Preparing for Labor with Acupuncture

Acupuncture can help to prepare you, your body, and your baby for labor and birth.

How does it help?

Evidence has shown that women who receive weekly acupuncture leading up to their birth often have fewer interventions and shortened labors. Acupuncture works to increase your circulation and at the end of your pregnancy, we can safely target specific channels of communication to stimulate your endocrine system and movement in your body to encourage the process of preparing for childbirth.

When should you start acupuncture to prepare for birth?

We recommend starting labor preparation acupuncture at week 36.

If you are interested in natural preparation for childbirth, our Well Birth Program starts at your 36th week and continues until you are ready to give birth. Whether you are planning a home birth, hospital birth, an epidural, vaginal birth, VBAC, or even an elective cesarean birth, acupuncture will aid you in your birth process and subsequent healing and recovery. 

We want to see you as close to week 36 as possible so that you can get comfortable with acupuncture and we have time to create any shifts that you need to get ready for your birth experience. Since acupuncture is a form of physical therapy, our bodies respond better to a series of treatments. We work on relieving tension, addressing body pain, cervical ripening, and helping your body to be in the best health possible to have a successful labor experience.

What if I’m past 36 weeks or even 40 weeks?

We also see women who are further along and trying to avoid medical induction. In this case, we would see you for multiple treatments as close together as possible to aid you in achieving the birth outcome you are hoping for.

We will be here to support you in preparing your body for labor as best as we can. While we do not use the word induction, acupuncture can activate and stimulate your body in a way that is beneficial to your labor process. Whether labor has stalled, or you haven’t had any productive signs that labor is starting yet, we will use all the tools we have to help you.