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.

Free Maternity Acupressure Videos.

I've just discovered a bonus being offered with the Maternity Acupressure Guide. Only August, you can receive a series of Maternity Acupressure videos for free. This is a great deal as these videos take any possible confusion out of the Maternity Acupressure treatment by showing you not only how to find the points on your body, but also how to stimulate them. It is a $27 value going out for free with no obligation or "fees". Click the link for all the details.

Maternity Acupressure Videos

Here is a link to a very quick video as a preview:
Youtube clip.

Introduction to Using Maternity Acupressure to Induce Labor .

Maternity Acupressure (or Labor Acupressure) is one of the best natural induction methods and can have a very positive effect when preparing you and your baby for labor. It is a very simple hands-on technique that you can do in the comfort of your own home. Using Acupressure to induce labor is highly recommended because not only does it induce labor, it can ease the discomforts of childbirth and speed up the birthing process.

Both men and women know how difficult it is to give birth. Even if men do not experience childbirth themselves, the feeling of the pain is easily read while their loved ones give birth. Many women use various drugs and medications offered by the hospital in order to help reduce the horrible pain both during and after labor.

But these medical inductions are becoming more and more expensive. Luckily, there are number of ways to induce labor naturally and at home. Some are of course more effective than others, but the list includes aromatherapy, belly massages, exercise routines, and more.

Acupressure is naturally appealing to use when inducing childbirth. Paired with a aromatherapy oils, acupressure can help the woman relax her body for the coming process. Aromatherapy helps to relax tensed muscles, created a better environment for performing acupressure easily. Stress can be relieved on the part of the woman, and can be soothed by natural scents, such as prime rose or raspberry. Primrose oil is already a popular oil being used to help the cervix begin to dilate.

Once the baby drops to the cervix, the oil serves as a lubricant to help push the baby out, reducing the amount of pain the mother feels. When used in conjunction with acupressure points designed to help strengthen contractions and ease pain, these aroma therapy technique can work wonders in eliminating pain. This is also very helpful in recovery and there are no medication side effects to worry about.