On one hand, pregnancy comes with a lot of excitement and joy, while on the other hand, it presents a lot of challenges, including discomforts, pains, and aches. To obtain some relief, some people resort to medication and alternative medicine. This helps with some discomfort, including back pain and morning sickness. Acupuncture is an alternative medicine that provides tremendous relief during pregnancy. Although it has several benefits, including minimal side effects and prolonged pain relief, it must be used in moderation. A skilled acupuncturist can help you understand its benefits, risk factors, and how to incorporate it into your pregnancy journey.
The Safety of Acupuncture in Pregnancy
Acupuncture is a generally safe alternative treatment that can provide relief from various symptoms, including pain and discomfort. It uses tiny needles, which are strategically inserted in various acupoints in the body to trigger the body’s natural healing abilities. The needles stimulate the eye points to create a healthy balance between yin and yang, the body's primary forces. The stimulation also allows for a perfect flow of qi, or life force, throughout the body. This improves your overall well-being, creating a lasting effect on your wellness.
Acupuncture has been practiced in China for years as part of traditional Chinese medicine before it began spreading to various parts of the world. For years, people have been using it to manage various illnesses, diseases, and symptoms, including relief from the pain and discomfort that comes with a pregnancy. However, since pregnancy is a very sensitive period, acupuncture must be carefully administered to give you the relief you seek, and at the same time, protect you from danger. In that case, you must work with a highly trained and experienced acupuncturist.
Generally, acupuncture is very safe for pregnancy. It has been used to achieve excellent results for people trying to conceive. Many people use it alongside in vitro fertilization to improve their chances of conceiving. After conception, some people continue using acupuncture for relief from severe symptoms like morning sickness and aches during pregnancy. Acupuncture also promotes relaxation, which helps you avoid stress and sleep better during pregnancy.
Other common uses of acupuncture while pregnant include the following:
Relief From Hyperemesis Gravidarum
Hyperemesis gravidarum is a serious medical condition that involves persistent nausea and extreme vomiting during pregnancy. It is a dangerous condition, as it can lead to dehydration and loss of critical electrolytes when your body needs them most. It also results in severe weight loss and puts your life and the life of your unborn child at risk. Although there are medical treatments for this condition, alternative medicine like acupuncture is considered safer. It also provides lasting effects and other benefits like improved well-being that help you throughout pregnancy and beyond.
Relief From Pain
Pain and body aches are common symptoms in pregnancy, especially back and pelvis pain. Generally, you experience pain due to weight shift, pregnancy hormones, and changing posture, all of which loosen your joints. For example, the hormone relaxin relaxes your ligaments as your body prepares for birth. This causes your pelvic joints to become less stable. Also, your growing baby, which expands your uterus, changes your posture, putting a strain on your back muscles. Fortunately, acupuncture is an easy, safe, and effective way to relieve pain in various parts of the body.
Relief From Stress and Anxiety
Stress and anxiety are also common mental health issues during pregnancy. They come when you persistently worry or experience tension during pregnancy. Some of the indications of stress and anxiety include trouble sleeping and a racing heart. Your emotional well-being changes a lot when you are pregnant because of the changes you experience and the hormones. You could constantly feel fatigued, dizzy, and irritable, and have a sense of dread. Acupuncture promotes relaxation, which is an excellent way to reduce stress and anxiety.
The Benefits of Acupuncture in Pregnancy
Acupuncture offers so many benefits before and during pregnancy. Remember that you can start acupuncture treatments before conceiving, especially if you have fertility issues. Acupuncture reduces stress and anxiety, keeps you relaxed, and improves your overall health to support conception. You can use it alongside your fertility treatment to improve your chances of conceiving. Once conception happens, you can continue with your acupuncture treatment for a smooth and stress-free pregnancy journey. Here are some of the benefits you will receive from acupuncture while pregnant:
It Can Help You Manage Morning Sickness
Morning sickness is one of the challenges you will likely experience with pregnancy. It is mainly caused by GD15, a protein hormone that is secreted by the placenta and the fetus, and the rapid changes in the levels of pregnancy hormones like HCG.
Acupuncture stimulates specific nerve pathways that affect brain chemistry and calms the digestive upset. Acupuncture also regulates digestion by reducing stomach acid and stabilizing stomach motility. An acupuncturist can also help relieve your stress during pregnancy by activating the parasympathetic nervous system. This can help you manage morning sickness by promoting deep sleep and relaxation.
It Helps You Deal with Aches and Pains
Remember that the changes your body undergoes during pregnancy can cause constant pain and aches. Relaxin, the hormone that helps your body adapt to pregnancy, relaxes your ligaments, joints, and blood vessels. When this combines with the increasing body weight as the body and the baby grow, you could experience mild to severe back and pelvic pain. This is more rampant after the second trimester.
Acupuncture is an effective remedy for reducing back and pelvic pain, both of which can make your pregnancy journey unbearable. An acupuncturist can carefully administer treatment to ease your pain and aches, as well as the emotional discomfort that comes with them.
It Helps with Depression
Prenatal, antenatal, or perinatal depression is a mood-related disorder that occurs when you experience clinical depression while pregnant. Although it does not affect everyone, a significant number of women experience it. It comes with persistent feelings of sadness, emptiness, and low mood. Some people experience intense anxiety and excessive worry. As a result, you become fatigued, and your energy levels reduce significantly.
