| Author |
Message |
    
Ben Taylor
Username: Ben
Registered: 03-2006
| | Posted on Saturday, March 31, 2007 - 20:37: | |
I am an acupuncturist with a few years of experience.My question has to do with acupuncture in labour/childbirth. I am soon to attend the birth of my son (due 16th April). Whilst I am well aware of the various points which are likely to be of use in this context, I have never actually had the opportunity to treat a woman in labour. I have realised that I don't have any books or information explaining in detail how one would proceed... How long would needles be left in? how often would one re-use a given point? etc...
Obviously, this scenario is quite different to a normal treatment situation: it is much longer - it may be many many hours! Do you or anyone else have any advice or experience to offer?
Many Thanks
Ben Taylor |
Shmuel Halevi
| | Posted on Sunday, April 01, 2007 - 06:50: | |
Hi Ben, I sent you an article about this topic by Email. If you have further questions after reading the article, please post them here. |
Lea Starck
Username: Lea
Registered: 03-2005
| | Posted on Saturday, April 07, 2007 - 12:50: | |
Hi there,
Congratulations!
I would recommend a very good book by Zita West, which covers acupuncture in
pregnancy and childbirth. She is a western trained midwife as well as an
acupuncturist. Its published by Churchill Livingstone, so it may be expensive, but
its worth it.
In labour, I found that TENS helps, up to a point, especially if the baby is
posterior and there is alot of back pain. However, for me, personally, heat packs
and massage for a posterior baby worked better. I just couldnt crank the TENS up
high enough!
Many people use auricular points with electro-stimulation for pain relief in
labour, as they dont limit the movement of the labouring woman, you just need to
use a suitable frequency of hertz for the type of analgesia you are trying to
achieve.
In terms of TENS and back points for labour, it is helpfull to know which
dermatome enervates which area that is affected by the various stages of labour.
So that you can target the area that the pain is focused at. Apart from that, all
the usual, LI 4, Bl 32, Sp6 etc. and GB 21 to help with the third stage (although
it is generally better to use strong acupressure rather than needling this point
at the time.)
Mostly, you will have to take your cue from the woman! She may decide to not let
you anywhere near her with needles at the time, or she may just not need it.
Good Luck! |
Ben Taylor
Username: Ben
Registered: 03-2006
| | Posted on Sunday, April 08, 2007 - 23:52: | |
Hi Lea,
Thanks very much for taking the time to post a reply. I guess it would be
worth my while investing in a book specifically on the subject, but they
tend to be, as you say, expensive!
And you're right, she may end up beating me off with a big stick but it's
good to be prepared...
Thanks again
Ben
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Assisting in labour