Kate Middleton Pregnancy: Ten Ways the Duchess of Cambridge Can Bring on the Royal Birth

The Duchess of Cambridge was dubbed 'Waity Katie' before Prince William finally proposed to her. The nickname has come back to haunt her, as Kate Middleton continues her preparations for the birth of her first child.

Everyone is getting impatient, including the Queen, who has said that she would like the Duchess of Cambridge to give birth before the monarch's annual trip to Balmoral next week.

There are many ways to coax a baby far too comfortable in the womb, and this infant has the world's media anxiously pushing along with the Duchess of Cambridge.

Here are some top tips to bring on the royal birth.

1. Eat a hot curry
"If you can make the bowel active, it will make the uterus active," says Carmel McCalmont, head of midwifery at the University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire NHS Trust. "It's the same nerves that open your bowels that will help your uterus to contract," she told the Sunday Times.

2. Walk up and down stairs
A favourite suggestion by midwives. The idea being that an upright position will push the baby to move down into the cervix.

3. Bouncing on a Swiss ball
Rhythmic movement is said to help stimulate the birth, although anecdotal evidence suggests that many hopeful mothers religiously bounced on their Swiss balls for up to two weeks - but with no effect.

4. Blow up balloons
The forceful breathing and building up pressure on the abdominal muscles is supposed to trigger labour but beware - some mothers have reported feeling light-headed and faint.

5. Homeopathy
Probably a favourite with the expectant grandfather, the Prince of Wales who is a strong advocate of natural remedies. Pulsatilla is said to correct the inability of the uterus to expand and enables the child to turn and descend head first into the birth canal prior to delivery.

6. Sex
Said to be the last resort for frustrated expectant mums and dads. Intercourse is believed to trigger the release of oxytocin, which causes contractions.

7. Membrane sweeping
A GP or midwife places a finger inside the cervix and makes a circular, sweeping motion to separate the membranes from the cervix. This is said to increase the chances of labour starting naturally within 48 hours.

8. Nipple stimulation
Expectant mothers will try anything to bring on a birth, even this. "There is some data to support something like nipple stimulation might get labour going, but in most women if their cervix isn't ready for labour, it's not really going to make much of a difference," says Dr Kim Gecsi, from the UH Case Medical Centre.

9. Raspberry Leaf Tea
One of the gentler suggestions, the beverage is believed to be a uterine tonic, and is said to have benefits after the birth for breast milk production.

10. Drinking castor oil
A method frequently favoured by midwives, according to ABC News Senior Medical Contributor Dr Jennifer Ashton. Castor oil can "absolutely cause diarrhoea," Ashton says, which can stimulate the intestines and colon that are right behind the uterus. Probably a last resort for the Duchess of Cambridge.