Quick Easy Labour, Acupuncture Has the Answer (Tenercy Ho)

Giving birth and being in labour can be a traumatic event or it can be a fulfilling experience.

Having a difficult and traumatic labour can be physically draining to your body and it may also lead to post natal depression. In addition, it can also lead to more complications to the baby.

Recently, acupuncture has become a popular choice as a method for inducing labour over drugs due to it's natural and wholistic approach.

How Can Acupuncture Help ?

In the case of using acupuncture to facilitate a smooth labour or even to induce an overdue labour, acupuncture works on the following aspects including:

Key aspects:

- Reduce stress and tension to bring on contraction

- Reduce emotional stress and anxiety, so you are not scared.

- Relax the pelvic muscles to help with dilation

- Assist in "fully" dilation of the cervix, therefore, when contractions start, you are ready to push.

- To quicken or push forward a weak and sluggish contraction to start the "whole process"

-Minimise complication

Detail Information:

- Reduce stress and tension in the body. It helps to relieve the emotional worrying that often associate with labour in new mothers or mothers who had a traumatic labour in the past.

Through reducing emotional tension, it helps the body to  relax. It also helps you to sleep better at night, so, you are well rested and energised for the event. In addition, it helps to relax the tighten muscles in the pelvis area and assists in " fully" dilation of your cervix, so it is ready for the baby to come through. Consequently, when your contractions start, you are ready to push.

Also through reducing tensions in the body and mind, it "switches off" the "stress mode" which the body was in when it was under stress, therefore, it allows the body to "function" normally and allows the signals of labour to occur.

Acupuncture also helps in reducing fluid retention, reducing "sluggish feeling", and allowing labour to proceed quickly, smoothly with the mother feeling "in control".

When to Start Acupuncture Treatment?

The expecting mother should start to have acupuncture around 38-39 weeks.

How much does it cost?

Specialist Acupuncture for Child birth cost around $80 per session. One session takes around 2-3 hours. Appointment is needed.

How many sessions are needed?

In general, it is recommended to have acupuncture treatment every day to every second day until contraction starts. Once contractions start, one more acupuncture treatment may be needed to initiate the whole process.

On average, between 3 to 5 sessions may be needed.

If contractions have started, maybe between 1-2 sessions. Each session between 1-2 days apart.

About Acupuncture

Acupuncture is a treatment that works on regulating imbalances in the body, so you achieve optimal health. Optimal health means that you feel great, good energy, vitality, not stressed or worrying (which is not very common now a days)

Common situations in labour

As we live in a very stressful and busy society, especially Sydney, it is very common to encounter "delayed labour" or "labour overdue", meaning that the baby is past the due date but the mother still has not experienced signs of contraction. This case is especially typical of expecting mothers who had history of stress, anxiety or depression in the past or are on anxiety or depression related medications.

Acupuncture points of stomach meridian

Why?

This is because, from a Chinese medicine point of view (or from my clinical point of view), that stress, anxiety and depression often bear high levels of tension in the body, eg, the person often feel uptight or tense, consequently, the body doesn't "let go" (because it's so tense), the natural signal and trigger for labour is blocked. As the result, the labour is often delayed and overdue. In addition, the expecting mother may also suffer from some degree of (vary from moderate to severe) fluid retention, which also indicate the body is under "stress".

Acupuncture During Pregnancy

During the pregnancy, if the expecting mother feels tired, exhausted or is working full time, acupuncture is highly recommended to reduce stress, boost energy in order to keep your body in top shape while you are pregnant.

Acupuncture For Post Natal Maintenance

After giving birth, our body is often drained both physically and emotionally. It requires time, adequate nourishment and nutrition to recover. Acupuncture and Chinese herbs provide natural and effective treatments allowing our body to recover without any interference with breast feeding.

For more information or appointments, please call (02) 9386 1018 during clinic hours