – you name it, I tried it. So this was one final attempt.
Did it put you into labor?
It did not!
If so, how long before you went into labor?
I ended up being induced at 40 + 1.
How long did your labor last?
Around 30 hours.
Tell us about your labor and delivery.
My labor and delivery weren’t what I had planned but it all went well. I was induced at 40 + 1 and started the Cytotec at 3 PM on 3/16/21 and my daughter was born at 9:24 PM on 3/17/21. From the 4 doses of Cytotec (ending 3:30 on 3/17/21), they moved on to the foley bulb which was pretty quick but very uncomfortable. I opted for an epidural at this time, per my doctors and nurses’ recommendations. It helped, but ultimately did not work for most of my labor (it was one-sided and no matter how many dosages, when it came to the transition period, I felt everything). From there, I was started on Pitocin. It was a very slow labor and my daughter’s heart fluctuated throughout so there was a lot of flipping, IV fluids, IV sugar water, and oxygen. Around 5:30 on 3/17, my water broke on its own, and around 7 PM I had begun transitioning and was in a lot of pain and having a lot of pressure. My nurses confirmed it was time to push, but we had to wait nearly two hours for the doctor to arrive. I pushed for around an hour and our baby girl Emilia was born at 9:24 PM on 3/17/21.
Would you try midwives brew again?
I don’t know if I would try it again, it would be depending on how desperate I was to get the baby out. It tasted absolutely horrible no matter how cold or how fast you drank it.
Anything else you’d like to add?
I couldn’t for the life of me find apricot juice so I had substituted it with pineapple which I had read online to be an alternate.
Alesha’s Midwives Brew Story
How far along we’re you when you tried midwives brew?
I was 39 weeks and 4 days.
Why did you decide to try it?
I wanted to go into labor on my own without being induced.
Did it put into labor?
I drank the brew and bounced on an exercise ball and went into labor that night. I am unsure which one induced labor.
If so, how long before you went into labor?
12 hours.
How long did your labor last?
36 hours
Tell us about your labor and delivery.
I was in labor for 36 hours, got an epidural, pushed for 2 hours. My baby did not descend on the birth canal properly and started showing signs of distress. I was taken back for a C-section, where my epidural stopped working properly, causing respiratory distress and I was intubated. Baby was born with an apgar of 1 but quickly recovered and is now a healthy 17 month old!
Would you try Midwives Brew again?
Probably not.
Anything else you’d like to add?
It gave me terrible stomach cramps (before labor even started) and diarrhea, which was super inconvenient once I actually went into labor.
Final Thoughts on Midwives Brew
If you’re at the end of your pregnancy and interested in natural ways to induce labor at home, midwives brew might be the option for you. This easy recipe seems to have a pretty high success rate, but can also come with some negative side effects. Remember to always consult with your medical provider before trying Midwives Brew, then decide if you’d like to try it for yourself!
Related:
- 5 Natural Ways to Induce Labor
- The Third Trimester To Do List
- 21 Birth Affirmations that will Empower You
How to Induce Labor with Midwives Brew
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