Occasionally full-term pregnant women come into the clinic to see if there is anything we can do, to help start labour.

Provided that the woman is full-time, acupuncture is used to induce labour. There is a combination of acupuncture points which have a strong action on ‘down bearing’ or ‘descending qi’ i.e. they provide a stimulus to start a strong downward movement which is required for labour. One of the acupuncture points is known to dilate the cervix. For these reasons, these acupuncture points are forbidden during pregnancy in case they induce premature labour.

Treatment is on a daily basis, or perhaps even twice daily. I recently treated a woman who was 10 days overdue, and she give birth later on that day, after one acupuncture session.

If your body is ready to give birth then acupuncture can provide the stimulus to get things moving.