Congratulations! You are pregnant. But it’s not all plain sailing. You may be suffering with unpleasant symptoms associated with pregnancy. Most women prefer not to take medicine while they are pregnant, and acupuncture can help with pregnancy related problems.
Some of the reasons women come for acupuncture treatment during pregnancy are:
- Morning sickness, or all day nausea
- Stress, anxiety, insomnia
- Tiredness or exhaustion
- Spotting during pregnancy
- Threatened miscarriage
- Pelvic pain
- Restless legs
- Migraine
- Constipation
- Breech presentation
- Pre-birth preparation (from 36 weeks)
- Induce labour (from 40 weeks)
Spotting during pregnancy and threatened miscarriage is one of the most upsetting symptoms during pregnancy, and causes women a lot of anxiety. Most women who come for treatment at the clinic report a reduction in spotting or complete end to spotting within a few days of the first treatment. If you are concerned about your pregnancy call the clinic and we will be happy to advise if we think acupuncture is appropriate, and if it may help.
Breech presentation treatment starts from 33 weeks. Moxa is a herb, pressed into a stick for easy use, and then burned (like an incense stick) to produce heat. The moxa stick is held near a point on the little toe. This is demonstrated by the acupuncturist, and then the woman will continue this at home daily, for 10 days.
Imogen has trained with Debra Betts in Obstetric Acupuncture. For further information on breech presentation please consult Debra’s website, which has excellent information sheets to download. Debra provides a wide range of information for couples to use, during and after pregnancy. A big thank you to Debra for being so generous with her knowledge. www.acupuncture.rhizom.net.nz
Pre-birth preparation can start from 36 weeks. A series of gentle treatments over 4 weeks will help the body start to prepare for labour. A number of studies show that regular treatment can reduce the need for medical intervention, such as being induced or having an epidural. There was no
A summary of the research is available here:
Debra Betts – Acupuncture and Acupressure for Pregnancy and Childbirth (rhizome.net.nz)
Pelvic pain or pregnancy-related pelvic girdle pain (PGP) or symphysis pubis dysfunction (SPD) is hard to treat with conventional medicine. Women are reluctant to take painkillers, and often the medication has little impact.
This article in The Guardian (21 Nov 2022) explains it well.
The original research from the BMJ is available to read here:Acupuncture for low back and/or pelvic pain during pregnancy: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials | BMJ Open