I have never heard about a doula until I went to my breastfeeding class, so I started to do research about them, what was exactly what they did and how will a doula be of help to me. I wanted my baby's birth to be as natural as possible so I thought that a doula may be what I was looking for to help me through labor and delivery...

Little did I know how special was Erica Shane when I first contacted her. When I saw her webpage I was very exited to meet her to see if our chemistry work together. But oh my god! SHE WAS PERFECT! She was the best guide I could have only dream about.

She gave us a lot of information through mail and during her prenatal visits as well as some wonderful massage sessions... One day my feet were so swollen before she came and after our session together I could see my ankle again. :)

So, things not always are how you imagine or planned them.. I got induced. My amniotic fluid was low and my baby was big. So my Dr. called and told us to go the hospital that I needed to get induced... 5 hrs later my contractions were so intense, they were 1 to 2 min apart and so painful but I was only 3cm dilated.

We turned off our phones because all our family members kept calling and it was so annoying and my husband left the hospital to feed our cats and he was going to call Erica to let her know how things were going. But as soon as he left the hospital 5 min later Erica arrived out of nowhere as if she new that I needed her at that specific time. (since our phones were off she couldn’t get a hang of us so she went to the hospital)

It was amazing, like an angel!

Erica and my husband were the best team I could have had. They were amazing! They worked together to make me feel as peaceful as possible. I was so relaxed like in another world. It was a rainy day, just as I wanted. So I had it all!

So, from being 5 cm and being in labor for about 15 hrs and everything was so slow.... My Dr. was even mentioning C-Section... suddenly 2 hrs later I was completely dilated. I couldn’t believe it! My state of mind was in another dimension. I have to give all the credit to Erica and my husband. They were the ones that helped me through it.

So long story short, I pushed for 15 min. and my beautiful baby girl Emma Aurora was in my arms.

The best experience I have had in my whole life! It was like a wonderful dream. Not even a dream I don't even know how to describe the feelings that went through me that rainy day.

Thank you Erica for this wonderful experience!!!

Hope that you will be by my side with my next baby.

by Deb Valentin:

I love to support women during pregnancy.  There are so many benefits to getting acupuncture treatments during pregnancy and particularly in the later stages, it helps promote labor as well as reduce stress and anxiety before the little one arrives!

Some of the benefits of acupuncture for labor induction:

• Safe and effective
• Does not harm the mother or baby
• Helps to ripen the cervix
• Aids promote labor
• Aids in regulating contractions
• Reduces stress and anxiety
• A great alternative to being medically induced

In western medicine, synthetic pitocin is used to promote labor.  The downside of getting medically induced with pitocin is women can be in a labor for a very long period of time and many women that get medically induced wind up in c-sections.  

Acupuncture should be one of the first approaches when helping with labor induction. It helps to naturally stimulate cervical ripening as well as aids in promoting contractions.  One to two treatments may be needed in order to help a women go into labor and contractions can start anywhere from 24-48 hours after treatment. The beauty of acupuncture treatments is that not only does it help promote labor; it helps to reduce stress and anxiety.  My patients often feel calm and balanced after treatment, which is how I want them to feel before their baby is born.

A small study done at the University of North Carolina showed among the pregnant women who received three acupuncture sessions, 70% went into labor naturally and 39% of those who received acupuncture did not have caesarean sections compared to 17% of women who did not have acupuncture.   

Marie’s Labor Story
Marie was 40 weeks pregnant when she came into my office. She was terrified of getting medically induced so she was looking for alternative approaches to help promote labor. She had been 1 cm dilated for a week with no changes in her cervix. She suffered a lot of anxiety and stress during this time.  I gave Marie two treatments in three days to help ripen the cervix and promote contractions. Marie began going into labor shortly after the second treatment and had delivered the following day. Not only did the acupuncture work to help her birth her son but she said the treatments made her feel less anxious and calmer.

Acupuncture is a great alternative for helping labor induction. It is safe and effective for both mommy and baby. The journey to having a baby is a wonderful experience and helping support women during this time is such a privilege.

If you have questions regarding how acupuncture can help your specific health concerns during pregnancy, email me at deb@sage-wellness.com and I will be happy to answer any of your questions.