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An astounding 33% of pregnant women will undergo the highest surgical procedure in hospitals, with a caesarean operation. The most natural process in addition to a monthly menstrual cycle is giving birth. Women have been doing it since the beginning of time, successfully. So why are caesarean rates so high and what can we, as birthing humans, do to set our bodies up for a vagina birth success.

First, let’s address why a vaginal birth is preferred over a caesarean for you.

• Taking care of your new born is difficult enough, add on recovery from a major surgery and it becomes extremely difficult to take care of your self and you baby.
  • Shorter hospital stay
  • Shorter birth recovery
  • No need for pain medications after birth making you available for your baby
• Shortened time for your pelvis, hips and abdomen to be restored to pre pregnancy strength

And benefits for you new buddle when they come down the birth cannel.

• Your baby will receive beneficial bacteria.
• You’ll squeeze fluid out of your baby’s lungs.
• You’ll be more likely to engage in early breastfeeding.
• You’ll decrease your child’s risk of childhood asthma and obesity.
  • A major review of 80 studies published in PLOS Medicine in 2018 found that  C-section delivery increases the risk of childhood asthma by 21 percent and childhood obesity by 59 percent compared to vaginal delivery.

So how can you increase your chances of having a vaginal birth?

1. Proper pelvic alignment and strength with acupuncture and corrective exercise
2. Cervical ripening treatments with Acupuncture

Knowing if your pelvis is in proper alignment and has adequate strength is easy by answering yes to any of these questions.

• Have you ever had back, hip, neck or knee pain?
  • Did you seek treatment and are you currently doing corrective exercises that keep you out of pain? If not, most likely your issue is still present.
• Do you have pelvic floor symptoms
  • Incontinence with running, jumping, coughing or sneezing.
  • Pain with intercourse
  • Constipation

If you answered yes to any of these questions, it is likely that your pelvis is tilted to one side or another and your strength is less than optimal. In order for your beautiful baby to come down the birth cannel straight and with the greatest ease, both of these issues must be corrected. Seeking the help of a qualified therapist to address these is a must.

Once your body is prepared and strong, in the last days of pregnancy, using acupuncture to ripen your cervix and relax your nervous system has been shown to naturally ready the labor process. Most OB’s will not allow patients to go past their due date by more than 5 days with out inducing labor with pharmaceuticals. Unfortunately, there is a high correlation between pharmaceutical induction and caesarean.

The same 2017 study showed that 8 out of 8 women delivered a vaginal birth following 1-3 treatments leading up to or after their due date and all gave birth with in 48 hours.