Acupuncture For Promoting Labor at the End of Pregnancy
Is your due date almost near? Are you worried about giving birth past your due date or are you feeling pressured by your OB to get things moving? The wait for your baby’s arrival as pregnancy nears and passes 40 weeks can be a bit anxiety-producing for some. Did you know that acupuncture could help “encourage” labor initiation? We receive many referrals from OBs, Midwives, and Doulas for this very service.
To be clear, we are not saying that a pregnant woman would have her water break while on the acupuncture table (though we do get that question quite a bit!). Instead, acupuncture can help initiate the hormonal shifts, prepare and relax the body to promote labor to get started naturally.
Depending on the location the needles are placed, acupuncture can help promote labor in 3 main ways:
- Acupuncture stimulates the release of certain hormones, such as oxytocin, which can help initiate contractions.
- Acupuncture promotes cervical ripening to encourage softening and dilation of the cervix.
- Acupuncture reduces stress and anxiety, factors that can sometimes inhibit the natural onset of labor.
In most cases, acupuncture treatments that target labor induction include points on the low back, hips, hands, ankles, and feet. We suggest starting weekly acupuncture at 36 weeks. We have great success with women going into labor on or before their due dates if they do the weekly treatments during the home stretch. The acupuncture sessions also help a pregnant woman feel more comfortable, which is a real bonus for tight and achy muscles common at this time.
When you come to Triangle Acupuncture Clinic to help encourage labor induction, we not only provide you with a comfortable, effective treatment, we also provide you with a comprehensive guide to acupressure techniques you can do with your partner outside of the clinic. This guide describes areas that can be stimulated both before and during labor, to help ease the process along the way.
Please contact us with any questions you may have about using acupuncture for labor induction, we are here to help guide you in any way we can!