The History of Acupressure: 5,000 Years of Success.

Acupressure was discovered over 5,000 years ago. The exact date is unknown, but what is known is that was originally discovered by generals on the battlefields of Asia. They discovered that to ease soldiers' suffering and injuries, they could place sharp stones or sharpened bamboo sticks into the skin at certain points of the body, called acupuncture. Eventually the craft was honed and evolved from using stones and stick to using fish bones, and then on to needles. It's important to understand that while these are the earliest known uses of acupuncture, the Chinese were not the only ones practicing this healing technique. The peoples of India, Alaska, Egypt, and others also had discovered very similar techniques and have been using them for thousands of years.

However, Chinese medicine practices continued virtually unknown in the United States until the 1970s, when Richard Nixon made the first ever presidential to visit China. During that trip, journalists were amazed to observe and report major operations being performed on patients without the use of anesthetics. Wide-awake and coherent patients were being operated on, chatting with their doctors! Only acupuncture needles were inserted into them to control pain. Then, back in the states, a columnist for the New York Times named James Reston decided to undergo a required surgery and elected to use only acupressure for anesthesia. Later, he wrote some convincing stories on its effectiveness and his ability to observe his own operation without pain. There was no recovering from medication, and his healing time was cut down by almost a third of the recorded normal time.

In times of emergency, when a sharp object was not available for the performance of acupuncture, pressure was applied by hand, elbow, or other device to points with the same effect. Some historians believe this technique actually predates the use of acupuncture, but there is not much evidence to prove it one way or the other.

Today acupressure and acupuncture have become the third most popular method of treating pain and illness in the world, and is practiced as a treatment by Chinese medicine practitioners and acupuncturists, as well as by massage therapists. In fact, most massage schools in America now include acupressure techniques as part of their bodywork programs.

The first step is successful acupressure is ensuring safety. Do not attempt to perform acupressure to induce labor before reading the basic precautions here.

Myths About Maternity Acupressure

The best times to induce labor using acupressure are:
-when you are already in labor to strengthen contractions, or
-if your water has already broken but you have not gone into labor, or
-if you are overdue and want to stimulate contractions naturally, or
-your physician has ok'd an induction.

Please do NOT attempt acupressure before you've been told an induction is safe by your physician. Many reports out there claim that unless your body is ready for labor, acupressure will not work, and therefore causes no harm. What they don't mention is your body begins preparing for the labor process long before it is safe for you to actually give birth! This means that acupressure can (and has) work before it is meant to, and you can cause harm to yourself or your baby!

By safe, I mean it must be 100% safe for you and your baby. One of the points of using this technique is to ensure a quicker and safer birth, so please don't take any risks. Once your doctor OK's an induction (they will probably talk about a chemical induction at the hospital), then it is just as safe or even more so to do a natural induction using acupressure.

In some cases, even acupressure that was being used to ease back pain or headaches caused labor. These were mostly all recorded in women in their third trimester, but any decent acupressure/acupuncture specialist will tell you not to use it at all after your first trimester unless it's for the purpose of induction.

Just be sure all is well and safe and cleared by your doctor before doing anything. If your doctor doesn't know about acupressure to induce labor, it is a good idea to seek a second opinion. Acupressure is the third most popular way to induce labor, and almost all doctors should know about it.

When you are sure it is safe, you can visit this page for preparation info: click here.

The Maternity Acupressure Guide

Maternity Acupressure, while not an overly clever title, is the most popular labor acupressure guide currently on the market.

Many women who have passed their due dates or have been given the "all clear" for inducing labor want to do so because of the discomfort and the health risks associated with a fetus growing too big, not to mention your excitement to meet your new little one. These techniques make having a medical induction unnecessary, which has many bonuses. Induction in the hospital can actually lead to longer, more painful childbirths which the mother may not be very clear headed for. Not to mention, the faster childbirth is, the better it is for the mother and the baby. Longer births also sometimes lead to complications such as a decreased fetal heartbeat and vaginal tearing.

Normally there are many questions an expectant mother has when she is thinking about this natural induction technique, and it is a very smart idea to be sure they are ALL answered before deciding whether or not acupressure is right for you. What is labor(maternity) acupressure? How does it work? Is it safe? Does it work? and so on. This book addresses these questions as well as showing you how to perform the acupressure by using text, pictures, and even video. There are many pressure points used in combination which help in the delivery process by calming you (getting you more into position for lamaze and a more focused birth), producing an anesthetizing effect on contractions, and helping baby descend. They can even turn your baby into the correct position if it is breach in the uterus.

A recent study showed that acupressure used to induce labor works in up to 93% of pregnant women within 48 hours. In some cases, it worked in as little as 25 minutes! On average, the use of acupressure to induce labor also shortens the labor process by 2 hours.

So one of the biggest questions most expecting mothers have about now is: should I get this guide? I firmly believe that you need to have as much information as humanly possible before deciding on what form of induction to use. This book covers what you need to know beforehand, what to expect, how to prepare, birthing positions, and of course how to perform the techniques needed as well as several other topics. Maternity Acupressure has received many positive reviews from women and again is now the top rated product in the marketplace for labor acupressure.



I became aware of this guide while helping my sister through a particularly difficult pregnancy. After I had been living in her place to be close whenever complications arose, I was pretty happy when we were told it was finally ok to induce labor. Being the health nuts we are, we immediately knew we wanted to do this naturally and began searching for a way to do so. I found the guide one night around 2 AM. After reading reviews and then reading the site to find the 60 day guarantee, I bought it and went to sleep. We took a week reviewing the material, consulting her physician, and preparing everything. When we finally decided to go for it, it took 28 hours before it was time to go to the hospital. Since that experience I am in love with the topic of maternity acupressure and have done tons of research. I even created a whole blog around it!

I want everyone to know the options that are out there for natural induction and make the best decision for them and their baby. Whatever YOU decide, I wish you and your growing family all the luck in this world.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bonus Update.

From now until October 1st, if you decide to use the Maternity Acupressure guide here, you'll receive the Maternity Acupressure videos AND the Maternity Environment Guide for free. These videos will show you exactly where maternity acupressure points are and how to activate them. The guide will show you how to use relaxation techniques to set the correct environment and amplify the effectiveness of the acupressure. The correct environment will speed up the birthing process AND eliminate pain even more. This offer is only good for the next two weeks, or until 12:00 AM October 1st.

Buy the guide here.

NEW- Postpartum Help and Stories.

I am happy to announce that a new page has been added to this site: The Postpartum Blogs. This area will be dedicated to personal stories, professional articles, and tips to help you deal with postpartum depression, anxiety, and mood swings. This is a subject that I feel strikes too many women with not much help other than possibly harmful medication.

The first article is actually an excerpt from a really great book on this subject, titled Understanding Your Moods When You're Expecting
by Dr. Lauren Puryear. Please check it out and feel free to add your own comments.

You can click here to find the Post Partum Blogs, or use the link on the side.

New post added to When to Induce Labor

I was asked to write an article addressing some myths about maternity acupressure, and was more than happy to oblige. It has been published, and I am now able to share it with you on this blog. These are very common myths that you may hear many times while researching maternity acupressure. Please don't make these mistakes. You can click here to read it.