Acupuncture and Pregnancy

Chinese Proverb

“Man who says it can’t be done should not interrupt woman doing it”
-Chinese Proverb

Lovely labour and birth

Dear Dawn
I’m happy to let you know that our daughter was born on Friday morning at 9:07 am. She was 7lbs 14oz and 21 inches long.

After I saw you on Thursday, I had a pretty vigorous stretch and sweep both by my midwives. I think perhaps the combination of that plus the great work you did got things moving through the night and by 4:30 am I realized I was probably in labour. The funny part was that my next door neighbour and good friend had dropped off her son at our house a few hours before as she and her husband headed to the hospital to have their baby – their baby girl ultimately arrived 10 minutes after our daughter.

I had about 3 hours of relatively calm and relaxed labour to get to 10 cm. After that I had a bit of a stall and my water still hadn’t broken so the midwife broke my water but still nothing. With the help of a breast milk pump, I had 2 very intense contractions and she popped out into my hands on the birth stool just after 9 am.

Thanks again for your great sessions – I found them calming and relaxing and really enjoyed them.

JT- July 2011

Acupuncture helps woman go into labour

Women often book acupuncture appointments to address their eagerness to go into labour. In some cases, they are past their due dates. It may also be that their water has broken and contractions havn’t started.
I always explain that an “acupuncture induction treatment” is an invitation to the body to go into labour, but can not force something that is not meant to happen.
In Chinese Medicine, the two common reasons that labour can be delayed are
1) the woman is exhausted
2) the woman is stressed or anxious
Acupuncture treatment encourages labour (by stimulating points that direct energy downward and opening energy). Treatment also address the physical and mental emotional state of the woman at that moment – inviting her to feel both relaxed and energized.
I was pleased to receive an email from a patient a couple days ago. This woman came to see me last week pregnant with her 3rd child. Her first two children were born at home with midwives. She was disappointed that her water broke at 38 weeks with no sign of contractions and hoped to avoid a hospital induction. She came to see me at 11am. Her labour started at 2pm that same day and her baby was born at 5pm! She was thrilled.

Labour Support with Auricular Acupuncture

“Thank you for your listening ear” a patient just said as she was leaving her appointment. So often, a great part of the therapeutic work I do involves listening.
And then there is the LABOURING EAR. The most effective point I have found in my practice for labour support and pain relief is on the ear. Known as auricular acupuncture, the entire body is mapped onto the ear and stimulating the ear can treat conditions all over the body.
In the case of labour, I have been told by patients that stimulation of a point on the ear cuts their labour pains in half. I have attended numberous births at which I set up a tiny needle in both the women’s ears. The needles are covered with adhesive tape (much like a bandaid). During contractions, one ear is pressed, with thumb on the needle, and counterpressure with the index finger on the back on the ear at the same level. Sometimes I stay for the labour. More often I teach the woman’s partner how to apply the pressure. I also have one patient that preferred pressing the point by herself.
On a couple occasions I have wondered if this pressure is making a significant difference and have decided to try a contraction without pressing. In both cases, the labouring women have called out, “ear, ear”. They did not want to withstand any contractions without this support.
This auricular stimulation does not interfere with the woman’s mobility or positioning and needles are easy to remove if they are not wanted.

In my experience, auricular acupuncture is a low cost, non-evasive, and miraculously effective support for labour.