Acupuncture to induce labor

A study was performed at the University of North Carolina & published in the August 2006 issue of the Journal of Maternal-Fetal and Neonatal Medicine with very favorable results concerning inducing labor using Acupuncture.

The study involved 56 women who were 39 1⁄2 to 41 weeks pregnant. (Forty weeks is full term.) Half of the women received 3 acupuncture sessions, while the other half did not. Among those who received acupuncture, 70% went into labor without medical intervention. This compares to 50% of those who received standard care.

The women who received acupuncture were also less likely to deliver by cesarean section -- 39% compared to 17%.

"We had almost a 50% reduction in the C-section rate," researcher Terry Harper, MD, tells WebMD. Harper, who now practices maternal fetal medicine in Albuquerque, says the small size of her study means additional research is needed.

At my Acupuncture practice in Boulder: I have treated a number of women who were in their 39th & 40th week of pregnancy. Most of these women wanted to avoid getting hormonally induced with Pitocin,which is a synthetic form of the naturally occurring hormone, Oxytocin.

The treatment involves a series of acupuncture points combined with mild electrical stimulation. It is a very viable option to most women who wish to have a natural delivery.

Of course, the patient does need to be evaluated carefully as to any other health challenges that are happening during the pregnancy, such as hypertension, abnormal bleeding, cramping, or tendency towards pre-eclampsia.