Pregnancy and Post Birth Care
While pregnancy is a beautiful and natural time in
a woman’s life, there are a number of minor and major health complaints
that may occur at this time.
The ancient, art of Traditional Chinese Acupuncture provides a drug free,
safe and effective way of gently restoring optimal health during
pregnancy.
Symptoms
Common pregnancy related health conditions, which
can be addressed with acupuncture,
include:
*Morning
sickness
*Hyperemesis
*Heart
burn
*Insomnia
*Low
energy
*Anxiety
*Back and hip
pain
*High blood
pressure
*Preparation for
labour
*Labor
induction.
*Turning breech
babies
*Post natal depression
Treatment
MORNING
SICKNESS
Pregnancy profoundly and immediately changes the
energetics of the body. A
part of this change, often involves problems with disordered qi flow in
the stomach meridian. As
stomach qi fails to descend through the body, “rebellious” qi begins to
rise upwards causing nausea and vomiting. There are several different
typical energy imbalances that contribute to morning
sickness. Acupuncture point
selection is different depending on which particular imbalance a woman
has.
Acupuncture treatment is usually twice a week for
the first two to three weeks, depending on severity of
symptoms. By this time there
is usually enough of an improvement for treatment to be decreased to once
a week.
Dietary adjustment, increased rest, and the use of
Chinese herbs or B6 and ginger therapy are also
advised.
LABOUR
PREPARATION
Pre birth acupuncture is routinely recommend to all
pregnant patients I work with. A series of four treatments given
over the last month of pregnancy is the usual approach. Sometimes extra treatments are given if
a woman goes past due dates, and acupuncture induction is required.
In clinical trials, the average time in labour for
a group of women giving birth for the first time was reduced from 8 hours
(no acupuncture given) to 6 ½ hours for women given pre birth
acupuncture. Midwives
report that their mums who have received this treatment have
straightforward labours with a reduced rate of medical intervention.
Pre birth acupuncture aims to regulate a woman’s qi
and blood, to ensure she is strong and balanced for the rigors of
childbirth.
LABOUR
INDUCTION
Going past due dates often leads to a medical
induction, which in turn increases the likelihood of further
interventions including an epidural and forceps
delivery.
Acupuncture can often induce labour when a woman
goes past her due date.
Ideally, acupuncture is performed in the two to three day period before a
woman is booked in for medical induction. After one to three acupuncture
induction treatments, labour will often begin, in a gentle, natural way,
rather than with the intensely painful contractions which often accompany
a medical induction.
TURNING BREECH AND POSTERIOR PRESENTATION
BABIES
A baby in a breech presentation (feet down, head
up) increases the potential complications in labour, and usually will be
routinely delivered by Caesarian. Sometimes a doctor or midwife will
attempt to turn a breech baby by external manipulation of the
belly. This is not always
successful, and must only be attempted when the medical practitioner is
prepared for an emergency caesarian if there is cord
compression.
Traditional Chinese Acupuncture offers a highly
effective and simple acupuncture treatment for turning breech
babies. Moxibustion (warming
with a stick of herbs called moxa) is applied to point BL67 near the
outside of the little toe nail. This point is warmed for 20 minutes
bilaterally, for 10 consecutive days. The first treatment is performed in the
clinic, and then the following treatments are performed by the woman or
her husband, at home.
Most studies suggest that this treatment is most
effective in the 34th week of pregnancy before the baby has
grown too large. In real
life, women often do not present for treatment until the 36th
to 38th week. Some babies do still turn at this
late stage, especially if the woman has had a baby before.
A similar treatment is performed to help turn
posterior babies in the last few weeks of pregnancy. While this treatment is often
successful, there is a higher incidence of these babies reverting back to
their posterior position during
labour.
POST NATAL
ACUPUNCTURE
TCM recommends that all women should receive
acupuncture treatment in the days and weeks following either a vaginal or
caesarian birth.
Childbirth is a huge event, and can lead to draining and deficiency of qi
and blood, especially if labour is prolonged, or there is excessive blood
loss. Using tonifying
(strengthening) acupuncture, and moxibustion (very pleasant warming of
the needles with moxa) for the one to two months after childbirth gently
strengthens and restores a woman’s vital force.
Acupuncture is performed preferably at 4 to 5 days
post birth, and then again around day 10 to 14 post birth. Then weekly treatments may be
recommended for three to five weeks depending on the state of the
mother’s qi and blood.
Common post natal health challenges which can be
effectively improved with TCM
include:
*Fatigue
*Anxiety
*Depression
*Mastitis
*Poor milk
production
*post caesarian scar
pain
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