You’ve reached your due date. Or maybe you’ve gone a little over. Your body feels heavy, the days grow long, and friends and family keep asking: “Is anything happening yet?”. Here you’ll find 9 natural, calm and gently effective ways to help your body get labour started. Nothing dangerous, nothing drastic. Just support for what your body is already doing on its own.

1. Movement: Take short walks and use gravity

When you move, your baby moves too. It’s not about exercising (you still need energy for the birth), but about rhythm and movement.

• Take short walks
• Tilt and roll the pelvis
• Use stairs at your own pace
• Sit on a pregnancy ball and make small circles

It helps the baby move further down into the pelvis and can start small contractions. 

👉 See our pregnancy ball here

Remember – we offer next‑day delivery on weekday orders placed before 12 noon.

2. Warmth and relaxation – give your body space to let go

Oxytocin, the love hormone, is the single most important hormone during birth. Warmth signals calm and safety to the body, and that is exactly what oxytocin loves.

• A warm bath
• A warm shower over the lower back
• Foot bath, optionally add your favourite oil
• Blankets, warmth and dimmed lighting

Tense muscles can hold back the process. Heat allows the muscles to relax.

👉 See our sarm pillow with lavender

3. Oxytocin boost: Massage, closeness and love

Oxytocin is the hormone that makes contractions start and become regular. It’s released when you:

• are being touched
• feel safe
• is close to your partner
• laughing, hugging, or getting a massage

A partner's hand on the lower back or a gentle massage can make a huge difference in the final days.

👉 Honest Oil massage oil – perfect for lower back massage

4. Sex: Completely natural “help for the body”

Yes, sex really can help get labour started!

Why sex works:

• Semen contains prostaglandins → helps ripen the cervix
• Orgasm releases lots of oxytocin → the hormone that controls contractions
• Closeness and touch help the body relax and release oxytocin

It doesn't have to be advanced or energy-consuming. Gentle caresses, closeness, and warmth can be enough.

And don’t worry: sex can’t “squash the baby”. Baby is completely safe.

5. Natural stimulation of the body

There are a few small, gentle things many pregnant women use:

Labour-priming tea (raspberry leaf)

Supports the uterine muscles and cervical ripening. Not an induction method, but can give better, more effective contractions once they start.
👉 See our Ready Mama raspberry leaf tea here

Gentle nipple stimulation

Documented to increase oxytocin. Do it only gently and only if it feels right.

Strong food or ginger

No miracle cure, but can provide activity and warmth in the body.

6. Membrane sweep: When you want professional help

A membrane sweep is a manual method where the midwife gently separates the membranes from the cervix. This can stimulate prostaglandins, the body’s own ripening hormones, and can be very effective – but only if your body is truly ready.

It’s important to know:

• it only works if the body is already ready
• it doesn’t start labor on its own
• it can feel uncomfortable and you may spot a little
• it’s 100% voluntary
• you can still give birth at home, even if you’ve had a membrane sweep

Your midwife can help you figure out whether a membrane sweep is right for you.

7. Calm, a sense of safety and self-care

When you let go of "it has to happen now!", the body gets the best conditions to actually start the birth. Yes, it's difficult, but try to:

• Watch a series
• Take a foot bath
• Do relaxing breathing exercises
• Do something nice for yourself - you deserve pampering ❤
• Repeat positive affirmations about the birth

Use affirmation cards for mental focus

Affirmation cards can bring calm, confidence, and a gentler mindset during the waiting period. When thoughts start to spin, or you feel impatient, a card can be a loving reminder that the body is already working. And that you can trust the process.

👉 See our birth affirmation cards here 

Waiting time is work. The body is active, even when it feels quiet.

8. Labour-preparing acupuncture

Acupuncture is used by many midwives as a natural, calm way to support the body leading up to birth. Small, thin needles are strategically placed to:

• improve blood flow to the uterus
• relax the body and nervous system
• increase the body's own production of oxytocin and endorphins

It doesn’t hurt. Most people describe it as a feeling of warmth or heaviness in the body. Acupuncture can both support the body’s natural ripening process and make contractions more effective once they begin. Many midwives offer labour-preparing acupuncture.

9. Rebozo: deep relaxation and help for baby’s way down into the pelvis

Rebozo is a traditional Mexican technique where a long scarf is used for gentle rocking, stretching and relaxation of the pelvis and back.

It can help with:

• to release tension in the pelvic floor
• to give the baby better space to find a good position
• to reduce discomfort in the lower back
• to create deep calm in the body (and thus support oxytocin)

Rebozo can be performed by your partner, a doula, or a midwife. The calm, rhythmic movements feel incredibly gentle, like a small pause in the waiting time. And can be a really nice support leading up to the birth.

Products that support you in the days leading up to the birth

Pregnancy ball – helps baby down and creates more space
👉 See our pregnancy ball here

Honest Oil massage oil – perfect for oxytocin and lower-back massage
👉 See Honest Oil massage oil here

Birth-maturing tea – supports the maturation of the uterus
👉 See Ready Mama birth-maturing raspberry leaf tea here

Lavender heating pad – calm, warmth, and relaxation 👉 See our lavender heating pad here

Affirmation cards – strengthen your sense of safety, focus and birth mindset
👉 See the positive affirmation cards here

🚚 Remember – we offer next-day delivery (Mon–Fri) when you place your order before 12 noon. 

And dear mother, remember...

The due date is not a deadline.

It’s a guess.

You’re not behind. You’re on your way.

Baby comes on their birthday. 😉

The body works quietly and calmly. Soon you'll be holding your child in your arms. ❤