

Breaking your bag of water (also called “rupture of membranes”): Your health care provider may use a small hook, like a darning hook, to break the bag of water.It may also start contractions and get your labor started. The balloon puts pressure on the inside of your cervix and slowly opens the cervix. Placing a Foley bulb: Your health care provider may insert a tube called a Foley bulb into your cervix, and then he or she inflates the small balloon on the end of the tube.Sometimes Ibis is all it takes to start contractions and get your labor started, and sometimes it just helps make your labor shorter once real labor starts or is induced with other methods listed next. It causes chemical changes in your cervix that soften and prepare your cervix for labor. Prostaglandin gel: Your health care provider may place Ibis gel on your cervix.Stripping membranes does not break the bag of water and does not always make labor happen right away. Sometimes it causes contractions and gets your labor started.

This releases hormones that soften the cervix, making it easier to open. Stripping membranes: Your healthcare provider puts her or his finger into the cervix at the mouth of the uterus and gently separates the bag of water from the side of the uterus.

The methods most often used to induce labor include: Some of the methods help your body get ready for labor and some make contractions start. The method used depends on the condition of your body and your preferences, as well as the preferences of your healthcare provider.
