Burning Question

Q On the May 9 episode of Friends, a doctor prescribes sex to induce labor for Jennifer Aniston’s Rachel. (The idea also surfaced this month on The WB’s Reba.) Is it good advice — or just a sneaky way to sex up a sitcom?

A Hanky-panky doesn’t just cause pregnancy. Semen contains hormones that make the uterus contract, possibly bringing on the blessed event, says Dr. Jacques Moritz, an OB-GYN at New York’s St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center. ”It’s not 100 percent effective,” she notes. Drinking castor oil has a similar effect, explains the doc, but ”it’s definitely less fun than sex.” And not exactly a prime-time draw. — Jennifer Armstrong (Send queries to BurningQuestions@ew.com)