It turns out getting acupuncture with the goal of inducing labor is not quite as relaxing as getting acupuncture with the goal of fortifying one’s kidney energy.

At today’s induction session, Ramon put five needles in points that are known for movement. They’re very active points, he told me. When he put the needles in (he taps them in with a little plastic sleeve attached to each one), he wiggled them around quite a lot, which was uncomfortable. I described the discomfort of each one – this one feels like a pin prick, that one feels like a muscle ache, that one radiates immediately down my leg – and he wiggled each needle until he was satisfied that the sensations I described would be conducive to inducing labor.

And then I sat there feeling the needles activate. Occasionally, I began to get comfortable and close my eyes, and just then Ramon approached with his little stool to twizzle each of the needles and listen to me describe the painful sensations.

“This might be enough to get the ball rolling,” he told me, ninety minutes after he’d started. “If not, be sure to come in again on Thursday and we’ll be more aggressive.”