Pregnancy

Pregnancy

Pregnancy can be such an exciting time - especially if it’s been long-awaited – but it has many accompanying conditions which are definitely not so exciting (!) such as:

Labour preparation: I advise women to come to see me around 38 weeks to prepare their bodies and minds for labour.  Women often come to me who have stopped work at 38 weeks and have not had the time to prepare themselves psychologically for giving birth.  This has a massive impact on the capability of their body to go into labour – any psychological stress will automatically prevent labour from starting.

Breech positioning:  Women who have a baby in breech position should come at 36 weeks for a first pregnancy and 38 weeks for a second or subsequent pregnancy.  A comprehensive analysis of treatment for breech position discovered that 80% of foetuses turned into normal (cephalic) presentation. This is done by holding a stick of glowing herbs (‘moxa’ or mugwort) over the acupuncture point known as ‘turn the foetus’.  I give the patient one demonstration treatment and they go home and continue on their own until the baby turns. 

The Cochrane Review - see (http://www2.cochrane.org/reviews/en/ab003928.html) states "Moxibustion, a type of Chinese medicine which involves burning a herb close to the skin, may be helpful in turning a breech baby when applied to the little toe. The review found that moxibustion may help to correct breech presentation, but studies were small."

Case Study, Labour induction:

Sarah, 32, was slightly past her due date for her labour with her second child and came to see me for induction.  Acupuncture does not work in the same way as a chemical induction in that it cannot force the baby out.  Often there is a good reason why the baby is not ready – it could just be too big for the mother, the mother is too tired to go into labour or too stressed, or the umbilical chord is wrapped around it.  What acupuncture can do is stimulate the body’s ability to expel and move things downwards and out and it can also relax and energise the mother so she has the strength go into labour. 

Sarah had experienced a few minor contractions but felt them much stronger after her first acupuncture session.   She came back two days later (I always advise to come as often as possible – even daily – if the mother is 40 + weeks) for a further session and labour commenced properly on the bus on the way home!!  She gave birth safely a few hours later. (Not on the bus!) 

Please note - Induction with acupuncture does not always work that fast, it depends on the age of the mother, her energy levels, the size of the baby and whether it’s her first or subsequent delivery.  It is better to come a few weeks before your due date so the acupuncture has time to work properly.