3. Natural Labor Prep: Simple Ways to Ready Your Body for Birth

In this episode of Faith Over Fear: The Christian Pregnancy & Birth Podcast, we’re talking all about natural ways to help your body prepare for labor—without fear, overwhelm, or pressure to do “all the things.”

Whether you’re weeks away from meeting your baby or just starting to plan for birth, understanding cervical ripening can empower you to partner with your body, honor God’s design, and prepare from a place of peace. I’m breaking down what cervical ripening actually is, why it matters, how your provider might assess your body’s readiness for labor using something called the Bishop Score, and simple, gentle things you can do to support the process naturally.

If you’ve ever felt unsure about what you should be doing to get ready for birth—or wrestled with the fear of “what if my body doesn’t know what to do?”—this episode will meet you with encouragement, education, and faith.

In this episode, I share:

🌿 What the cervix does as you approach labor—and why ripening matters
 🧠 A simple breakdown of the Bishop Score (so it actually makes sense!)
 🫖 Gentle natural methods to support ripening (like red raspberry leaf tea, dates, and more)
 📖 The mindset shift that frees you from control and anchors you in trust
 🙏 How to pray through the waiting and release pressure to perform

Scripture Shared:

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.”
— Ecclesiastes 3:1 (ESV)

A Prayer for You:
I close this episode with a prayer over your heart and your pregnancy—that you would feel God’s nearness in the waiting, be free from fear, and walk in confident peace knowing He is preparing your body and writing your baby’s birth story with care and love.

Mentioned in this episode:

• ✨ Christian Mama Birth Prep Library: Free birth prep tools, worship playlists & more
• 💛 Work with Me 1:1 – Doula Support & Coaching: Explore birth support and childbirth education for your pregnancy and birth journey

If this episode encouraged you, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a friend. Let’s keep choosing faith over fear!

Go here for the full blog post, show notes, and all resources mentioned!

