Do they put seaweed in your vagina to induce labor?
On Holly Madison’s adorable baby special Holly Has a Baby on E!, she told her friend the doctors were going to stick seaweed in her vagina to induce labor. That didn’t sound right, but it turns out this is actually something that happens in hospitals!
According to the Mayo Clinic, small rods of seaweed, called laminaria, are often used as a cervical dilator as part of the induction process. The seaweed works by absorbing moisture and then expanding, which causes the cervice to expand. This in itself doesn’t induce labor, it just readies the body for the birth process. Later, Pitocin, a synthetic version of the hormone oxytocin, is delivered intravenously.
An alternative to the seaweed dilation is balloon-tipped catheter, which is filled with saline to open up the cervix.
