KATY HOUSTON FAMILY SERVICES

"How Chinese Medicine Induces Labor"
Chinese medicine and acupuncture have a long tradition of assisting in the initiation of labor. Pregnancy can be stressful and when delivery is overdue, the body can become more tense and essentially delay labor further by falling into a sympathetic loop, where adrenalin (a fight or flight hormone which inhibits labor) is released. Not only can acupuncture relax the body from this tense state, but research postulates that certain points, when stimulated, can also strongly trigger the release of oxytocin from the post pituitary gland which leads to uterine contraction. By using continual monitored stimulation, either manual or electrical, the contractions can be controlled more easily than with synthetic doses of pharmaceutical oxytocin. Once contractions have begun, points on the ear can be used to help maintain a continual healthy delivery, lessening pain and increasing fetal motility.