Acupuncture for Pregnancy

The body is changing so much during pregnancy, it can be particularly responsive to acupuncture treatments at this time. Acupuncture may help with some common conditions such as:

  • Nausea and vomiting
  • Heartburn
  • Constipation
  • Itching in pregnancy
  • Sinusitis
  • Varicose veins
  • Anaemia
  • Insomnia
  • Anxiety and depression
  • Thrush and abnormal vaginal discharge
  • Urinary tract infections
  • Musculoskeletal conditions
  • Fatigue and exhaustion
  • Oedema
  • Small for dates babies (intra-uterine growth retardation-IUGR)
  • Pregnancy-induced hypertension

pregant mother with child

Acupuncture for Breech Presentation

Acupuncture treatment is ideally administered at 34-36 weeks gestation.  This generally involves the woman coming to the clinic for just one appointment and being shown how to continue treatment at home with a moxa roll.  This is a herb which is compacted into a cigar shaped stick and burnt by the side of an acupuncture point.

Moxibustion is the burning of moxa, the Chinese name for the herb mugwort, well known for its deep heat giving properties.  This alters the flow of energy to the uterus and fetus when applied to a certain acupuncture point, encouraging the baby to turn.  Moxibustion is practised routinely in China on all breech presentations.  It increases fetal activity, usually enough to turn the fetus from breech to cephalic presentation.  Studies conducted in China report varying success rates at 81% (Wei Wen, Co-operative Research Group on Moxibustion Version, 1984), while in more recent Italian studies 75% of the babies in the moxibustion group turned. (Cardini, Journal of American Medical Association, 1998).

Acupuncture for Induction

Acupuncture treatments can be administered once the woman reaches 40 weeks gestation to encourage the labour to start.  Points used are ones that are known to stimulate the uterus, stimulate contractions and encourage the cervix to dilate.  You can have 3 or 4 treatments or you can have just one treatment.  However, treatments do tend to have an accumulative effect (ie the more treatments you have, the more effective they are).  If you just want to have one treatment, have it ideally 24-48 hours before you are booked for a medical induction treatment. 
From auditing the treatments we have administered, we found that from 41 weeks of gestation approximately 45% of women went into labour within 24 hours.

Pre-Birth Treatments

These weekly treatments are normally given for the 3 consecutive weeks before full-term. Research suggests that these consistently show to:

  • Reduce the average length of time in labour.
  • Contribute to reduced intervention in labour, including the need for medical induction and caesarean.
  • Increase the chances of women experiencing a natural efficient labour.
  • Encourage women to go into spontaneous labour around their due date. (Source: Journal of Chinese Medicine, Oct 2004.)

 

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