Acupuncture and Pregnancy

            Traditional Chinese Medicine has utilized acupuncture to care for pregnant woman for thousands of years.  Acupuncture treatments can be used to help women experiencing a variety of normal symptoms before, during, and after the birth of the child.  Women experiencing problems during pregnancy, such as breech births, can also be helped with the use of acupuncture treatments.  Acupuncture has also been demonstrated as being effective and recommended by some healthcare providers as a routine pre birth treatment aimed at helping the new mother prepare her body for delivery so that labor is as safe and efficient as possible for both mother and child.  Utilizing an acupuncturist as part of your birthing team can help mitigate normal symptoms and lead to shorter labor times, natural reduction of pain, and provide an additional resource to help you make informed decisions about your pregnancy.
            Acupuncture can be routinely used prior to birth to help new mothers-to-be with normal pregnancy symptoms like morning sickness, pain, and urinary tract infections.  Nausea and vomiting that are normally associated with morning sickness can be experienced in women during any phase of pregnancy, with most occurrences happening between six and sixteen weeks. Western medicine believes that increased levels of hormones cause morning sickness during pregnancy that can stimulate the nausea and vomiting centers in the brain. Traditional Chinese medicine would view morning sickness as what’s called “rebellious qi”, meaning that because of the changes in a woman’s body during pregnancy, the normal flow of energy is disrupted, specifically that associated with the Stomach, which causes feeling of nausea and vomiting.  Acupuncture presents women with an alternative to “just dealing” with morning sickness, as relief can often be found during treatments. 
Along with acupuncture, drinking enough fluids, watching your diet, getting plenty of rest, and generally listening to your body can all help to lessen these symptoms.  Pain is a frequently treated symptom in acupuncture practices.  Pain is thought to be blocked qi or energy that is stuck and cannot move.  One of the main purposes of acupuncture is to restore this flow of blocked energy, restoring balance and eliminating pain. 
Urinary tract infections can be a potentially dangerous condition and should be taken care of sooner rather than later due to the potential for kidney infections and possible miscarriage.  Acupuncture is effective at eliminating some of the acute symptoms of pain and discomfort associated with a UTI, however if recurrent infections are frequent an underlying deficiency may be present and need further treatments to correct. In addition to acupuncture for helping symptoms and to restore an imbalance, drinking plenty of fluids, avoiding scented toiletries, and fully emptying your bladder whenever possible can help to avoid UTI’s.  It should also be noted that if you are on antibiotics for a UTI, it is essential that you take the full course even if your symptoms diminish to prevent a stronger recurrent infection from occurring. 
Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine offer pregnant women options for dealing with some of the daily symptoms and discomforts of pregnancy, which can help lead to decreased stress and anxiety, meaning an easier and happier pregnancy.
            Acupuncture has been shown to be very effective as a routine pre-birth treatment that prepares the woman’s body for delivery by getting her qi to move in a way conducive to giving birth.  Starting around 37 weeks, women can come in for weekly acupuncture treatments designed to help prepare the cervix and pelvis for the delivery.  Just as a western doctor will be weekly checking the baby’s heart and blood pressure, position, and other aspects of the new life, pre-birth acupuncture can help to deal with symptoms the mother may be experiencing at this time as well, such as lower back pain, swelling of the extremities, heartburn, and nosebleeds.  Studies have found that women who undergo a pre-birth acupuncture routine frequently experience a shorter labor with less chance for the need for medical intervention, such as the use of forceps or the need for a cesarean section. In fact, a large number of hospitals in Germany routinely give women a standard treatment designed to help the woman have the easiest, safest, and most efficient labor possible.  Pregnancy and childbirth has long had an important home in traditional Chinese medicine, and numerous doctors have spoken out about the lifestyle changes that a women should undertake during pregnancy, such as regulating sleep, avoiding greasy foods, keeping emotions in check by avoiding irritating or disturbing things, taking relaxing walks, and listening to your body.  Pre birth treatments are also a great time to talk about the upcoming birth with someone other than a doctor, as well as an opportunity to learn about the use of acupressure that can be performed by the woman as needed during labor. An acupuncturist can utilize a set of points that can help move your body’s qi in a downward direction to help the labor happen as efficiently as possible, as well as harmonizing your body to deal with other symptoms associated with pre-birth changes.
