Pregnancy

Support Pregnancy Naturally

One common question I often hear is, “Is Acupuncture Safe During Pregnancy?” In our practice in Montpelier, we see pregnant women daily. Hence, the answer is “yes.”

Struggle to Become Pregnant?

Fertility challenges may come unexpectedly, but over 10% of U.S. couples face difficulties with conception. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) offers a unique approach to supporting fertility by looking at the underlying causes of imbalance and treating each person individually. TCM incorporates acupuncture, herbs, massage and nutritional advice to help couples achieve a successful pregnancy.

Acupuncture and herbal medicine are becoming more and more researched and understood as another medical model to address infertility, for both men and women. Infertility can have a clear reason; this may be a structural abnormality, hormonal imbalance, poor quality eggs or sperm. After various testing, women are often told that there is no known reason for their struggle to conceive or even sustain pregnancy. This frustrating diagnosis of “unexplained infertility” is given to 20% of struggling couples. In our practice, we commonly see those in this situation. From the perspective of Chinese Medicine, there is usually a clear imbalance to account for the challenge of becoming pregnant for each individual, even when given this western medical diagnosis.

Within recent years, couples have sought acupuncture to increase the effectiveness of assisted reproductive therapies. There are high quality studies available that demonstrate that the use of acupuncture pre- and post-IVF will raise the success of pregnancy rate by 15%. Western fertility specialists are becoming more convinced of this and often refer to acupuncture during this time. This is a stressful time and a big investment of the heart and wallet, so by helping manage the effects of stress and increase blood circulation to the reproductive organs, acupuncture can be very beneficial.

Managing Challenges Throughout Pregnancy

Pregnancy is an amazing time of life, but can include a variety of new issues as your body changes. Some of the common issues that acupuncture successfully treats are morning sickness, sciatica, back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome and acid reflux. At the end of pregnancy, you may hear about acupuncture for turning breech positioned babies and stimulation of labor.

When the baby is not positioned ideally for movement down the birth canal, moxibustion is commonly employed to help the baby turn. This is very standard care in China for turning a breech baby. A landmark study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1998 found that up to 75% of women suffering from breech presentations before childbirth had fetuses that rotated to the normal position after receiving moxibustion at an acupuncture point on the little toe. Moxibustion is the use of Chinese mugwort, a spongy herb that can be clumped to the end of the fine acupuncture needle, placed directly on the skin, or used in a stick form (see photo) and held over the point by the little toenail. This point is on a specific channel that can affect the uterus and activate the baby to move. More often than not, when this is performed around 32-37 weeks of a breech pregnancy, the baby will turn to be in the ideal position for birth. This typically happens within the 24 – 48 hours following treatment.

Overdue pregnancy is another very common experience and sometimes a concern. It is a time filled with anxiety and excitement, as each day may be the day of birthing. Contractions and the signs of birthing readiness are closely observed to see if there is progression towards labor. Acupuncture is a way to encourage the whole body and mind to deeply relax to then allow the natural tendency of birth to happen. Specific points can stimulate a downward movement in the body for a full term mother. Certain points have been used for hundreds of years for this purpose, which have been recently studied and seen specifically to create uterine contractions. When I first began practicing, I clearly remember when my wife’s labor stalled. After needling several points, she then lay with them for twenty minutes; labor quickly picked right back up once she stood up and our little one was soon born.

Acupuncture should surely be considered a part of dealing with the struggle of infertility and also maintaining a healthy pregnancy and the challenges that may arise within those 40 weeks. This is a field within Chinese Medicine that has extensive experience. There are acupuncturists that have been certified by the American Board of Oriental Reproductive Medicine to have this specialty. Please feel free to contact me directly if you have specific questions around this topic.