Acupuncture found to help jump-start labor and reduce inductions!

Acupuncture found to help jump-start labor and reduce inductions!

Research is growing around the impact that acupuncture may have on the body during labor and delivery. Acupuncture may be a natural option to help jump-start labor.  One study reported that women who got acupuncture were more likely to go into labor without medical intervention.  The study included 56 women who were 39.5 to 41 weeks pregnant.  Half of the women received acupuncture and half did not.  Seventy percent of the women who had acupuncture went into labor on their own, while only 50 percent of the standard care group went into labor on their own.  Women who received acupuncture were 39 percent less likely to have a cesarean section, compared to 17 percent in the control group.
For many women, they may not hear anything about acupuncture until their due date is reached…and at that point they may receive a recommendation from their midwife or MD.  From the Chinese medicine perspective, the patient may not get the results they hope for in just one session.  In Chinese medicine, the practitioner may believe that the woman’s spleen, kidney and liver energy needs to be strong and balanced.  This could take two weeks of intervention.
For many women, the process of labor and delivery is scary, and the body won’t allow this process to start while the mother is fearful.  She needs to get to a place of comfort and relaxation.
A study completed in 1974 reported that acupuncture reduces the average time a woman spends in labor.  A 2001 study involving 45 women, studied the impact that acupuncture has on cervical ripening.  The authors found that acupuncture helped to ripen the cervix and shortened the time between the due date and delivery date, thereby decreasing inductions.

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