ACUPUNCTURE IN PREGNANCY, LABOR PREPARATION & CHILDBIRTH
Acupuncture is an ancient and time tested healing medicine that can provide an
opportunity for women pre and perinatally to take a natural and safe approach to
healing during this transformative time in their lives. Acupuncture can be used at any point during pregnancy.
ACUPUCNTURE DURING PREGNANCY
Acupuncture has been proven to be both safe and effective in treating symptoms of pregnancy that while may be considered as "normal", greatly impact daily functioning for many women.
Many women find relief with acupuncture in the beginning of pregnancy while combating morning sickness, vomiting, and fatigue. As pregnancy progresses acupuncture can help with other symptoms such as swelling, heartburn, insomnia, headaches, and aches and pains.
Some women find that they are faced with malposition and malpresentation problems, such as occiput posterior (OP) positioning and breech presentation of the baby. Acupuncture has been shown to assist in achieving optimal fetal positioning, which can greatly impact the course of labor and delivering, providing more comfortable and smoother deliveries, which ultimately may lead to fewer interventions. For breech presentation, the optimal time for acupuncture treatment is at 34 weeks, but woman can achieve optimal positioning later in pregnancy as well.
ACUPUNCTURE FOR LABOR PREPARATION
Labor preparation is another major benefit that acupuncture has to offer. As your due date approaches, your body slowly and gently begins to make physiologic changes. You may being to experience Braxton Hicks contractions, dropping of the baby lower into your pelvis, and your cervix may start to make changes in preparation for labor and delivery.
Acupuncture is a safe, gentle, side effect free way of nourishing the body and guiding it to stay on the right track and balance the hormones needed to make the changes necessary for labor to happen. Acupuncture helps reduce stress hormones and releases endorphins which will also assist in the labor preparation process.
Many women seek out acupuncture treatments around their due date in hopes to avoid medical induction, but the best piece of advice would be to begin labor preparation acupuncture beginning at 37 weeks. This may help to avoid the need for medical induction.
ACUPUNCTURE DURING LABOR
Acupuncture can be used during differenent phases of labor for a variety of reasons. Acupressure and Tuina (Chinese massage teachniques) are also used, at times more effectively than acupuncture to achieve the same goals.
Women are sometimes faced with fatigue or low energy, insufficient/ineffective contractions, strong contraction sensations, slow cervical effacement and dilation or insufficient decent of the baby, and acupuncture and acupressure may help move things along in the way they need to be in order to encourage a timely vaginal birth.
ACUPUNCTURE OUTSIDE OF PREGNANCY AND LABOR
Acupuncture is a great tool to use not just for preganancy! Acupuncture is a great way to prepare and balance the body prior to conception as well as to heal during the postpartum period!