I can’t tell you how many women I’ve talked to over the years who fully intended to have a natural, medication free birth only to end up with an epidural or worse, a C-section, when their labor was late getting started.
This happens because obstetricians typically get really antsy when pregnancies go past their due date. Women prefer to induce labor naturally, but practitioners sometimes offer only drug based solutions. Since up to 10% of all pregnancies are late, this is a very common challenge women can potentially face.
Even when a pregnant woman is only a few days late, the nagging about getting labor induced usually begins along with all the fear based reasons why she should agree to pitocin right away.
“Your baby could be stillborn!”
“The placenta could fail and your baby be brain damaged!”
“The baby could get too big and you would have to have a C-section (OBs say this without ever telling the patient that accepting pitocin is itself a big risk factor for C-section!)”
Fear is a very effective strategy to get a patient to do what they want, and knowingly or not, many doctors use this to their advantage.
The problem is, once a woman accepts one intervention, in this case, pitocin, she has perhaps unwittingly boarded the freight train to a completely medicated, interventionist birth.
Do OBs know this when they are pushing for pitocin?
Of course they do.
It is well known that pitocin induced labor contractions are much more painful than natural contractions and very few women are able to withstand the pain without medication such as an epidural.
Pitocin = Epidural = C-Section
This is a common progression of events once a woman makes the first mistake and accepts just a little pitocin “to nudge things along”.
It is imperative for women seeking a natural birth to avoid induction at all costs as pitocin is a dangerous drug which has the very real chance of putting your baby in distress greatly increasing the risk of a C-section. Making the decision whether or not to induce is in no way insignificant.
This from the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA):
Pitocin can cause a tumultuous, difficult labor and tetanic contractions, rupture of the uterus and dehiscence of a uterine scar, lacerations of the cervix, retained placenta, or postpartum hemorrhage. Postpartum perineal and pelvic floor pain is increased as a result of augmented uterine contractions. Fetal complications might include fetal asphyxia and neonatal hypoxia, physical injury, and neonatal jaundice. The use of Pitocin also might be a factor in cerebral palsy, due to oxygen deprivation, and autism in the child.
Avoiding Pitocin with Acupuncture
My first pregnancy went past the 42 week mark so I know firsthand the stress that an overdue pregnancy can cause.
I was very much concerned that I would have to be induced and I was well aware of the dangers of pitocin.
Even though I was receiving prenatal care from midwives at a birthcenter who in no way pressured me to induce, they did tell me that the law in my state would require me to be seen by an OB and possibly admitted to the hospital for induction, labor and delivery if I went much past the 42 week mark.
Using the typical, natural methods to get labor started such as herbs, evening primrose oil, lots of walking etc was not working quickly enough and using castor oil as a last ditch effort was not very appealing to me.
Fortunately, my family doctor at the time was an MD as well as a doctor of Chinese medicine and she suggested I use acupuncture to induce.
Acupuncture to induce labor? What a great idea!
This is apparently a pretty common thing in China.
I immediately knew that this was absolutely the right way to go, so I made an appointment with the acupuncturist my doctor recommended who made house calls to come over that evening.
If I recall correctly, the acupuncturist used only 4 needles. Â I don’t remember exactly where he put the needles but of course it didn’t hurt at all and I was completely relaxed during the entire procedure.
He told me that the treatment would stimulate oxytocin to be produced, which is the natural hormone that initiates labor.
He also told me that labor should begin within 48 hours.
Shortly after the treatment I noticed that the spot at the top of the bridge of my nose between my eyebrows was quite tender if I pressed it. Â This is the spot also known as the third eye where Indian women frequently wear an identifying mark.
I found it very curious that this spot was tender as it had never been tender ever before. I pressed it lightly with my fingers and noticed that when I did so, I had a painless Braxton-Hicks contraction.
Figuring that this spot must be an important acupressure point of some kind that would faciliate labor, I continued to lightly press this tender spot periodically over the next 24 hours and continued to notice contractions occurring shortly after.
The next afternoon I went in to be checked by my midwife to see how things were progressing if at all.
She discovered that I was a full 4cm dilated!
She told me that labor would be starting shortly and to go home and make sure everything was ready to go.
Sure enough, that night labor started and my first child was born 9 hours later with no medication or intervention required. Â What’s really interesting is that the third eye acupressure spot was no longer tender immediately after my son was born.
What’s even more interesting is that with my subsequent 2 pregnancies, that third eye spot always got tender right before and during labor and delivery even though my second and third children were born pretty much on their due dates and I never needed to use acupuncture again.
