Written by Kaleb Montgomery
It is no secret that today’s society is over medicated; from prescription to over the counter drugs, we often take what we are given without giving much thought to more natural methods. For soon-to-be moms, this can be a little disconcerting, which is why many of the women who come to our clinic for acupuncture do so to avoid being artificially induced into labour or avoid a c-section. This is because research has shown that doing acupuncture in the weeks before labour makes labour safer, easier (and shorter), reduces induction rates (or reduces the amount of drugs used if induction is necessary), reduces epidural rates, and also reduces the amount of emergency caesarean sections. On top of this, research has also shown that there are no negative side effects to the pre-birth treatment.
Here are some stats for you to think about:
-Labour time is shortened on average 2 hours with acupuncture treatment group ** -‐ Medical interventions (C-‐Sections) reduced from 27% to 18% *
-Overall medical intervention rates reduced from 50% to 34% *
-Normal vaginal births increased from 71% to 78% *
-Women receiving the Pre-‐Birth acupuncture did not give birth any earlier (# of weeks) than if they had not received treatment*
With that in mind, consider having acupuncture once a week from 37 weeks, all with the aim of having a safer, easier, and shorter labour.