If induction has been mentioned and you’re hoping labour will start on its own, you may be wondering what you can do to help it along. Maybe you’re drinking endless cups of raspberry leaf tea, going for longer walks than you really feel like, or putting pressure on yourself to have sex when it’s the last thing you fancy. And perhaps you’re wondering whether acupuncture could help. Many women come to see me for that reason.
I’m writing this because I recently saw a woman who came for acupuncture to encourage labour. We booked a follow-up two days later, just in case. Less than 30 hours after her first appointment, she cancelled it because she was already in established labour. Was it the acupuncture? We can’t know for sure, but I do believe so.
I’ve had other women go into labour after treatment, and others who went ahead with their induction at the hospital. Even when they were induced, patients have told me they didn’t regret coming. Their reasons varied. Some mentioned better sleep, more energy or feeling calmer. Others reported less reflux or nausea, or that their migraines had stopped.
Acupuncture can change the way you live your pregnancy, and this is very true up to the very end of it.
How I approach it
I usually begin birth preparation at around 36 to 37 weeks. I work from a set of acupuncture points traditionally used to prepare for birth, then adapt the treatment to you. If reflux is keeping you awake or nausea has returned, for example, we can make that part of the session. I’m interested in what would make the next few weeks easier for you as well as how you’re preparing for labour.
If your main reason for coming is to encourage labour to start, I usually consider that from 40 weeks, or from 39 weeks in some circumstances. We’ll talk about how your pregnancy has been going, what your maternity team has advised and whether you already have an induction date. I’ll suggest how many sessions I think are appropriate and how close together to have them.
Can it help labour start on its own?
Some studies suggest it can. A Spanish trial found that women who had acupuncture before a planned induction were more likely to be admitted after labour started or their waters broke. Other research suggests acupuncture may help the cervix prepare for labour, though studies haven’t consistently found that it makes labour more likely to start on its own.
Talking about your birth plan
When you’ve spent months thinking about how you’d like to give birth, hearing that you might need an induction can bring up a lot at once. Sometimes it’s only when you get home that you realise what you wanted to ask.
I make room for that in the appointment. If you want to talk through what you’ve been told, we can do that. We can look at what matters most to you about the birth, which of those preferences you’d still like to discuss if induction goes ahead, and what you’d like your midwife to explain in more detail. You don’t need to arrive with a written plan or even a list of questions.
That conversation is part of the care I offer. So is the treatment itself, and the chance to lie down and rest for a while. If you do go ahead with an induction, I’d still want you to leave the appointment feeling that you’d had time to be looked after and to think about the birth ahead.
If you’d like to talk about where you are in your pregnancy and whether an appointment would be useful, you’re welcome to email me to arrange a free 15-minute call.