Despite the effectiveness of using acupuncture to induce labor, it seems that this method is not typically considered or even well known at least in the United States.
Why not?
My hope is that more women will come to know about the use of acupuncture as a safe, natural, and effective method to induce labor and forgo dangerous intervention with pitocin.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
Source: Â The Truth About Pitocin
Both my kids were 11 days late. I used acupuncture with both of them. It didn’t work for my first, castor oil did (blech), but I just think she was ready to come out! With my 2nd she was born the next day.
Your body had to be ready for acupuncture to work. I tried it at 41+ weeks and it didn’t work. I ended up with a successful, vaginal induction in a hospital with a very patient midwife. I believe her patience is why it was a successful vaginal birth.
I have also used acupuncture (moxibustion) to encourage my 41.5 week babe to turn enough to start labor. Had it done at 1pm, by 9pm I was in active labor and birthed him at 6:45 the next morning.
I really hate posts like this. I understand that some women want to go the natural way, but some of us can handle it. Both of mine were induced, I had the ep with both, and no cesarian. I had pain free labors both times, 20 mins of pushing with my first, and only three pushes with my second. Both my children are extremely healthy, and I was able to completely enjoy the process of giving birth both times. I’m all for natural birth, but don’t make induction and epidurals sound worse than they really are.
I’ve used acupuncture once a month for the last 3 months (am currently 36 weeks) because I started to get some pain/tightness throughout my back. It has been fabulous to not have any back or other muscle pain (excluding the practice contractions) since I started! I am very much looking forward to “inducing” or continuing with some form of muscle relaxation through acupuncture – not so much in the hopes of changing the timing of birth but because it is so relaxing to the rest of my body. I’ve heard it really helps to progress labor naturally because you have a good starting point.
Here’s hoping….
“He told me that the treatment would stimulate oxytocin to be produced, which is the natural hormone that initiates labor.”
Apparently you are unaware that oxytocin and Pitocin… are the exact same thing hahaha. Pitocin is just the brand name for the hormone oxytocin which is EXACTLY the same as the oxytocin your body produced. I believe it’s rDNA fabricated.
If you “Natural” “organic” “herbal” nuts would actually go get any kind of education in medical things it would save a lot of people from misinformation.
Jeremy, you are misinformed. Pitocin is the synthetic form of oxytocin and synthetic hormones do not act the same way in the body as natural hormones do, and they are certainly not administered the same way (meaning in the same dose and frequency) During labor and birth, Pitocin can actually interfere with the body’s ability to produce oxytocin which in turn interferes with oxytocin’s role in releasing pain relieving endorphins and the natural spike in oxytocin that occurs at the moment of birth that facilitates the quick and easeful ejection of the baby from the mother’s body. Additionally Pitocin does nothing to accelerate cervical dilation (oxytocin does) thus the frequent need for additional interventions following medical induction. To claim that oxytocin and Pitocin are “exactly” the same is inaccurate. Perhaps you should take your own advice and educate yourself before making arrogant accusatory (and ignorant) statements on a board of women (mostly) trying to share helpful information about alternative options to medical birth interventions.
Ditto and thank you.
I am an RN and am all for natural medicine (just finished 3 sessions of acupuncture, seeing my LMT tomorrow, and am planning a home birth – 39 wks currently), but I would like to point out that the flu shot is not a drug; it’s a vaccine. I agree with you wholeheartedly that no practitioner should ever argue with you about getting one, but I do feel it is a responsibility for every medical practitioner to provide appropriate education on recommendations, including both risks and benifits, based on evidence-based findings.
I too, was pressured by Dr. to be induced with baby #1 even before my due date…I stayed strong after educating myself and finally tried acupuncture on the 12th day past my due date. 12 hours later labor started and I had a very relaxed (would not even call it painful) 1st birth experience.
Even if it may not “induce” labor it will definitely relax you and help you get into the right frame of mind, which often then will lead to labor.
I am due in 2 weeks with a predicted “big baby” and would definitely do the same again.
great and informative article! just finished the chapter on induction in thinking woman’s guide to a better birth yesterday (rereading it for doula recertification…i flipping love that book!). women really need to understand the risks associated with “active management of labor” and pitocin. accupuncture is such a great alternative!
There is nothing wrong with a labor filled with medication…good grief, you make it sound as if an epidural–gasp–is going to put my baby into therapy or cause great handicaps. Get over yourself, lady.