Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine Treatments for Pregnancy

Pregnancy

Acupuncture in pregnancy and child birth is safe and effect.

We treat a variety of pregnancy conditions including:

Reducing anxiety and stress - supporting an early pregnancy and reducing the risk of miscarriage

Acupuncture plays a crucial role to help improve a womans wellbeing in a pregnancy. The early pregnancy can be supported by the action of acupuncture to gently calm the stress response, this will in turn benefit the ovarian hormones that support the pregnancy and encourage the pregnancy to reache safely the 12 week landmark, thus maximizing a successful outcome.

Morning sickness

This is a common complaint in clinical practice. Morning sickness can be extremely disabling, leaving a woman unable to continue her normal life, and draining their energy. Some women have such severe vomiting attacks that their fluid levels are too low, so they have to be admitted to hospital.

Research confirms acupunctures effectiveness at treating nausea, and it confirms the safety of acupuncture in the pregnancy.

We generally treat morning sickness on a weekly basis, with severe cases coming two or occasionally three times for treatment so that they can avoid going to hospital. Improvement can be immediate.

Smith C, Crowther C, Beilby J. Acupuncture to treat neasea and vomiting in early pregnancy: a randomized trail. Birth.2002Mar:29 (1):1-9

Smith C, Crowther C, Beilby J. Pregnancy outcome following women's participation in a randomised controlled trial of acupuncture to treat nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy. Complement Ther Med. 2002 Jun; 10(2):78-83.

Birth preparation with acupuncture: reducing labour time and intervention

We offer this to all our patients. It is a treatment protocol that commences at week 37 on a weekly basis. Clinical observation and research suggests that acupuncture can increase the efficiency of labour, thus reducing labour time and the use of interventions such as epidurals and inductions.

Tempfer C, Zeisler H, Mayerhofe Kr, Barrada M Husslein P. Influence of acupuncture on duration of labour Gynecol Obstet Invest 1998; 46:22-5.

Betts D, Lennox S. Acupuncture for prebirth treatment: An observational study of its use in midwifery practice. Medical acupuncture 2006 May; 17(3):17-20.

Turning a breech baby

Turning a breech baby is done around week 36 with acupuncture and moxibustion. Moxibustion is the heating up of a certain acupuncture point in order to increase the baby’s activity and stimulating it to turn in the right way, head down. Research suggests that moxibustion can turn about 80% of babies. Turning babies with moxibusion is extremely safe, as a baby wouldn’t turn if there are physical obstructions that hinder it, as for example a umbilical cord obstructing.

The earlier the mother comes to the clinic the better, as from week 37 the babies have often grown too large to be able to turn.

Induction

Acupuncture is a popular choice for women who haven’t given birth around their due date and who want to avoid a chemical induction for a variety of reasons. In order to induce women, certain acupuncture points are selected which stimulate the uterus and relax the tendons, it thus increases cervical ripening and brings on labour. The most common question women ask if their labour would start right there. That is not so. In our years of experience we only had one woman who left the clinic and on the way to her house had the strong contractions starting. For most women it starts a few hours later, and contractions build up gradually, so there is never any sense of urgency to get to hospital on time.

Rabl M, Ahner R, Bitschnau M, Zeisler H, Husslein P. Acupuncture for cervical ripening and induction of labour at term – a randomised controlled trail. Wien Klin Wochenschr 2001; 113 (23-24): 942-6.

For the latest research please see research, case studies and testimonials.