Good afternoon!

Are you pregnant, overdue, and your prenatal care provider is threatening you with a Pitocin Induction?

Have you heard about Acupuncture to gently and naturally move you into labor?

How Acupuncture works:

Acupuncture is used to help a wide variety of health concerns and situations.

Energy in your body passes through channels we call meridians.

There are points on the body that act as switches to raise, lower, or otherwise balance the energy in the body.

By stimulating these points, it triggers the release of hormones in the body and a change in the flow of energy, that naturally sends a woman closer and closer to labor.

Acupuncture induction can be used when a woman is at her due date or an Induction is being recommended or mandated to her by her doctor, even if that induction is in the best interest of the baby and mom.

Pitocin, the chemical used to artifically induce labor, brings on labor contractions that are very strong and intense, which usually sends a laboring woman down a cascade of interventions and pain control that she may not have wanted...until her contractions became overwhelming.

A woman's body is designed to have smaller shorter less intense contractions in early labor that stimulate the release of chemicals that help a woman manage and breathe through her contractions more easily.  These gradually ramp up in intensity, frequency, and duration as labor progresses.

Using pitocin "fast forwards" you into more intense contractions early in labor.

If you are at your due date, or a Pitocin induction is scheduled and you would like to naturally encourage your body to go into labor, please consider a qualified Acupuncture practitioner.  Ask them your questions, and they will tell you if you are a candidate for Acupuncture for Labor Induction. 

I have even had women start to have mild contractions during their treatment, only to go into labor after leaving my office.

Please note that your practitioner will not do this protocol if you are simply uncomfortable with the late-stages of your pregnancy or you just want to deliver early.

I believe that in MOST cases, the baby will not come until he or she is ready and their body is mature enough to be born.

Remember your due date is + or - 2 weeks, so there is always a chance that if you are induced at 38 weeks, that you may actually be only 36 weeks, and your baby will have a higher probability of needing time in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) or other neurological delays.  Please consult with your prenatal care partner in determining what is right for you.  Every pregnancy is different, and there may be cases where an early induction is best.

Have a fabulous day!

Dr. Kristine Baker