            In addition to preparing the body for an optimum birth experience, acupuncture and Chinese medicine can also be utilized in the event that there are problems or complications associated with the pregnancy.  Mal-positioned or mal-presenting children, such as a breech presentation for example are commonly treated by acupuncture.  The optimum time period for a woman to receive treatment for a problem of this nature is around 34 weeks, although treatments can be done during labor to attempt to turn the baby.  The most common treatment involves a technique called moxibustion.  Moxibustion involves applying heat to an area of the body or an acu-point by burning either cones or sticks of a compressed herb called mugwort or moxa.  This warming treatment is extremely effective at turning breech babies when applied to the tips of the little toes at an acu-point known as Bladder 67, and can often be accomplished by the mother after learning from her acupuncturist.  Traditional Chinese medicine views presentation and position problems as being associated with a deficiency of the Kidney’s, which are associated with the body’s energy and most aspects of reproduction.  By warming them, we can restore the function, which helps to turn the child.  Some acupuncturists my also utilize ear needles or seeds, which can be applied to the Bladder 67 point if an intervention is needed by the mother.  In addition to these treatments, avoiding cold and cooling foods like fruits, raw vegetables, and salads can help avoid position and presentation problems.  Also resting, relaxation, and avoidance of emotional upsets are commonly recommended precautions new mothers should take.
            Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine can also be utilized to induce birth if needed.  The need to induce labor can happen for a variety of reasons including carrying a child past 42 weeks, a premature rupture of the amniotic sac, or endangerment to the life of the mother for other medical reasons like diabetes, hypertension, or chronic infections.  There are several benefits to utilizing acupuncture as the primary response to the need for induction. By utilizing points that are normally contraindicated in pregnancy because they are known to induce labor, acupuncturists can help women spontaneously enter into labor using only needles.  The advantage here is the lack of need for the major abdominal surgery that is a cesarean section, as well as the avoidance of the use of forceps and injections of prostaglandin, a hormone known to induce labor. Cesarean sections are major surgeries that place added stress on the mother’s body.  In addition to the stress of just giving birth and attempting to recover, she also has a major abdominal wound that is susceptible to tears and infections. Studies as well as numerous anecdotes from midwife acupuncturists have demonstrated the effectiveness of using acupuncture as a method to induce labor as seen from decreased numbers of women needing c-sections or other forms of medical intervention after receiving acupuncture treatments for induction.     Use of acupressure by the mother on specific acu-points combined with an inductive acupuncture treatment a few days prior to a medically needed induction can often result in spontaneous labor or at least a more efficient labor if prostaglandins are used.