Transcript

Natalie Portman: 0:47

Well, hello there. I am so excited to welcome you to episode three today I'm gonna be talking about natural ways to help ripen your cervix. Maybe you've heard of cervical ripening methods, or maybe you are completely unfamiliar with this concept, but let's dive into what the cervix is and then we can talk about ways to help ripen the cervix and why we might want to do this. So the cervix is the lower, narrow part of your uterus or your womb, and this connects to the vagina, and this acts like a gatekeeper between the uterus and the birth canal. So during your pregnancy, the cervix is firm, closed and long, and this keeps your baby safely inside throughout the pregnancy until you know it's time for labor. So as labor approaches, the cervix will begin to ripen, and what that looks like is it will begin to soften, it will begin to thin out, or efface. It will begin to open up or dilate, and it will begin a positional change where it will start to move from the back to the front of your body. And then of course, this leads to the birth of your baby. So just a helpful analogy, if you were to think about the neck of a balloon and when that balloon starts to get really full, thinking of it as The uterus where your baby is held. As that balloon fills, the neck is tight and closed to keep everything inside of the balloon, but then as pressure builds the neck of the balloon or the cervix starts to open, it stretches, it thins. And this is just a, nice way to visualize what that cervix is doing. So again, maybe you have heard of cervical ripening methods. Maybe you haven't. But either way, let's touch on some of the benefits of implementing some of these cervical ripening methods. Some of the benefits include having a shorter or smoother labor, and who doesn't want that? It can also help reduce the risk of, unnecessary interventions and augmentation of the labor, like having to use Pitocin to get the labor to continue or even reducing your chance of having an unplanned cesarean birth. It also helps increase the chance of a successful vaginal delivery if you have an induction. And then if you have a shorter, smoother labor, this helps, baby's wellbeing because baby is less stressed and then it can even help, lessen the intensity of your labor. So you have a less painful labor experience. So those are all, incredible benefits of cervical ripening methods. As a quick disclaimer for this episode, the information I share is just for general education and encouragement. So always talk with your provider before you try anything new. And I even recommend you ask your provider about these methods by not just asking for their permission, but asking is there any medical reason why I can't try X, Y, Z? So instead of asking, is it okay if I try red raspberry leaf tea, ask, is there any medical reason why I can't try red raspberry leaf tea throughout my pregnancy? Some providers are very unfamiliar with these methods and so you don't want to necessarily put them on the spot about them if they're unfamiliar. But if they just know outright, say you have gestational diabetes, you shouldn't be eating a ton of dates, which is one of the cervical ripening methods listed here. So that's my advice. Again, this is not medical information. One of the ways that providers can measure how favorable your cervix is before the start of labor is by finding out something called the Bishop score. I. And it sounds kind of clinical, but it's a pretty straightforward method. And so I'm gonna break that down for you now. So there are five components to the Bishop score. The first component is dilation. This refers to how. Open the cervix is. So zero centimeters is completely closed, 10 centimeters is completely open. So before you can push out your baby, your cervix needs to be 10 centimeters. So zero to 10. If you are completely closed, you get a score for the bishop score of zero points. If you're already dilated one to two centimeters, you get a point. If you're dilated three to four centimeters, you get two points. And if you're five centimeters or more, you get a score of three points. So that's just that first component dilation. The next one is effacement. So this refers to how thick or thin the cervix is. If the cervix is 0% efface d it's pretty thick. If it's zero to 30% effaced, you get zero points for that. If it is 40 to 50% effaced, you get a point for that. If your cervix is effaced 60 to 70%, you get two points. And if your cervix is effaced 80% or more, you get three points and. 100% effacement is your cervix is paper thin. So if you think, you know, the cervix is an inch, if it's 0% to thin as paper that just kind of gives you a gauge of effacement there. The next component is Station Station refers to how high or low the baby is in the pelvis. If you look at a, pelvis model, they're these two points, they're called the ischial spines, and it kind of looks like a little hourglass in the middle of the pelvis. And so when baby's head is. To that point in the pelvis, it's considered zero station and for every centimeter above that zero station, so babies kind of higher up, still like pretty high up in your belly we consider that actually negative numbers. So zero station baby is right at those ischial spines for every centimeter above it. Negative one if the baby is, one centimeter above. And then if baby is three centimeters above, then it's minus three station, if that makes sense. And then positive numbers means that baby is coming out and down. So the way I think about it is obviously we want baby to come out. So I think positive numbers, you know, baby is getting lower. If that helps you, it helps me. So if baby is. Pretty high up minus three station, that's zero points. If baby is minus two station, you get one point. If baby is at zero station or minus one station, you get two points for that. That's still pretty low. And then if baby is positive one or positive two station, you get three points for that one. So the next component is cervical consistency. So this refers to how firm or soft the cervix is. And as a way to kind of imagine this, I want you to touch the tip of your nose. And that's kind of a