Fertility
Conditions During Pregnancy
An official study has actually been done to see if acupuncture really helps women overcome or deal with morning sickness. In the study there were over 30 women that received acupuncture treatments for a period of two weeks. The women that received the true acupuncture treatments reported an overwhelming success rate with more than 75% of the women feeling much better after just a couple days time. The acupuncture was able to stop the vomiting and even do away with the nausea for a lot of women, too.
Breech presentation is very common in pregnancy and most babies (96-97%) will turn to head first by full term. If your baby persists as breech you may be offered an ECV (external cephalic version) by your obstetrician which involves manipulating the baby through your abdomen, to a head first (cephalic) presentation.
Moxibustion is another option to encourage your baby to turn to head first and much used in Traditional Eastern Medicine. It involves warming an acupuncture point located at the corner of the little toes (Bladder 67) on both feet. Studies suggest that heating this point for 10-15 minutes daily for 7-14 days increases fetal movements and encourages babies to turn to head first (Cardini and Huang, 1998).
Success rates of 53.6% -81% have been reported in studies. The best time to start treatment appears to be around 34 weeks. Studies have also shown that moxibustion appears to be a safe option.
Pre-birth acupuncture treatment involves a series of 2 to 3 times a week
treatments starting at 36-37 weeks gestation to prepare the mother and
baby for labour. The points used are chosen based on the woman’s
constitution and normally consist of 4-5 points located on the arms and
legs (belly points are never used in pregnant women!) Pre-birth
acupuncture works on several levels. On a physical level, it helps ripen
the cervix, move the baby into an anterior position, increase stamina, and
help resolve other concerns often encountered in pregnancy such as back
pain, insomnia, high blood pressure, and carpal tunnel syndrome. On an
emotional level, it can help the mother prepare for labour and the
transition to motherhood, whether it’s for the first time or a subsequent
pregnancy.
A clinical study in New Zealand (Betts & Lennox, 2006) showed that
women having pre-birth acupuncture had a
Acupuncture for labour induction is used successfully to promote labour
naturally when a women is past her due date. 45 women on their due dates
were randomised into either an acupuncture group or a control group to
assess the effects of acupuncture on cervical ripening. The study
concluded that acupuncture can shorten the time interval between the
women’s expected due date of delivery and time of delivery. The time from
the woman’s due date to delivery was an average of 5 days in the
acupuncture group and 7.9 days in the control group. Labour was medically
induced in 20% of women in the acupuncture group compared to 35% in the
control group (Acupuncture for cervical ripening and labour induction at
term – a randomised control trial. 2001. 113 (23-24): 942-6.)
The benefits of acupuncture for labour induction are:
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