My first child came ten days before she was due. So in my second pregnancy, the last place I expected to be on my due date was walking around a conservatory admiring exotic trees and trying to keep up with my toddler. “Are you going to be induced?” asked the surprised lady behind the cash register at a restaurant that morning after I told her when I was due. Gosh, I hope not, I thought. “Um. No,” I said. Fortunately, my second daughter made her entrance into the world four days later, unassisted by and without pressure from drugs or over-eager doctors, but I am glad I never had to experience a medical induction. I shudder to think about the major abdominal surgery in the form of a Cesarean section that those initial interventions often precipitate.
Modern medicine seems to regard pregnancy and birth as an illness or condition to medicate rather than the quintessential functions of a woman’s body. The birth event is something to prepare for -- by eating correctly, stretching, and reading up. I was somewhat negligent on that last suggestion in my second pregnancy, but I now know that the only thing you can count on during any birth is to “expect the unexpected.” In the event of a third pregnancy, I will be doing some serious studying, and one book that looks extremely promising is Easier, Shorter, Safer Birth, a guide to maternity acupressure by Lena Leino.
Talk about preparation -- this ebook is a hands-on (or should I say thumbs-on?) guide to dealing with common pregnancy ailments and labor complaints. There are acupressure points that will help in prepping your body and baby for labor, self-inducing labor, managing pain during contractions, and dealing with other bothersome aspects of labor. I experienced a great deal of vomiting during my second labor unlike the brief session in my first. Had I a copy of Ms. Leino’s book available, I would have known which points might have brought me out of that particular misery.
I don’t think I fully understood the pain that labor can bring until I had my second child. My first child was small, labor was fairly quick, and I don’t remember transition. It was painful, but the “I can’t handle any more of this!!” part was fairly short. My second labor was intense: baby was two pounds heavier that her older sister and had her hand up by her face when her head appeared. The memories of painful contractions and a long transitional period motivate me to prepare for that possibility again by getting intimately familiar with the acupressure points for relieving pain during contractions.
Easier, Shorter, Safer Birth is organized by complaint (rather than by acupressure point) so it would be fast and easy to use during labor. Ms. Leino provides detailed instructions for locating each acupressure point, complete with pictures and suggestions for self-treatment (in case hubby or your support staff are still sleeping). So, the third time around, if I again pass the 40-week mark, I will know that it is safe to begin massaging certain labor-inducing acupressure points. With consistent treatment, I could expect my labor to begin two to three days later. I’d much prefer to spend my due date proactively using acupressure to induce labor instead of passively staring at trees and wondering when?
