Medical Questions & Answers

Question: Is it true that the consumption of hot milk along with little clarified butter during the last 3 or 4 months of pregnancy makes labour easier? Are there any other steps towards easy labour? Can medication help?

It is customary among certain communities for pregnant women to take a spoonful of ghee in hot milk every day. It is believed that ghee acts as a softener and renders the joints in the back lax and supple and the passage of birth smoother. The child emerges smoothly and unhindered from the reproductive passage supposedly lined or lubricated. This is a false notion. On the contrary, the extra ghee gets deposited in the form of fatty layers around the waist. Weight also increases. Sudden increase of weight hampers mobility. This is hardly conducive to trouble-free labour.

Exercise is the road to trouble-free delivery and should be continued right through pregnancy until the beginning of labour pains. A woman who has remained active attending to routine work and domestic chores finds labour easy to bear. Self-confidence also helps. Sometimes an epidural is injected to relieve pain. If the uterus does not contract properly, tablets or injections may be given to increase the intensity of the contractions. Psychological effects of injections or glucose may themselves help the progress of labour.

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