How To Do Maternity Acupressure For Couples

Because I had experienced a long and difficult birth with my first child, my husband and I were keen to try anything that would make a second birth easier for us both. We had heard about the benefits of acupressure for a variety of conditions and decided to learn how to do maternity acupressure because we thought we had nothing to lose, and it might actually help.

When it came to the delivery, I was shocked at what a difference the acupressure made. When my husband was not using the points, my contraction pains intensified noticeably and the contractions were lasting a full minute, whereas with the acupressure the contractions were barely taking 15 seconds! We were so glad we had learned how to do maternity acupressure together because it bought us even closer as my husband felt so much more involved, than he had in my first pregnancy.

Click here for simple step by step instructions for how to do maternity acupressure

In traditional Chinese terms, acupressure is thought to improve the workings of the body both physically and emotionally, but in pure medical terms, acupressure is used to release endorphins, blocking the pain receptors to the brain, dilating the cervix and increasing the efficiency of the contractions.

What is important to know is that it is easy to learn how to do maternity acupressure and it can be used by the pregnant mother on her own or with the support of her partner, both during pregnancy and throughout labor.  Acupressure is all about massaging specific pressure points on the body which correspond to relevant organs with the use of fingertips and thumbs. As you learn how to do maternity acupressure you will be taught how to locate the specific pressure points and which ones are strictly off bounds unless a pregnant woman is well past her 39th week. Specific points are used to induce labor and to massage these too early and induce labor could have serious implications for the health of your new baby.

How much practice when learning how to do maternity acupressure is up to each individual couple, but obviously the support partner needs to feel comfortable about locating the points on the woman’s body, remembering that the points will often feel quite different once the woman is in labor.

We found that it was it was important to start using acupressure right at the onset of labor because it enabled me to feel calm and relaxed and that I could cope with any pain that came my way. These feelings disappeared the minute my husband stopped the massaging.  I can only say what worked for me, and it may not work for everyone, but if we hadn’t learned how to do maternity acupressure,   I may well have had another long painful birth, instead of a short and easy delivery with no nasty medical pain relievers.

Click here for how to do maternity acupressure for an easier, shorter and safer birth