Acupuncture during Pregnancy
Acupuncture can help to support you during your pregnancy, promote good health and help to prepare you for the birth of your baby. Acupuncture during pregnancy is a safe and effective way of treating the physiological changes that happen during pregnancy. I have completed post-graduate training in Obstetrics and am a member of the Acupuncture for Childbirth Team (London). Acupuncture during pregnancy can help to:
- Reduce symptoms of nausea and vomiting during labour
- Calm the mind and regulate stress
- Combat tiredness
- Alleviate aches and pains and ease muscle tension, and conditions such as pubis symphysis
- Aid digestion and address heartburn
- Improve sleep
- Reduce pregnancy induced hypertension
- Alleviate oedema
- Turn breech babies (with use of moxibustion)
- Prepare for labour
In addition to the above, I offer pre-birth acupuncture, which is a series of weekly treatments from week 36 that helps to promote a natural, efficient labour by helping the pelvis to release and the cervix to soften. Studies have shown that pre-birth acupuncture can help to reduce labour time and the need for medical intervention.
Acupuncture with the aim of helping to induce natural labour is used when women are post 40 weeks. The aim of the treatment is to stimulate uterine contractions, dilate the cervix and promote labour. At this stage of pregnancy emotional factors can sometimes have an impact on oxytocin, which can hinder contractions from starting; acupuncture can help to lower cortisol and raise oxytocin, helping to balance emotions. In these cases, higher frequency treatments are advised – usually two to three treatments over consecutive days, or every other day, are needed.