Acupuncture is an excellent alternative treatment for stress and depression. It relaxes your central nervous system, which helps you manage your mood and stress levels. You also start sleeping better with every treatment.
It Helps with Breech Babies
Babies are expected to turn between weeks 32 and 35 of pregnancy, to present headfirst. This allows for a smooth birth when the time comes. However, it does not always happen, and some babies remain in breech position until birth. If you are hoping for a smooth birth and your baby has not turned after the expected time, acupuncture can help. Acupuncturists recommend a few treatment sessions to help the baby turn. You can start your sessions immediately after learning that your baby is in a breech position.
It Helps Manage Labor Pains
Labor pains are expected at the end of the pregnancy as the body prepares to deliver the baby. They are intense pains that rhythmically happen as the uterus relaxes to open the cervix for the baby to come out of the birth canal smoothly. While labor pains are natural, they can cause physical and emotional stress, which may affect your birth experience. Intense labor pains may also cause difficulties during birth, especially if your body is tired or not properly relaxed. However, an acupuncturist can help reduce your stress and leave you relaxed enough for the birth.
It Can Help with Constipation
Constipation in pregnancy is caused by increased progesterone levels, which slow the digestive tract. It can also happen because of the growing fetus, which puts excessive physical pressure on the intestines. Although there are medications that help with constipation in pregnancy, they may not be absolutely safe for you or your baby.
Acupuncture can help relieve constipation by stimulating specific points in the body that regulate digestion. It can regulate your bowel movements without the need for harsh medications.
Safety Precautions When Undergoing Acupuncture While Pregnant
Remember that pregnancies are very sensitive. This means that everything you consume, including the treatments you receive, must be done carefully and in moderation. Although acupuncture is a generally safe treatment, especially when it is administered by an acupuncturist who is especially trained in prenatal care, there are safety precautions you must always consider.
First, make sure that you check with your doctor before starting your acupuncture sessions. Discuss it with your physician, midwife, OB-GYN, or any other healthcare provider you are seeing beforehand. They will help you weigh the benefits against the risks, especially if yours is a high-risk pregnancy. They will also advise you according to your individual needs. For example, if you experience severe morning sickness and your healthcare provider knows that acupuncture can help, they will recommend it.
Additionally, carefully select an acupuncturist to work with. They must be trained, licensed acupuncturists with a specific certification or experience treating expectant patients. Obtain referrals from people who have had a great experience with them. Go through reviews to determine the kind of experience you will likely receive. Before starting your treatments, ensure that the acupuncturist knows the stage of your pregnancy, any medical complications you have, or have had, and what you expect after treatment.
Be aware of any contraindications so you can ensure the acupuncturist avoids them during your treatment sessions. Certain points on your body are generally avoided in acupuncture. The ones that are commonly agreed upon, especially before 37 weeks of pregnancy, include the following:
- The spleen channel
- The large intestine
- The gall bladder
- The bladder channels
- Lung channel
- Sacral region
- Lower abdomen
You can discuss these points with your acupuncturist before your first treatment session. Stimulating some of these sessions can be dangerous, especially in your first and second trimesters, as they can stimulate uterine contractions. However, if you are doing acupuncture to prepare for labor, some of these restricted points can be stimulated to prepare the cervix.
Also, ensure that you are properly positioned during acupuncture. Do not lie flat on your back during the second and third trimesters. Your acupuncturist must position you comfortably on the side or in a semi-reclined position.
The acupuncturist must also use proper equipment during the treatment session. Confirm beforehand that they use single-use, sterilized disposable needles for treatment.
Additionally, a skilled acupuncturist will use a gentler technique when treating a pregnant patient. They will use mild stimulation rather than the standard stimulation used for regular patients.
Be aware of the risks to you and your baby so that you will seek help sooner rather than later. Although risks in acupuncture are generally minor, some people have reported some of the following after-treatment effects:
- Redness, bleeding, and pain at the insertion points
- A constant headache
- Trouble sleeping or fatigue
- Faintness or dizziness
- Nausea and vomiting
- Irritability
- Feeling hot or sweating
Some of these side effects are expected, especially once your body starts reacting to the treatment. However, watch out for extreme symptoms and report them immediately to your doctor or acupuncturist. For example, if you experience serious bleeding or pain at the insertion point, you should not ignore it. A hot feeling that feels like a fever should also not be ignored, as it could indicate a more serious issue that may affect you or the baby. Depending on the seriousness of the symptoms, your acupuncturist may discontinue treatment or take a break and resume later.
Find a Competent Acupuncturist Near Me
Are you or someone you know experiencing serious symptoms or complications in pregnancy in Los Angeles? Acupuncture can help.
Although you are very sensitive, a skilled acupuncturist can help relieve some of your severe symptoms, including morning sickness, fatigue, constipation, stress, and depression. With their help, you can improve your general health as you carry the pregnancy and prepare for labor.
We have highly trained and experienced acupuncturists at Art of Chinese Healing who can help you at any stage of your pregnancy. Call us at 310-405-1610 to learn about the safety and effectiveness of our services.