Labor, which is also called childbirth, is the end of a woman’s pregnancy. It has three stages: the cervix becomes shortened and dilated, the child is born, and the placenta comes out from the uterus. Most women suffer a lot of pain during maternity labor. In fact, some of them prefer to have the C-section instead of going through normal or vaginal delivery. For those who prefer to have a normal delivery, acupressure while in labor would help a lot.
Acupressure in pregnancy has been practiced by the Chinese people for more than five thousand years.
Acupressure In Pregnancy
Acupressure in pregnancy could be performed by doing the following techniques:
- Strengthening the weak life energy flow by using the thumb or finger to put pressure on maternity acupressure points and elevating them for at least two minutes.
- Unblocking the life energy flow by applying pressure on the points through circular motions.
- Using the palm to cover and stroking an acupressure point to calm the chi in a point full of tension.
Acupressure Points For Labor Stimulation
Acupressure helps stimulate labor. In most cases, when the water bag of a pregnant woman breaks labor starts, but there are cases though that this is not the case thus leaving her vulnerable to infection.
To avoid this danger, a woman may use acupressure to stimulate labor. This could be done by applying gentle pressure on acupuncture points such as the space between the index finger and thumb for several minutes with the interval of an hour. This can also be achieved by applying acupressure on the buttock area for five minutes once or twice a day at least three days before the delivery date. These helpful maternity acupressure techniques will establish and help better cervical dilation thus hastening the birth of the child and the placenta.
Use Of Acupressure To Induce Labor
Labor stimulation may also be done not only because of the infection possibility but also because it is necessary. An example of these necessities is because a certain date is most convenient for the pregnant woman because she has scheduled an activity weeks after the childbirth that has great importance to career or family life.
One of the natural ways to induce labor is through acupressure. Anyone who would want to induce the labor must do the necessary acupressure procedures days before the desired date of labor. Some of the applicable acupressure points for labor are the heels, feet, hands and the lower back of the pregnant woman. It is completely safe to apply pressure on these points and is sure to result to the hastening of childbirth.
Benefits Of Acupressure In Pregnancy
There are several practical benefits of acupressure in pregnancy; and, some of these are:
- Acupressure could be used to induce labor especially in cases where the baby has stayed beyond the normal gestation period. Acupressure used in inducing labor is very important because it aids to prevent infection that usually sets in when the bag of water breaks but no labor follows. It can be easily done by applying pressure on the area surrounding the buttocks of the pregnant woman for five minutes at least once and a maximum of twice in a day for three days before the scheduled childbirth. It will assist cervical dilation during the actual labor.
- Acupressure is a source of pain relief during labor without any fear for complications on the baby or the mother. This could be achieved by massaging the area located between the upper portion of the shoulder and below the neck.
- It is said that ailments are caused by the blockage of the body’s energy flow. Studies have proven that acupressure remedies common ailments especially among pregnant women because it leads to an increase of endorphin release. Acupressure applied on a pregnant woman could lead to pain reduction during labor, inducement of good feeling or happiness that helps ward off depression and irritability, relaxation of leg and back muscles that carry the greatest weight, and the normalization of internal organ functions.