Acupressure during pregnancy has been in use for centuries. It allows you to start labor at home, safely and naturally, facilitating the contractions and dilation that will deliver your baby. But by the time you get to the hospital, your labor will already be halfway over. This leads to shorter delivery times and a much easier delivery process. Maternity acupressure techniques also help increase blood flow, eliminate pain, and reduce stress for the mom-to-be, while at the same time aiding in contractions, dilation, and providing extra oxygen to the baby. All of these benefits of reflexology for pregnancy have made it increasingly popular in delivery rooms around the world.
Massage during labor includes the use of various pressure points on the body to stimulate other parts of the body. Learning to do maternity acupressure is easy and requires no prior experience. It consists of gentle pressure applied with the pads of the fingers, the pad of the thumb, and sometimes the palm or elbow. These pregnancy massage therapy techniques are safe and natural, and can be used even after delivery for continued stress and pain relief benefits. However, these points should not be used during the developing stages of pregnancy; in a pregnant woman, this type of acupressure to induce labor should be reserved for helping to start contractions and only for aiding labor.
* Hand (to help with contractions) – Place your own thumb in the fleshy web between your partner’s forefinger and thumb. Clasp your two or three middle fingers up to rest in the palm of your hand and gently begin squeezing, concentrating on applying downward pressure with the pad of your thumb. This pressure point is important in pregnancy reflexology because it can be used to help strengthen contractions. By timing the pressure with each contraction, you can help the baby descend, pushing along with the mother to move the baby through the birth canal.
* Palm (to release endorphins for pain) – Look at your partner’s hand. In the center of the upper crease of the palm, there is an acupressure point that can be used to force the body to release its natural painkillers: endorphins. Gentle pressure on this region will produce numbing sensations in the brain, but pressing too hard can cause pain, so be careful about the pressure you use. If you’re having trouble finding this point, have your partner close their fingers until the tips of each finger touch the palm of your hand, almost like half a fist. The place just below where your fingers touch is where you want to apply pressure.
* Foot (to release tension and relax the body) – Beneath the ball of the foot is a depression just where the arch of the foot begins. By placing your thumb here and wrapping your toes around the top of your foot to apply counter pressure, you can begin to gently push in and up, rotating your thumb toward your big toe. Reflexology and pregnancy go hand in hand, and this massage will have the effect of calming and calming your partner. With the right pressure and direction, you can use this technique well into labor to relax and keep your partner free from excess anxiety. It’s also a great technique to use months and years later, whenever you or your partner need stress relief.
* Hip (for pain and to promote contractions): Your partner will need to be on their side for this one. Find the top of the crease of the buttocks, then move in a line perpendicular to the hipbone. When you’ve gone about two-thirds of this distance, gently press in and up toward the spine. This pregnancy acupressure point should be felt right away and it should feel pretty good. Pressing and rolling this point will achieve both pain relief and induction/strengthening of contractions. You can use this both to induce labor and to help with contractions once labor has started. Postpartum, you can use this point at any time to help break up trapped pelvic stress and relax your lower body.
* Lower Back (to release endorphins for pain): For this acupressure point, your partner will need to press their back against a firm object. Find the midpoint between your partner’s spine and butt dimples. Pressing down in a slight twisting motion, do some probing until you find the place where your partner feels a very pleasant sense of relief. This spot works wonders for pregnancy pain and can also dissipate stress built up in your lower back and gluteal muscles.
* Shoulder (to stimulate contractions) -Find the bump at the base of your partner’s neck: this is their C7 vertebra. Now draw a line to the other bump at the end of his shoulder. Right between these two areas is another pressure point on the shoulder muscle, and applying pressure to this can help a lot with uterine contractions (and can then also be used to stimulate milk production). Stimulate this point during the early stages of labor to help start and promote these contractions.
These are the six most popular acupressure techniques during labor, but keep in mind that most of them can be very helpful beyond labor. The methodology of massage therapy during pregnancy has been shown to have radical benefits in the delivery room and beyond. Labor massage itself can drastically decrease the chances of unwanted medical intervention or cesarean section during the labor process. Learn these techniques for a safer, faster birth…and then use them with each other for years to come to relieve stress, pain, and built-up tension in your body.