We advocate gentle, safeĀ and pain-free pregnancy acupuncture.
Most pharmaceutical drugs can do some harm to the baby when taken prenatally. This time-proven therapy is a natural answer to many pregnancy ailments.
“Acupuncture in obstetrics is drug-free, clinically effective and cost-effective”
BJOG 2002 (An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology)
How successful is acupuncture at inducing labour? Because this natural treatment can soften and dilate the cervix, it can help with the onset of labour contractions naturally.
Furthermore, it reduces the need for induction medication and pain meds. Medical induction comes with risks and complications.
In conclusion, labour induction acupuncture is natural, safe and often successful. We supported numerous women leading to the birth.
World Health Organisation recommends acupuncture in childbirth:
āIn childbirth, acupuncture analgesia is useful for relieving labour pain and can significantly reduce the duration of labour.
In the case of weakened uterine contractions, acupuncture increases the activity of the uterus. In addition, the avoidance of narcotics is advantageous for newborn infants.ā
Pregnancy often comes with aches and pains. However, you don’t have to put up with it.
Pregnancy back pain is one of the most common complaints among our pregnant patients. Growing fetus stretches muscles, adds weight, the pelvis tilts forward. These changes put stress on muscles, ligaments and joints.
Another common pregnancy complaint is joint pain. Firstly, soft tissue swelling and joint laxity are the main reasons for this kind of pain. Secondly, rapidly increasing estrogen, progesterone, relaxin, and cortisol levels can be another cause of pregnancy joint pain, stiffness and arthralgia.
Acupuncture relieves pain by ramping up your natural pain-relieving mechanisms. It stimulates the nerves in the local tissues. As a result this increases local blood flow, facilitates healing, and analgesia.
Even small doses of commonly used analgesics, likeĀ paracetamolĀ or ibuprofen, may not be desirable during pregnancy. Acupuncture offers a safe and effective alternative.
Our patients often ask – why do I get pelvic pain in pregnancy? Pelvis is formed by the sacrum and coccyx at the back and hip bones on the sides and front. The hip bone is further divided into three parts ilium, ischium and pubis.
At the front of your pelvis, the hip bones join to form a junction called pubic symphysis. Because of pregnancy hormones and additional pressure from the increasing weight, your hip bones can misalign or stiffen. This can cause significant pain (symphysis pubis dysfunction). The discomfort when walking can be so debilitating that we have women coming in on crutches.
Sciatica is a pain that travels along the path of the sciatic nerve. This nerve stems from your lower back through the hips and buttocks and down each leg. Commonly, this condition affects one side of your body only.
Pregnancy sciatica is rare. Only 1% of women will experience this. Most of the women who come to us diagnosed with pregnancy sciatica, are actually suffering from sacroiliac injury.
Sacrum is a bone at the very base of your lumbar spine. It forms a joint with pelvic bone – sacroiliac joint.
Now, this sacroiliac joint is one of the most common suspects when we see patients with pregnancy back pain. Although technically sacroiliac joint dysfunction is not back pain. It’s part of your pelvis. But you would feel discomfort in your lower back area. However, SIJ pain sometimes can refer to the inside of your thigh and into your leg and often is misdiagnosed as pregnancy sciatica. We have plentiful experience, and sacroiliac joint pain responds well to acupuncture.
The good news is acupuncture has been shown to be effective at relieving the pelvic pain. Most importantly, without side effects for you or your baby.
It is especially good news because there are few effective pelvic pain treatment options available. Most of the doctors will prescribe pain killers that don’t work or if you can’t walk they will offer a wheelchair.
More than half of pregnant women will experience morning sickness. Never mind the name, it is not accurate. For most women, it’s more an all-day-sickness.
Continuous nausea is tiring and disabling. It can cause dehydration. And you can even end up in hospital for a fluid top up.
Acupuncture is effective at reducing the symptoms of nausea in a safe and natural way.Ā In a study for hyperemesis, women who had this time-proven therapy needed much shorter hospital stays. They had fewer miscarriages and adverse events.
You don’t need to rely on unsafe treatments, or on treatments that don’t work. Get in touch today.
Acupuncture can help with Breech, Posterior, Transverse and Oblique presentation.
As the baby grows bigger there is less space for it to turn. If your baby is breech, don’t wait, get in touch. Ideally, we want to hear from you by the 32nd or 33rd week of your pregnancy. This gives time and space for the baby to turn. We did have patients whose babies turned with the gentle help of acupuncture in the last weeks of pregnancy, but contact us earlier whenever possible.
When applied on time and correctly, acupuncture reduces the risk of caesarean section. Additionally, it is gentler, safer way of breach version (turning your baby) than cephalic version (ECV).
Ideally, we want to see you 4-5 weeks before your due date for labour preparation.Ā This gives us a chance to help with the ripening the cervix, instead of inducing. This kind of acupuncture treatment can result in spontaneous delivery closer to your due date.
Nonetheless, if you have missed this window, acupuncture can help with labour induction. For this purpose, we normally recommend intensive treatment of 4+ daily sessions.
If your pregnancy is stress/anxiety-free and happy, it is more likely that *your baby* will be happy.
“studies examining maternal depression/anxiety during pregnancy and other indices of gestational stress have shown significant associations with emotional problems in children”Ā Reference
Anxiety and depression in pregnancy affect you and, consequently, the health of the baby. Safety of antidepressants in pregnancy is a moving target. As we get more studies, sometimes the ill effects of the medications immerge. Some antidepressants have shown links with complications in pregnancy or have ill effects on the baby. Even the use of these drugs leading to pregnancy has a potential for significant harm. While you need to discuss the safety with your prescribing physician, we can help you to beat the blues naturally.Ā Acupuncture has been shown to be both safe in pregnancy and effective for anxiety and depression.
Pregnancy depression affects about 1 in 7 pregnant women. Importantly, the problem with it is not only the well-being of the expectant mother. Depression can affect the health of the developing baby.
The risks include increased the risk of preterm birth, smaller babies with smaller brains in proportion to their bodies, blunted stress response in babies, altered structure of the offspring’s brain to name a few.
Use of antidepressants also may be risky for the baby. Acupuncture is a safe and effective treatment for pregnancy depression.
World Health Organization:
“In early pregnancy, acupuncture can be used for the prevention and treatment of morning sickness.”
“Acupuncture is useful ifĀ induction of labourĀ is desired, such as in prolonged pregnancy; the effect is comparable with that of oxytocin by intravenous drip.”
“AcupunctureĀ stimulates milk secretionĀ after childbirth and can be used to treat deficient lactation…”
“Ideally, you should avoid taking medicines when you’re pregnant”
This is not a complete list of conditions, which could benefit from pregnancy acupuncture. If your condition is not listed, please don’t hesitate to contact us to learn how this time-proven therapyĀ can benefit you and your baby.
Get in touch now.
