This section contains information on using acupressure points to help women prepare for labour, to use as pain relief during labour, to assist with after pains and establish breast feeding.
These acupressure points can be used by women and their support people to encourage the body's optimal response during labour, promoting an efficient labour and recovery.
The Acupressure DVD on this site was used as part of an educational intervention for childbirth. Usually studies offering women natural techniques during labour report that while women state they thought the interventions were useful to them, there are no differences in birthing outcomes such as epidurals and caesarean sections. However, this study found that women using specific natural interventions reduced their epidural rate (24% verus 69 % in the usual care group) and halved their caesarean section rate. This was statically significant, which means it unlikely to be due to chance finding. All women in the natural intervention group where shown the acupressure points on this site and received this DVD to use at home. Acupressure was frequently used during labour by women and their support people in this study. For more information on this study that also included visualisation and relaxation, breathing, massage, yoga techniques please click on this Link You can also read an article written by a childbirth educator about this research and what it means by clicking on this Link
This section of the webpage contains information on using acupressure points to help women prepare for labour, to use as pain relief during labour, to assist with after pains following labour and establish breast feeding. These acupressure points can be used by women and their support people to encourage the body's optimal response during labour, promoting an efficient labour and recovery.
Here you will find information in the form of:
A guide to using acupressure for labour preparation and pain relief in labour
A guide to using acupressure when a medical induction is planned
A quick guide summary sheet on using the acupressure points prior to a medical induction, during labour and for breastfeeding
Links to youtube videos demonstrating each point location
Information on using acupressure when specific problems arise such as when a medical induction is required or posterior positioned babies
Research on the use of acupressure during labour
Feedback from women and midwives on using acupressure during labour