Now You Are Pregnant
Acupuncture during the first few weeks of pregnancy
Regular monitoring of the pulse (a TCM diagnostic technique) and regular treatment with acupuncture designed to reduce anxiety may offer you important and reassuring support during these first few weeks of pregnancy. Doctors in NZ showed that regular monitoring and reassurance reduces miscarriage rates in some of their patients. One study in China found that the incidence of miscarriage was reduced in the women to whom they gave Chinese herbs after embryo transfer in an IVF cycle.
Acupuncture has been demonstrated to have significant immune-modulating effects. While no trials have yet been undertaken, this effect may prove to be important in reducing the risk of rejection by the mother’s immune system in the early days as the embryo implants and a pregnancy is established.
Suggested Schedule: 1 treatment per week until week 12 of pregnancy.
A happy and healthy pregnancy
You may have had a long journey with plenty of medical intervention to get this far. Now is the time to relax, let mother nature do her job and enjoy your swelling belly.
However should any minor pregnancy disorders develop, acupuncture can be a useful remedy.
Schedule: 1 treatment per week, or as needed.
Preparing for labour
Acupuncture treatment applied in the 4 weeks before the due date for delivery has been found by some midwifes to reduce the rates of medical induction and emergency caesarian. Some studies indicate that acupuncture may encourage cervical ripening and may shorten active phase labour time. However larger trials are needed to confirm these findings (All references)