Most women who have been pregnant before can relate to that feeling of just wanting to get it over with. In the last days of your pregnancy, you will likely be begging that little bundle of joy to end your misery and make her debut. If begging doesn’t work, below you’ll find some information on how to break your own water at home while pregnant.

Strip Your Membranes
Have your membranes stripped by your medical professional. Ask your doctor to strip your membranes. This is a process that involves your doctor using his fingers to separate the sac of amniotic fluid from the uterus walls. While it sounds pretty graphic, it’s not that bad and not as invasive as having your waters broken. The uterus becomes irritated and begins contracting a few hours or days after the procedure, often breaking your water once you are at home. When combined with steps 2, 3 and 4, this step becomes even more effective at breaking your water.

Walk it Out
Walk, walk, walk and then walk some more. One way in which you can help your water to break in the last days of pregnancy is to walk. Walking is not only great exercise, but it helps your little one drop into the birth canal in order to get ready for delivery. This in itself can help your water break and bring the onset of contractions. Remember not to overdo it–you don’t want to risk injury to yourself or your child. Around 30 minutes at a time is a good amount of walking.

Have Sex
Have sex, sex and some more sex. Having sex is sometimes known to help break your water in those last days. This is especially true if you have your membranes stripped at your physician’s office and then go home and have sexual relations with your partner. If you’re worried that sexual relations might injure your baby, it shouldn’t. The only time sexual relations might be dangerous to you or your baby is if you have sex after your water breaks. At that point, sexual relations could place harmful bacteria into the uterus and should not be attempted.

Nipple Stimulation
Try nipple stimulation. Nipple stimulation has long been known to sometimes induce labor and trigger the breaking of the waters. Simply roll the nipple as well as the areola back and forth between your thumb and forefinger–or have your partner do it for you while you relax. The key is to simulate the motion that would happen if a baby were suckling. This is thought to be a very powerful way to induce labor–similar to Pitocin.