            After delivery has occurred, a woman’s body continues to go through more changes as she begins producing breast milk; her uterus begins to descend, after products are expelled, as well as healing any injuries that have occurred during the birthing process itself.  During this time, an acupuncturist can help to relieve many symptoms and complications that can surface during this time.  Traditional Chinese medicine views the first few days as a period of purgation, meaning that any treatments during this period will be to that effect, helping remove after products of the birth.  If complications arise, such as no products, persistent heavy bleeding, or the presence of large clots in vaginal discharge, an acupuncturist would view this as a stagnant condition and use a needling treatment to help discharge the after products of the birth.  After the initial purgation period, traditional Chinese medicine calls for a period of 30 days of tonification or strengthening of the woman’s body.  It is very common for women who do not fully recover from a pregnancy to later on present with a deficiency syndrome that arose from childbirth.  There are several treatments available to help a new mother tonify her body so that she is back in balance and can avoid future imbalances associated with the pregnancy.  One effective treatment involves the use of moxibustion along the woman’s abdomen to warm and tonify her body, usually preformed four or five days after the birth.  Specific acu-points are also indicated as effective for tonifying a woman’s body after childbirth.  These treatments often take place 1 ½ to 2 weeks after birth.  These treatments focus not only on strengthening the body’s organs but also restoring qi and blood levels and quality.  Usually women will receive these treatments once a week for two to three weeks.  Most women also experience after pains associated with the descent of the uterus after giving birth, frequently during breastfeeding.  The acu-point Spleen 6, located on the middle of the inner side of the leg about a hand-span above the top of the foot, has been shown to be extremely effective for eliminating after pains.  An acupuncturist can often combine this point with several others in a needling treatment, as well as instructing a new mother in the use of acupressure at this point to help deal with these pains.  Night sweats are another common symptom that women can experience in the first week or so following childbirth.  This is generally seen as a Kidney yin deficiency, and can often be treated effectively is a single treatment.  If a woman has received a perineal tear during pregnancy and is experiencing discomfort, acupuncture can also be used to help reducing feelings of swelling and discomfort.  As a woman begins producing milk, other complications can arise such as insufficient lactation or mastitis (breast infection).  Insufficient lactation is often associated with qi stagnation, and is treated with warming and tonifying treatments.  Infections in breast tissue are often due to a blocked milk duct pumping milk into the surrounding tissue, causing an immune response resulting in redness, swelling, heat, pain, and sometimes hardness in the affected area.  In this case, excess heat is viewed as the underlying problem, and treatments are given to help clear out the heat in the breasts as well as relieving pain and swelling.  Traditional Chinese medicine offers women a variety of treatments and home interventions for dealing with the changes and complications that a women experiences following the birth of a child.
            Post Partum Depression is a common occurrence in women after the birth of a child.  This is most often viewed in western medicine as having to do with the fluctuating levels of hormones present in the woman’s brain prior to giving birth.  There can be a variety of symptoms including depression, insomnia, impatience, irritability, anxiety, vertigo, headache, and several others.  Traditional Chinese medicine would view post partum depression as one of several possible deficiency syndromes.  Depending on the woman’s constitution and specific symptoms, one of several acupuncture treatments will be selected to help tonify the affected organs and restore balance.  It has been shown that women who receive both pre and post natal acupuncture treatments often have less occurrences of post natal depression, most likely due to the constant effort to keep the body strong and in balance during the entire birthing process.  It should also be noted that women who have a history of depression are more likely to experience post partum depression than those who have never experienced a period of clinical depression.  There should also be some differentiation between post partum depression, and puerperal psychosis, which is an acute psychiatric illness often associated with suicidal or violent thoughts towards one-self or the new child.  Puerperal psychosis requires prompt medical attention by a mental healthcare professional.  In addition to the above listed treatments for the newly adjusting mother, some other recommendations can be made to help the mother remain in balance and health.  First, the mother should actively rest as much as possible for the next month.  While this isn’t entirely feasible given our active western culture, a new mother should try and rest whenever she can to help her body recover from the birth and the new changes that are happening in her body.  New mother’s should also try and avoid the wind and cold as well as cold or cooling foods like sandwiches, green salads, iced water or juices, and yogurt.
            In conclusion, we can see that there is a huge variety of options within traditional Chinese medicine for pregnant women to help ensure a healthy and efficient pregnancy as well as dealing with most complications that can arise.  The use of pre-birth acupuncture treatments can help keep the new mother’s body in balance, help prepare her body energetically for labor and delivery, as well as helping to protect against post partum depression.  In the event that induction of labor is necessary, acupuncture also has effective tools and treatments that offer low impact and non-invasive methods to help induce labor.  We have also seen the consistent ability of acupuncturist to turn breech-presenting children to an optimum position.  And finally after the child is born, traditional Chinese medicine offers new mother’s treatments to help deal with changes and complications as well as restoring the body to a healthy and balanced state.  Selecting an acupuncturist as part of your birthing team can be a great way to help you have a more efficient and healthy pregnancy experience, helping you transition from pre-natal, labor, and postnatal periods.