Acupuncture can assist pregnant women in many ways:
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Nausea and 'morning sickness'
Breech position - in acupuncture, a very simple and safe procedure involving 'moxibustion' ( a moxa stick applying heat to points on the feet of the pregnant woman) is carried out between 34-36 weeks gestation. Women can be shown how to apply the moxa at home and use it until they feel the baby turning. This procedure has a great success rate in turning breech babies.
In a study of 260 women with breech presentation carried out in Italy, 130 women were treated with moxibustion for 7 days (if the baby had not turned, treatment was continued for a further 7 days), and another 130 women formed a control group. 75.4% of the babies in the moxibustion group turned, compared to 47.7% in the control group. See "Moxibustion for Correction of Breech Presentation" by F. Cardini and H. Weixin, 1998.
Pre-birth treatments - from about week 37 of the pregnancy, acupuncture treatments carried out on a weekly basis can help prepare a woman's body for childbirth. The pelvis and cervix are prepared for labour, and treatment can address any medical conditions such as pregnancy-induced hypertension. Treatments also help the woman to feel calm and more relaxed as she prepares for childbirth.
A German study demonstrated that the mean duration of labour in a group of women giving birth for the first time was reduced from 8 hours 2 minutes in the control group (70 women) to 6 hours 36 minutes in the group of 70 women who had received pre-birth acupuncture.
Midwives in New Zealand comparing 2 groups of pregnant women, one group having acupuncture treatments pre-labour, the other no treatments, reported significantly shorter labour times for the women who received the acupuncture and a reduced rate of medical intervention and caesarean sections. See "The Essential Guide to Acupuncture in Pregnancy & Childbirth" by Debra Betts, The Journal of Chinese Medicine, 2006.
Acupuncture induction - in the UK, pregnant women are increasingly being booked in for a medical induction within the NHS as soon as they are one day over their due-date. For some pregnant women a medical induction may be absolutely necessary, if monitoring shows there may be risk to the mother or her baby if the pregnancy continues. However, if scanning shows that the baby is fine and the mother-to-be is in good health and wants to try for a natural labour then acupuncture induction is a very safe and often successful way to encourage the start of labour in women who have passed their due-date.
B.a.b.e - I am a member of B.a.b.e (Brighton Acupuncture For Birth Experience), a group of acupuncturists who all have a common interest in enhancing pregnancy and the birth experience for mothers using our knowledge of acupuncture and Chinese Medicine. We treat women and their partners trying to conceive and during their pregnancy. We are also available to attend births.