Pregnancy
1st & 2nd Trimester
Acupuncture is an effective and drug-free way to manage many issues that can arise during pregnancy. Thanks to the Qi pathways, no points on the abdomen are used and points on the legs, arms and back are appropriate. Some conditions acupuncture can manage include:
nausea, vomiting, heartburn, constipation, varicose veins, haemorrhoids, vulval varicosities, UTI, rib pain, back pain, leg cramps, carpal tunnel syndrome, fatigue, anemia, insomnia, anxiety & depression, vaginal discharge, itching, dermatitis, and sinusitis.
Dietary Treatment
Dietary therapy remedies are an important part of treatment throughout pregnancy. The following is a general guideline and not intended to replace the advice of your primary care physician. Dietary therapy can help with:
Poor Appetite: stimulate your appetite with fresh grapefruit
Constipation: eat a soft banana at night and upon waking
Morning Sickness: mix 70g brown sugar and 7g fresh ginger slices in 2cups of hot water. Steep covered and enjoy as a tea.
In rare cases, ginger worsens nausea. If so, try peppermint tea to cool and settle the stomach.
In severe cases, nausea may be linked to Vitamin K deficiency. It is recommended to eat small bites of food high in Vitamin K2 and protein every 30 - 60 minutes and to increase leafy green vegetables and foods high in calcium.
Hypertension: drink a cup of celery juice every day and monitor your bp with your physician closely.
Foods to avoid during pregnancy include:
Salmonella: May be found in raw chicken or eggs - no raw cookie dough binging!
Lysteria: Use a thermometer to closely check the temperature of your cooked meats, poultry and fish.
Uncooked meats: pate, sushi, steak tartare
Nitrates: Sometimes labelled as “celery extract” and found in sausages, deli sliced meats and pepperoni, some pickles and fermented foods
Unpasteurized milk products: Most dairy in Canada is pasteurized, but always check the label.
It is wise to be wary of prepared deli foods such as potato salad, coleslaw, green salads and sprouts as cross contamination may have occurred during preparation in any deli.
Miscarriage
According to TCM, the principal cause of miscarriage after 6 weeks is a disharmony between the Chong & Ren meridians. While modern research varies on the statistics and inevitability of miscarriage (from 15% to 40% of all pregnancies), acupuncture can help with the emotional aspects of miscarriage for both partners.
Many women experiencing inevitable or missed miscarriage feel grateful for treatments to help their bodies adjust and recover. Rather that having to ‘wait and see’, acupuncture can soothe the nervous system. Creating calm during a stressful time is often the best treatment.
3rd Trimester
Acupuncture sessions help to alleviate the discomfort of pregnancy but also help prepare your body and mind for labour.
In later stages of pregnancy, many women experience oedema (or swelling of the hands and feet). This can be alleviated with acupuncture and a combination of ankle rotations, compression stockings, alternating frequently between sitting and standing and reducing salty packaged foods (not sodium in general).
It is still advised to drink 8 glasses of water each day. Insufficient water will only signal your brain to continue to hold on to the water it has.
Pre-Birth Acupuncture
Pre-Birth acupuncture refers to a routine series of treatments in the last 4-6 weeks of pregnancy. From week 36, weekly acupuncture sessions have been shown to reduce the overall duration of labour as well as the need for medical interventions. Treatment points are chosen on meridians (energy pathways) to open the hips and pelvis, calm the mind and ripen the cervix in preparation for labour.
Breech Presentation
In TCM, a baby becomes breeched due to a lack of Yang energy. As the Yin energy has nourished the fetus and is now reaching its peak, the Yang energy must move baby into position and prepares them for the activity of birth. In Western Medicine there are a variety of breech presentations and reasons for baby to be breached - in TCM they are all treated with the same principle, by adding more Yang.
In clinic, it is ideal to see women for one visit at 34 or 35 weeks to begin breech treatment. Home care will also be given to turn baby.
However, since 50% of babies will naturally turn without intervention by 36 weeks, most primary care providers wait until 36 or 37 weeks to discuss options for a breech birth.
It is still possible to turn the baby with home care at 38 or even 39 weeks, especially if the woman has been pregnant once before.
Acupuncture Induction
Certain points are contraindicated during pregnancy - because they are classically and empirically known to promote labour! If it is becoming medically necessary to induce, and you can provide a document from your primary care provider, acupuncture can help.
Ideally an acu-induction is performed 3 days before a medical induction is planned and is followed up at home with daily acupressure massage.
Midwives who practice acupuncture induction in New Zealand report acupuncture followed by acupressure to be the most practical and effective way to induce labour.
“Even if labour does not commence spontaneously…, women treated with acupuncture have a more efficient labour following the administration of prostaglandin that women with no prior acupuncture treatment, with no further intervention required during labour.”
Debra Betts
If there is no medical reason necessitating an induction, cervical ripening or pre-birth acupuncture treatment will be chosen instead. We must respect the body’s natural rhythm.
Post-Partum
The fourth trimester is a time of recovery for the birth parent, adjustment for all parents and tenderness for your infant. In TCM, the birth parent moves through a period of purging for the first three days at which time, no treatment is advised unless medical issues arise.
From days 4 - 40 (or even 100) days, the post-partum woman is relatively deficient in Qi & Blood and requires tonification to build up her body’s vital energies. This can be done with acupuncture, with moxibustion for ‘Mother Warming’ or with herbal remedies that are safe during breastfeeding. It is also possible to continue taking prenatal supplements for 6 months or longer if you are nursing. This can be discussed with your practitioner or primary health care provider.
Acupuncture is documented as beneficial for the following post-partum conditions:
after pains, night sweats, perineal discomfort, breast-feeding issues, minor post-partum depression, major post-partum depression
Breastmilk
Acupuncture & Herbal medicine are useful to promote the production and smooth flow of breastmilk. Issues may arise either due to low supply or excess supply causing swelling and tender breasts. With a low supply, treatment will focus on building Qi & Blood and increasing nutrition and milk producing foods such as aduki beans. Frequency of treatments can vary from 1-3 times a week, as necessary or advised by your care provider. With an excess supply, acupuncture can focus on the smooth flow of milk and prevention of blebs, blisters, blocked ducts and mastitis.
Stopping Lactation
In applicable cases, there are two TCM raw herbal medicinals which are very effective in reducing breast milk supply. This is very helpful for surrogate women post-partum.
