Pregnancy and Acupuncture

Pregnancy is a wonderful and exciting time in a woman’s life. Physical and emotional challenges present themselves during all three trimesters. Acupuncture is a safe holistic healing system that can offer support and nourishment for you and your baby.

 

Acupuncture can benefit the following pregnancy conditions:
Nausea, morning sickness, headaches, sleeplessness, high blood pressure, leg cramps, back pain, carpal tunnel, threatened miscarriage, heart burn, constipation, sinusitis, odema, itching, urinary tract infections, fatigue, anxiety, depression and labour induction.

 

Breech position babies: About 70% of babies who are in the breech position can be turned successfully by stimulating a specific acupuncture point called Bladder67 or Zhiyin and applying moxa (a heated herbal stick) for 20 minutes. The treatment is carried out for 10 consecutive days either by the mother (after she is instructed on how to do this treatment safely at home) or by your acupuncturist. This treatment is most successfully carried out at around 34 weeks when the baby still has enough room to move.

Labour preparation: Acupuncture can be used to promote a natural labour and prepare your body for the birth. Using acupuncture in this way has been shown to reduce the duration of labour, encouraging it to become more efficient, with less need for medical intervention. One treatment a week is sufficient beginning a few weeks before your due date.

One to One acupressure tutorials: Acupressure is an easily learned and a very useful tool for you and your birth partner to have during your labour. The points are located mainly on hands, feet and lower back. You can learn to use them to speed up your labour, reduce the intensity of contractions, ease back pain and reduce back pain and reduce anxiety. One to one tutorials take approx. one hour, both you and your birth partner attend the session and it includes a detailed booklet of the acupressure points concerned.