Pregnant women can massage the Sanyinjiao point, Hegu point, Zhiyin point and Shoulder Well to induce labor.
The Sanyinjiao point is located 3 inches above the tip of the inner ankle. The Hegu point is located at the midpoint of the radial side of the second metacarpal bone. Zhiyin acupoint is located on the lateral side of the terminal section of the little toe of the foot, 0.1 inch from the root angle of the toenail. Shoulder Well Point is located in the shoulder, at the midpoint of the line connecting the great vertebrae (under the spinous process of the seventh cervical vertebra) and the crest of the shoulder.
Sanyinjiao is the rendezvous point of the foot Sanyin meridian, which is the main regulator of the blood division (the deepest stage or location of the disease among the four periods of Wei Qi and Ying Blood in warm diseases). Hegu is the original point of the Hand Yangming Large Intestine Meridian, which regulates Qi.
Sanyinjiao and Hegu are used together to enable Qi and Blood to flow in order to induce labor. Zhi Yin is a well point of the foot-sun meridian, which can tonify kidney qi and regulate the cellular veins; Shoulder Well is a meeting point of the hand-foot-shao-yang, foot-yang-ming and yang-wei veins, which can regulate qi and help the fetus to go downward.
All of the above points can be used to treat stagnant labor, and therefore can speed up contractions after massage. If a pregnant woman shows signs of obstructed labor, she should go to the hospital in a timely manner and be treated under the guidance of a doctor, rather than blindly massaging herself to avoid delaying the delivery or causing physical damage to the pregnant woman.