firm feeling. So if your cervix is firm, it would feel about the consistency of feeling the tip of your nose. If your cervix is kind of a medium consistency, I want you to feel your chin. And then if your cervix is soft, I want you to feel your upper lip like just below your nose. So that just kind of gives you a, an analogy of, of what to kind of visualize when it comes to cervical consistency. So if your cervix is firm, you get zero points. If your cervix is considered medium, you get one point. And if the cervix is soft, you get two points and then cervical position. If your cervix is positioned towards the back, which is it where it will be most of the pregnancy. If it's tilted back, you get zero points. If your cervix is starting to move forward, it's kind of in that mid position. You get one point. And if your cervix is tilted forward or anterior, you get two points for that. And so if you add up all of the points based on those five components of the Bishop score, if you score zero to five points, this means that your cervix is not favorable. And you would definitely benefit from cervical ripening methods first ahead of an induction. Or you know, you going into labor spontaneously. If you score six to seven points, your cervix is considered moderately favorable. And then if you get eight points or more, your cervix is considered very favorable and you have a really good chance that you'll start labor on your own. Or if you do need an induction, there's a good chance that induction will go pretty smoothly and successfully. So now that you kind of have an understanding of what cervical ripeness kind of looks like and can be scored as such let's now talk about the natural and gentle ways that you can support cervical ripening. Starting at 20 weeks drinking red raspberry leaf tea is a great way to help tone the uterus. By the end of your pregnancy, your uterus becomes the biggest and strongest muscle in your whole body. So when you have a toned uterus, those contractions are very powerful and that can then shorten the amount of time you're in labor because your, contractions are very efficient. So I would start drinking at 20 weeks, one to three cups a day. You can drink it like hot tea, or you can even steep the tea bags in water overnight. And that way you don't have to drink it hot, especially if it's like dead of summer and you're pregnant in the summer. And then at 37 weeks you can actually even start steeping up to four tea bags. I prefer, putting that in a mason jar put it in your fridge or just out on your counter. And that's just a really great way to get like a, a lot of that red raspberry leaf concentration in a, 20 to 32 ounce. Beverage. And then you can get this anywhere, you can get this at the grocery store. I think even like CVS sells red raspberry leaf tea. I prefer to get it on Amazon and I'll send you the, the link in the show notes. the one that I use it's a 100 count organic red raspberry leaf tea and like the eco-friendly teabag. And then starting at 36 weeks I would definitely start ramping up the amount of chiropractic adjustments you're receiving. I highly recommend that you're seeing a chiropractor well before 36 weeks. And I'm gonna give you kind of a general guideline of how often I would, recommend seeing a chiropractor, and again, this is a general guideline. Some women need. Way more adjustments. Some may need way less, but in the first trimester, I would start going about once a month. And the second trimester, I would start going twice a month and then, and the third trimester in the first six weeks going once a week, and then in the last six weeks going about twice a week. But of course, if you're having a baby who is malpositioned, whether the baby is breech, where their butt is presenting first. Or baby is just not facing in a great position. Say they're, they're op, or posterior or sunny side up, if you're familiar with any of these terms that's considered a less optimal position. And so getting regular chiropractic adjustments can help baby navigate into a more optimal position for the start of labor. And that's one of the biggest benefits as well as you just being much more comfortable in your pregnancies. Like I said, in my birth stories, I could not have survived without my chiropractors. It was extremely helpful for me to be able to move. And my babies always found great positions for labor, and so that also to me is just personal evidence that it's very, very effective. And then at 37 weeks you can start eating dates. This helps just again, ripen and soften the cervix. There are so many recipes out there. Kind of a simple way to do it is I would eat three in the morning, three in the evening, but to eat dates with like unsweetened peanut butter or cashew butter, almond butter, something like that. And then when I was pregnant with Daniel, my favorite way to eat'em was to put it in a smoothie. And again, so many recipes out there. Just do a little bit of research on like what flavors you like, but smoothies and eating it with nut butter is my two favorite ways. Just be careful if you're watching the amount of sugar you have, if you have gestational diabetes or something. I would avoid this method because, you know, obviously dates have a lot of natural sugars in them. Another thing I would recommend 37 weeks is taking an evening primrose oil supplement so you can start taking a thousand milligrams orally twice a day. So just taking one capsule in the morning and one in the evening. And then having sex is a really great way to help the cervix become more favorable. And that's because semen, when it comes in contact with our cervix it contains something called prostaglandins, which is what is also in medication to help ripen and soften the cervix. If you look. At the medication version of like cervical ripening methods, it contains about three times as much as just having sex one time. So if you have sex three times in a short period of time, you're getting the same dose of prostaglandins as if you had medication. So that's really, really cool. And the other benefit of having sex is if you orgasm, you release a lot of oxytocin, which can certainly trigger really great