Can Acupuncture Get This Baby Out?

The Short answer:  If your baby is coming soon, acupuncture can assist the process.

In our country today, more and more obstetricians recommend scheduling medical inductions of labor when an expectant mom nears her due date.  While the given reasons vary, most of these induced labors are truly unnecessary and potentially unhealthy.  The woman is led to believe that is it abnormal or unsafe to carry her baby past the decided “due date.”

The fact of the matter is that most babies are meant to be born when they are good and ready.  Due dates are extremely arbitrary and notoriously inaccurate.  As a friend and colleague likes to remind his patients, “You don’t want your cupcake to come out gooey in the middle, so leave it in the oven’ til it’s done!”  Babies are not meant to be summoned whenever we choose.  They do not spend nine months growing in the uterus and then decide to stay through preschool.  If left to their own devices, most babies would come out without needing an early jump-start.

A common fear that I hear all the time in my office is that the baby is getting too big.  The truth is that most mothers’ bodies are designed to birth whatever size baby they grow.

Another worry, and very occasionally for good reason, is the level of amniotic fluid.  Sometimes low fluid can caused by dehydration and easily corrected by drinking more liquids.  In rare cases, this may be a true cause for an induction.

Other valid reasons for induction are previous difficult labor, toxemia, or pre-eclampsia.

The bottom line is that if you have had a healthy pregnancy, are having no unusual symptoms, and baby is doing well, medical induction is probably not necessary and may lead to more complications that may require a c-section that may have otherwise been avoidable.

Mothering Magazine has a great article explaining why most inductions should be avoided.  My only qualm with this article is that it is slightly dismissive of acupuncture which is extremely safe throughout pregnancy, and will not induce labor unless the baby’s ready to be born.  In fact, acupuncture not only helps ease the discomforts of pregnancy, but can be a great preparation for natural labor whether or not the patient is requesting “induction.”
http://www.mothering.com/articles/pregnancy_birth/birth_preparation/inducing.html.

Acupuncture can be a great alternative to gently and safely getting the ball rolling, and acupuncture and Chinese herbs can be a wonderful way to prepare for a successful labor. Not only will the tiny needles get the blood and energy circulating through your body, but the treatments will also help regulate your nervous system, calming your mind.  The more relaxed you can be, the more willingly your body will transition into labor.

Here’s a summary of a study showing acupuncture to be an effective treatment to avoid medical induction:

Acupuncture for cervical ripening and induction of labor at term–a randomized controlled trial.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Vienna, Austria.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether acupuncture at term can influence cervical ripening, induce labor and thus reduce the need for postdates induction.
METHODS: On the estimated date of confinement (EDC) women were prospectively randomized to an acupuncture group (AG) or a control group (CG). Data of 45 women were evaluated (AG, n = 25; CG, n = 20). Inclusion criteria were as follows: confirmed EDC, uncomplicated course of pregnancy, singleton pregnancy in cephalic presentation. Exclusion criteria were as follows: cervical dilation > 3 cm, active labor, premature rupture of membranes, previous cesarean section, pathologies in mother or fetus. Women were examined at 2-day intervals. The cervical length was measured with vaginal ultrasonography, cervical mucus was obtained for a fetal Fibronectin test and the cervical status was assessed according to the Bishop score. In the AG, the points Hegu (Large Intestine 4) and Sanyinjiao (Spleen 6) were pierced on both sides every second day. If women were not delivered 10 days after EDC, labor was induced by administering vaginal prostaglandin tablets.

RESULTS: The cervical length in the AG was shorter than that in the CG on day 6 and day 8 after EDC (P = 0.04 for both). In the AG the time period from the first positive Fibronectin test to delivery was 2.3 days, while that in the CG was 4.2 days (P = 0.08). The time period from EDC to delivery was on average 5.0 days in the AG and 7.9 days in the CG (P = 0.03). Labor was induced in 20% of women in the AG (n = 5) and in 35% in the CG (n = 7) (P = 0.3). Overall duration of labor, and first and second stage of labor were not different in the two groups. In 56% of women who underwent acupuncture (n = 14) and in 65% of controls (n = 13), Oxytocin was used to augment labor. (P = 0.54).

CONCLUSION: Acupuncture at points LI4 and SP 6 supports cervical ripening at term and can shorten the time interval between the EDC and the actual time of delivery.