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Mothering › Mothering Forums › Pregnancy and Birth › Birth and Beyond › Unassisted Childbirth › Has anyone heard of or tried this? Polly-Jean Five Week Antenatal Formula
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post #1 of 7
Thread Starter 

Sounds too good to be true, but I was curious if anyone here has heard of it or tried it? If you've tried it, did it work? Would this be safe to take? The ingredients don't seem like it'd be harmful, but I'm still learning all about all these herbs.


*Forgive me if I've missed this here on the boards, but I've never seen it before, at least that I can recall.*
post #2 of 7
I have a tendency to do prodromal labor for a loooooooooong time before actual labor. The herbs in Polly-Jean's formula just pushed my body too far. It was unbearable prodromal labor for days and days & then finally I stopped the pills. Once I stopped, I went back to my "normal" version of prodromal labor.

I know a lot of people like it though. Just didn't work for me personally.
post #3 of 7
Total waste of energy and $$$, IMO. No the herbs won't hurt you...but while some of them are good for pregnancy, others are basically 'medicines' that shouldn't be taken by healthy people--they are herbs that I would suggest to someone who was having a particular problem, NOT every pregnant woman.

There are a variety of these products on the market (very similar recipes) and in polling lots of moms and mws about them, I have come to conclude one thing: they really don't work. Except that they CAN BE good at prompting difficult prodromal labor and causing repetitive unnecessary calls to the mw!
post #4 of 7
I took it with my second labor.

My first labor was 31 hours of excruciating back labor, with 7 full weeks of intense prodromal labor. I used little-to-no herbs (like maybe some pregnancy tea a couple of times).

With my second labor, I wanted things to go differently so I used the HypnoBabies program and the 5-week formula you mentioned. I got it on recomendation from another woman for whom it worked really well-- she used it with her second labor, which was so quick and easy, and then not with her third, which was long and hard, and then again with her fourth labor, which was quick and easy.

For me, using the 5-week formula, my prodromal labor was less intense than the first labor, more effective. When I went in to "real" labor it was so light and easy I wasn't sure that it was the "real thing" until I hit transition. I had a couple of hours of those super light contractions, and then two hours of transition/pushing stage. Super quick, super easy labor. So, yeah, I'd say it worked for me. I'll be taking it again.
post #5 of 7
Thread Starter 
Thank you so much for your responses and experiences! I really appreciate them! I was kinda thinking along the lines of what MsBlack said, because I think I'd rather take them seperately than all together, especially if some are not necessarily needed. All our bodies react to things differently and a all-in-one pill would be difficult to single out any reactions to a particular herb or medicine. However, as LTB experienced, it was helpful for you in your labors and another woman's, so now I'm torn. And thank you, Spark, for your personal experience. That's real helpful to know!

Well, I'll keep it bookmarked in case I want to try it, but I will definitely do more research on it before I would. I just really like the idea of not bleeding as much, that was the biggie for me.

Thanks you, ladies!
post #6 of 7
just so you know...2nd babies are, statistically, most women's fastest, easiest labor. With no 'help' at all.

I know a mom who had 2, 42-wk pregnancies, and 2 long labors. She decided to take one of these formulas to see if it would help her. Her 3rd pregnancy was only 41 wks, and the labor pretty quick. So she took it again for #4; her pregnancy was 43wks + 1day (tho labor was pretty quick).

You hear these stories about wonderful things happening for some women who take the formulas...but when you look deeper, you see that a) various factors *might have* contributed to the differences and b) there is simply no consistency in results, over large groups of women you see no evidence at all that the formulas work. For every woman I ever heard say the formulas are great, I've spoken to at least one other who says it either didn't do a thing or actually caused issues with prodromal labor and such.

Our bodies, when healthy, don't need 'medicine' to make them perform birth 'right'. A reasonably good diet, some regular exercise, good stable love at home, some kind of spiritual foundation, a generally positive outlook and no excessive stress in any area...these are the only things that maximize our potential for a normal birth. There are certainly women for whom herbal 'medicine' can be helpful in unusual situations. And anyone can benefit from herbal 'nutrition'--blessed thistle and various others are high in nutrients so they are basically 'concentrated food', not medicine per se.

I totally believe that herbs are wonderful, and should be the first things we reach for, nutritionally and medicinally. And I also believe that the people who created them are ppl who don't much believe that birth works! There really is no substitute for a reasonably healthy lifestyle and a positive attitude....not to mention the trust that one's womanly body was made to do the work of birth naturally.
post #7 of 7
Thread Starter 
Thanks, MsBlack, for bringing up all those points! I agree with what you said! I think you just sealed the deal for me on whether or not I'll take them. This is my third baby and so I think I'll just trust the way God designed our amazing bodies to give birth! Above all, I'll trust Him!
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