regular uterine activity. And then in addition to having sex, you can also include breast or nipple stimulation while you're having sex, and that also releases a lot of oxytocin. But you can also just hand stimulate your breast. And start getting some of the colostrum, which is that early milk. It kind of like is a honey consistency, like it's really, thick. But you can hand express colostrum or you can put on your breast pump if you are familiar with your breast pump or you just wanna kind of get familiar with it. And you can pump five minutes each side, so that's what, 10 minutes a session per day. So that's another way you can do that as well. And then starting at 39 weeks, start talking with your provider about something called a membrane sweep. And if your cervix is at least dilated one centimeter and your provider is willing to do a membrane sweep. They take a gloved finger, they insert it into the vagina, and they separate the amniotic sac from the cervix. And that separation releases prostaglandins, which we just talked about, helps to ripen and soften the cervix. And this is especially. A great method to try if you're trying to avoid an induction or if your body's just like right on the cusp of going into labor. You're having lots of labor signs, but your body just is not going into labor. Many times you do membrane sweep and your body goes into labor, which is exactly what happened for both of my labor. Says I had a membrane sweep within 24 hours before I actually went into labor. So also can speak personally that it, it's a great way to get things going. Another thing that I did in both my pregnancies is acupuncture and just find somebody who is familiar with labor induction acupuncture. Again, if you're in the Jacksonville area I'll link in the show notes where you can go to find my recommendation for who to see in Jacksonville. But that's an excellent way to get things going as well. And the key with all of these methods is it is not about doing all of these things expecting that your cervix is gonna be perfectly favorable. You're gonna have a bishop score of, you know, eight plus, and your body's gonna have the most efficient labor ever if you do all these things. That is not the point of doing these things. It is truly just a way to. Help your body along to feel more like you're partnering with your body to get this process going and to just give your body the best chance it can to have an efficient labor, but just go into it without expectation or disappointment. Say you're doing all the things and you have your provider check you at 41 weeks and your cervix is still completely closed don't be discouraged by that. Just keep doing what you're doing. and also just pray about it. Pray about any of the methods that I have mentioned here. If they just do not seem right or appropriate to you, don't do them. Just really do whatever you feel like the Lord is calling you to do. And don't let it stress you or overwhelm you either. If you do none of these things, you will still have your baby. If you do all of the things. It's not like this is the cheat code there's so many factors to labor. Just go into this with a very healthy mindset that there's no expectation there, but it is certainly a way to help facilitate things in your pregnancy and to help facilitate a more straightforward labor. I wanted to read you a verse as encouragement. This comes from Ecclesiastes three one and it says, for everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven. So again, just to reiterate, I. There is a season for everything. There is a season to try the acupuncture. There is a season to sit and wait and try. None of these methods. So seek the Lord in those things. Do not enter into these methods with fear or pressure or doubt in yourself because your body will go into labor in the Lord's Perfect timing. I think we all. Okay, I'll speak for myself. I know that I can have this mentality that if I don't do my part, then bad things are gonna happen. And that is absolutely not true. The Lord is completely and utterly sovereign over everything that's happening, and you are not so powerful that you can out will God's will. His will will be done. And so I'm gonna pray for you and then we'll wrap up here. And before I do, I also wanted to mention all of the methods that I mentioned in this episode are in a handout. If you go to the Christian Mama birth prep library and sign up for that free library access this cervical ripening methods handout is in there as well. So whether you are still, you know, an early pregnancy or say you're at the very end of your pregnancy make sure to sign up for that. You can sign up in the show notes. I'll have the link there. Or go to faithoverfearbirth.com to grab this cheat sheet. Let's go ahead and pray. Dear Lord, I just thank you so much for this sweet sister that is hearing my voice right now. I pray, Lord Jesus, that you would just come alongside her, wrap her in your arms and just help her feel your peace. During this waiting time, I pray, Lord, that you would just help her release control. I pray that you would remove fear because fear is our enemy Lord, and we just wanna have faith in you and just faith to do what we feel like you are calling us to do, not what anyone else is telling us to do. I pray, Lord Jesus, that you would just remind us of who you are, that you spoke everything with a word and you are so powerful. And we just, we just wanna trust you more deeply. We want to love you more deeply, and we cannot wait for what you're gonna do in this. Pregnancy in this birth and with this precious child that we're carrying. I pray, Lord Jesus that we would just give all glory to you and we love you, Jesus. It's in your name we pray. Amen. That's it for today's episode. I'm really excited for next week I'm gonna be interviewing Sarah Salain. We already recorded that episode and her birth story and testimony is absolutely amazing. So please check out that she goes into detail about her struggles with infertility and what all the Lord is. Doing now to actually use her to serve other women who are dealing with infertility, PCOS and other wellness issues. So check that one out as well.