The practice of Acupressure has its roots in Traditional Chinese Medicine, a 3000 year old system of medicine that incorporates techniques of acupuncture, massage, moxibustion and herbs. Sarah Budd (1995) describes acupuncture as a way of initiating, controlling or accelerating functions within the body. The goal of acupressure is the same but substituting massage and pressure instead of needles to produce these results. The New Zealand Obstetric Nurse and Acupuncturist, Debra Betts (1997), has promoted acupressure massage as an effective labour room tool to reduce the need for analgesia and increase the chances of a normal intervention free birth. When birth partners are taught how to administer acupressure, the techniques are also known to increase birth satisfaction for women and their birth partners.

Due to the positive feedback and interest from couples the who utilised acupressure massage in labour, Cheryl has formulated a practical workshop (totalling 3 hours contact) for women and their birth partners to learn how to use the acupressure, optimal foetal positioning and active / natural birth techniques during labour.

These workshops are included in the price of the HypnoBirthing® workshops but are also run seperately. Please contact Cheryl for more details.

Cheryl Mason conducted her own research project in the form of a pilot study to evaluate the impact of acupressure on labouring women and their birth partners. The research took place in 2004, at St Peter’s Hospital, Chertsey, where at the time, she also worked as a midwife. The results were extremely encouraging to support the widespread teaching of acupressure to birth partners. Women who were randomised into the Acupressure Group had a higher rate of spontaneous vaginal delivery and lower rate of caesarean section compared with a control group that didn’t use acupressure. First time mothers also averaged a much shorter length of labour in the acupressure group.
The majority of participants in the study felt that acupressure delayed their need for other analgesia and felt it was positively helpful in labour. Almost all the Women and Birth Partners felt much higher levels of birth satisfaction and said they were planning to use it again in any future births. The research concluded that Acupressure massage given to women in labour by their birth partners offers a valuable and safe tool which may facilitate a shorter labour with less intervention. It also promotes feelings of control and a greater degree of emotional satisfaction for both women and their birth partners.