ACUPUNCTURE DURING PREGNANCY AND LABOUR:
You may be thinking of falling pregnant, are pregnant, or know someone special who is pregnant. This is an extremely exciting period during which the body undergoes major changes, nurtures a precious life and prepares for a healthy delivery of a baby. Research has shown that Acupuncture can be very beneficial during pregnancy and labour. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) Acupuncture has been found useful for nausea, vomiting and significantly reduces the duration of labour and labour pains. There is also strong evidence that Acupuncture can help with a breached birth.
The most common complaints pregnant women present to our clinic are:
- Morning sickness - Recurrent miscarriage
- Heartburn - Threatened miscarriage
- Haemorrhoids - Oedema (fluid retention)
- Sinus and mucosal congestion - Hypertension
- Anxiety, depression - Insomnia
- Musculoskeletal conditions - Constipation
(low back pain, sciatica, pubic symphysis pain etc.)
ACUPUNCTURE DURING PREGNANCY:
During the first trimester, the focus of the treatment is to reduce the likelihood of miscarriage and to address any early pregnancy symptoms such as nausea, morning sickness and fatigue.
Acupuncture during the second semester aims to maintain the balance and address many of the common complaints of pregnancy mentioned above.
Acupuncture during the third trimester prepares the body for labour and delivery by relaxing and softening ligaments, aiding cervical dilation, nourishing the body’s ‘’Qi’’ and blood, as well as relieving any muscular pain or discomfort. This is also the time where Acupuncture is used to turn breach babies.
It is recommended to start this treatment as soon as you learn that the baby is in breach position (around 33-36 weeks)
During the whole pregnancy, special attention will be given at diet and lifestyle.
ACUPUNCTURE FOR LABOUR INDUCTION:
Treatment for labour induction can be given any time after 39 weeks if there are no complications with the pregnancy.
Acupuncture for delayed labour has been used in China for at least 2300 years, but Acupuncture for labour pain was rarely used because, according to Chinese culture and oriental tradition, women were expected to experience the pain of childbirth! The first occurrence in Chinese medical literature was in 1970 in ‘A barefoot doctor’s manual’ (my first book on Acupuncture),
The manual drew on the practical expertise of local health workers, often self-taught, who went from house to house to administer medical attention in the form of Acupuncture and herbal medicine.
It was around the same time the interest in Acupuncture Analgesia became the focus of much research in Europe and the western world in general.
In 1972 Christian Ehrstroem performed the first Acupuncture delivery in the west in Stockholm.
In 1974 Darras in France reported 20 electro-acupuncture deliveries by primiparea and multiparea.
Since then, Acupuncture has rapidly become more popular for women in childbirth, mainly because it is a natural pain-reliever with no harmful side effects for mother or baby. Moreover, women like to feel in control during their labour and delivery, a feeling of which they may be deprived by some of the more potent conventional analgesic techniques used in today’s maternity units.
ACUPUNCTURE FOR DIFFICULT LABOUR
Acupuncture is also used in difficult labour. Difficult labour can result from abnormality of the uterine contractions, cephalo-pelvic disproportion (that is imbalance between the size of the maternal pelvis and the baby’s head), or malposition and malpresentation of the baby.
Acupuncture can be of help in the first of these, but not the others. It is important to note that ‘malposition’ of the baby should not be confused with ‘malpresentation’, the latter occurs when the baby’s bottom (breach), shoulder, face or brows present first, as opposed to the head as in normal cephalic presentation. ‘malposition’ means incorrect positioning of the head, which includes occipito-posterior position and deflection of the head. Acupuncture can help in ‘malpresentation’, but not ‘malposition’!!
