Acupuncture for labor preparation is for you if:

1. You want to balance your hormones, and reduce your time in labor (see research below!)
2. Braxton-Hicks ‘practice contractions’ did not start when they are expected.
3. You generally feel ‘cold’ and tired most of the time-your labor and delivery may be more painful due to the cold, as it constricts flow of qi/blood (creates tension), I will warm up the channels of your body with the use of the herb moxibustion, on a few points on your lower leg, to warm up the muscles leading up to the uterus.
4. If you are stressed, worried, and/or scared; I will provide gentle acupuncture to balance the hormones, use points specific for the nervous system to reduce stress (vagus regulation, parasympathetic tone), dopamine balancing (decrease sugar cravings) and guide you into a deep state of relaxation with a mini-guided meditation.  (Both mom and baby sleep during acupuncture!)
5. If your cervix has not dialted, acupuncture will be used to address the hormones and innervate the cervix. (nerves from the lower leg travel up to the cervix).

Pre-birth acupuncture

Research on the use of acupuncture to prepare women for labour first appeared in 1974 with a study by Kubista and Kucera. Their research concluded that acupuncture once a week from 37 weeks gestation was successful in reducing the mean labour time of the women treated. 

In 1998 Zeisler et al.used acupuncture  from 36 weeks gestation on. This study concluded that acupuncture treatment had a positive effect on the duration of labour by shortening the first stage of labour, defined as the time between 3cm cervical dilation and complete dilation. The acupuncture group had a median duration of 196 minutes compared to the control group time of 321 minutes.

In 2004 there was an observational study (Betts & Lenox) examining the effect of pre-birth acupuncture. This involved 169 women receiving pre-birth acupuncture who were compared to local population for gestation at onset of labour, incidence of medical induction, length of labour, use of analgesia and type of delivery. In the acupuncture group there was an overall 35% reduction in the number of inductions (for women having their first baby this was a 43% reduction), 31% reduction in the epidural rate. When comparing midwifery only care there was a 32% reduction in emergency caesarean delivery and a 9% increase in normal vaginal births. The conclusion was that pre-birth acupuncture appeared to provide some promising therapeutic benefits in assisting women to have normal vaginal births Link to study http://acupuncture.rhizome.net.nz/media/cms_page_media/146/Prebirth%20Acupuncture.pdf

Cervical ripening (offered at our office)

A randomized controlled trial into the effects of acupuncture on cervical ripening was published by Rabl in 2001.

Summary and conclusion

The objective of this study was to evaluate whether acupuncture at term can influence cervical ripening and thus reduce the need for postdates induction. On their due dates 45 women were randomized into either an acupuncture group (25) or a control group (20). The acupuncture group received acupuncture every two days. The women in both groups were examined every other day for cervical length (measured by vaginal trasonography, cervical mucus and cervical stasis according to Bishop’s score). If women had not delivered after 10 days labour was induced by administering vaginal prostaglandin tablets. The time from the woman’s due date to delivery was an average of 5 days in the acupuncture group compared to 7.9 days in the control group, and labour was medically induced in 20% of women in the acupuncture group compared to 35% in the control group. There were no differences between overall duration of labour or of the first and second stages of labour. The authors concluded that acupuncture at the points Hegu L.I.-4 and Sanyinjiao SP-6 supports cervical ripening and can shorten the time interval between the woman’s expected date of delivery and the actual time of delivery.

Acupuncture to induce Labour? No, Acupuncture to aid a vaginal birth.

The use of pre-birth acupuncture which aims to prepare a woman’s body for labour is what is incorrectly referred to as acupuncture for induction.   An individualized approach to address factors such as cervical ripening, the baby’s position, emotional factors, contractions, and physical stamina is what we evaluate during a consultation for ‘labor induction’.

It is best to address those factors, since inducing contractions with acupuncture when the baby has not dropped or the cervix hasn’t started dilating will not help you induce labor.

A lot of misinformation is on the internet about acupuncture.