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Anyone who has ever been pregnant has asked the question, “How can I have a relatively safe and short labor and delivery with minimal pain?” The answer: acupuncture. Studies and clinical data suggest that acupuncture can Shorten the length of labor and reduce the need for medical interventions like epidural pain relief, artificial labor induction, and cesarian section.
The Beautiful Baby point is a point on the lower leg. It is traditionally needled (often with a golden needle) at the end of each trimester to get rid of what East Asian medicine calls fetal toxins. The term refers to inflammation, disharmony and, in some cases, actual toxins absorbed by the fetus from the mother during pregnancy or conception. This can be the result of the mother's diet, lifestyle or emotional experience. Post-partum, fetal toxins may manifest in children in the form of fevers, colic, rashes, respiratory conditions or allergies.The Beautiful Baby point helps the child to vent these toxins before birth.
36 weeks is a good time to start getting your body ready for labor. In addition to helping you deal with problems common during this stage, such as hemorrhoids and back pain, acupuncture can help to prepare your pelvis and cervix for labor. This means helping muscles and joints intrinsic to delivery soften and supporting a series of events called cervical ripening.
Studies show that moxibustion—the burning of an incense-like herbal mixture—at a point at the tip of the mother's pinky toe can be effective in turning a baby from a breech (feet down) position to a cephalic (head down) position. Research suggests that moxa works by stimulating fetal movement. The treatment is most effective if initiated during week 33 or 34 of the pregnancy. At this stage, there's plenty of elbowroom in the womb. It can be performed at home without an acupuncturist. Ask your acupuncturist if moxa would be an appropriate way to turn your breech baby.
Biomedicine usually uses synthetic prostaglandin and often pitocin to induce labor. The drawback to this approach is that it can cause the uterus to contract before the rest of the body is ready. This usually means more painful contractions and a greater need for epidural pain relief. Although the relief is great, the epidural is likely to stop the contractions. This means more pitocin might be needed in order for contractions to resume. This cycle can put both baby and laboring mother-to-be through some unnecessary distress, increasing the likelihood that forceps or caesarian section will be necessary.
Acupuncture, on the other hand, can promote labor while decreasing labor pain. It may take one or several treatments to promote labor. When labor begins, it's more likely to be because the whole body is ready. Labors prompted by acupuncture are less likely to require interventions like c-section and epidural pain relief when compared to labors induced artificially. In cases where acupuncture does not result in labor, subsequent artificially-induced labor tends to be more productive (Betts, p. 153).
If your doctor wants you to go through labor induction based solely on your due date, ask your doctor whether s/he is calculating your due date based on the date of your last menses or on your conception date. Calculating your due date based on the date when you conceived the baby (if you know that date) is more accurate and can give you another couple of days or weeks until your due date.
Induction Homework:
After your treatment, ask your acupuncturist for acupressure techniques that you can use at home to increase the efficacy of the treatment.
In ancient China, new mothers were not to leave the home or wash their hair for three months post-partum. This was because doctors back then knew that labor caused women to lose a great deal of blood, fluids and qi (or energy). This leaves the metabolism and immune system vulnerable. These vulnerabilities commonly manifest as:
The best way to rebuild after labor is to REST and KEEP WARM. And while three months at home might be a stretch in New York City, your body deserves all the rest it can get. Do everything you can to make sure that postpartum, you have a great deal of down time. When you do go outside, bundle up. Whether in or outside, avoid sitting or standing on cold surfaces. Ask your acupuncturist for moxibustion supplies that you can use for a self-warming treatment.
Nourish your body after birth. Once that is taken care of, your metabolism can regulate itself, and it will be much easier to get back to your normal weight and muscle tone. Ask your acupuncturist for a post-partum formula or porridge that you can cook at home.
Baby Shower Blues?
Put an Olo Acupuncture Gift Card on your Baby Shower wish list. You can use it get acupuncture, massage and herbs pre and post-partum.
Use acupuncture to:
Interested in learning more ways to have a healthy, happy, and fabulous pregnancy? Check out this link to read more ways to have an amazing pregnancy.
