Inducing Labor Naturally

I have always had faith in the wisdom of a pregnant body. For the most part, babies come when they’re ready. Unfortunately, there are circumstances in which a medical induction with pitocin or cytotec are indicated. If a woman or baby’s health is in jeapordy, induction becomes necessary. All too often, medical caretakes do not feel comfortable with a woman who hasn’t started labor by the 41st week and induction is recommended for no other reason than being “overdue.”

When a woman is facing medical induction with drugs, I do provide acupuncture induction to start labor naturally. Contractions initiated with Pitocin are more intense than natural contractions and often lead a woman straight to an epidural, which carries with it many risks. Naturally inducing labor with acupuncture does not have the intensifying effect.

In my experience, first time moms often need up to 3 treatments to get labor going, although I have seen many cases in which 1 treatment does the trick. It is a safe protocol, and worth trying before resorting to more invasive, less safe inductions with drugs.

Interestingly, women who have done prebirth acupuncture once a week from week 36 on, usually go not require even acupuncture induction, as they generally go into labor on their own by week 41.