Acupuncture to induce labor

I'm not a "new age-y" kind of gal, but I have been to an acupuncturist a handful of times this pregnancy for migraines (also did with my DS). I don't know if it REALLY works or if it's just psychological...but what I DO know is that my migraines always went away after seeing him. And frankly, all in my head or not, my migraines stopped and that's what mattered!

So, I'm planning on going tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. (PST) to have him do his magic and see if it induces labor. My OB won't medically induce until 39 weeks...which is great because I really would like to avoid medical induction (since the c/s rate doubles). The nice thing about acupuncture is that it won't CAUSE my body to go into labor if it isn't already headed in that direction. "I can't make you go into labor at 20 weeks...but I can speed up the process if your body is already prepping for it anyway." Unlike, pitocin which puts you into labor regardless (or if it doesn't, the clock starts ticking and you'll be having your babies SOMEHOW soon).

I'm just ridiculously uncomfortable and wanting to be done with this. Tomorrow I will be 37 weeks so I figure that it's a good time.

For the record, while he said that his personal record was a woman going into labor 5 hours after one session, the typical time is more like 24-48 hours after 2 sessions. So, if that is how I go, I would see him Tuesday and Wednesday and then begin labor either Thursday or Friday...assuming it works.

Do I think it will work? Who knows. But it's worth a try and it's a lot easier on my body than pitocin (been there, done that...hated it).

I'll keep you posted!

 

Cool! Congrats, hope it works out for you! I HATE Pitocin so much! And it seems no matter what your body is doing, most docs insist on "augmenting" your labor with the stuff!

Molly
35 weeks

 

OOOOOOooo!! God if that works I'm SO gonna find an acupuncturist around here somewhere! lol

 

Can he do the opposite? Keep them in until her 38th week until I get home???

 

QUOTE(Pitbullzz @ Jun 29 2009, 06:26 PM) [snapback]1374732[/snapback]
Can he do the opposite? Keep them in until her 38th week until I get home???



Actually...I have been seeing him for the last three weeks regularly after a pre-term labor scare for just that reason (combined with semi-strict bedrest)...granted, its hard to say if the acupuncture has actually kept these girls cooking, or if they would be in there without it...I suppose that will be one of those questions Id like to ask God when I get there! "Was it all in my head, or did it really work???"

I dont believe in "chee" or balancing energy or whatever...but it does seem to make sense to me that we carry pressure in certain places and that relieving the tension or pressure can help your body do what it should be doing...think of a balloon...if you prick the soft part near the knot, it allows air to escape slowly and can make the balloon less tight...luckily, we arent balloons and we dont continuously leak air, but i think the same ideas apply. As a side note, I am Christian and I see acupuncture through the lens of another way of looking at and dealing with your body...nothing spiritual or karma or anything like that...kinda like if you take a yoga class...you can do it from a purely exercise format or you can include meditation and spiritual enlightenment...it just depends on how you approach it. (I felt the need to clarify that because I think a lot of people put acupuncture in the weird, hippie, granola, voodoo column and I dont think it has to be!)

 

Oh trust me. I know what you mean. I don't believe all of the "spiritual" stuff that sometimes goes along with it, but I am 34 and I do BJJ and MMA A LOT and have a friend that has done wonders on my neck and hands with it.

It works...that's for sure.

As far as inducing labor...I hope it goes well for ya

 

Good Luck! I really hope it works for you... if it does I may have to try it this week too! I really hope once I get an induction date these boys decided to come the day b/f like their sisters did lol

 

Good luck! I hope it works for you. I am with you on the pitocin! Hated it with my son's birth!

I am a big fan of accupunture. I never in a million years thought I would ever do it but I tried it when dealing with infertility... I really enjoyed going and couldn't believe how relaxing it was!

Enjoy!!

 

Just wanted to update...I had my first acupuncture session (to induce labor) yesterday morning and by the late afternoon/evening I was having LOTS of contractions...nothing majorly painful, but relatively consistent (about every 20 minutes)...but then it stopped around 9 p.m. I had even told DH that he might want to get to bed early just in case...

I had my second appointment this afternoon...haven't had contractions yet, but my acupuncturist said that it is really common to have contractions start up and die out...he likened it to starting up a lawn mower...sometimes it takes a few times to "catch"....! I thought that was an interesting analogy!

So, we will see what happens the next couple of days. My OB wants to induce at 39 weeks and I *really* want to avoid medical indcution...so anything to help speed up the process...

 

Good luck with the acupuncture, if the so called spiritual side of it bothers you, I can tell you that in Sweden they offer acupuncture in the hospitals, and this place is as far from spiritual. I had it for morning sickness for both my son and this pregnancy. I had it during my labour at the hospital when I was half way dialated for pain relief, and this time when I landed in the hospital at 17 weeks for dehydration and low salt levels I had it to help with my morning sickness. All of these times I found them extremley helpful. There is western medicine and there is eastern medicine, some of which had been practiced for thousands of years. It is just now with that western medicine has been able to use technology to test the claims of eastern medicine and that is why it is becoming more and more mainstream and even incoporated into hospital care. In short I'm a fan, and I hope that your contracting in no time... good luck mom. :good: