Acupuncture during pregnancy?

Comment by Chad J. Dupuis, L.Ac.

Acupuncture is completely safe and effective treatment during pregnancy. In fact for certain conditions like late-stage back/pelvic pain it is one of the only options as you cannot use pain medication at that point. The value of it for you depends on the issues that you are having. Essentially everything can be treated from early term morning sickness, fatigue, etc. to late-term low back/pelvic pain, breech presentation, etc. The majority of patients I treat for fertility issues will return for visits every 1-3 months for follow-ups which insure they have a smooth pregnancy and ultimately an easy birth. There are certainly points that are contraindicated during pregnancy, but every professional is fully aware of those points and there are no cases that I am aware of where any problems have ever been caused. Acupuncture is ultimately a natural phenomena in the way that it works on your body, so is pregnancy - generally speaking it is extremely hard for acupuncture to over-ride natural processes in the body that are functioning well.

My article on treating the range of pregnancy and child-birth related issues may be interesting even if it is a bit technical in it's presentation.

Comment by Archived User

Thank you so much for this information. I have been having a hard time finding someone to consult me on the matter face to face. Even my own doctor won't give me any advise on things that can't be provided in his office. Job security most likely. But still it's nice to know that I can find the information I need somewhere to make an informed desicion. I suffer from violent morning sickness and the only thing that my doctor will perscribe is perscription medications. I absolutely loathe taking perscription meds and prefer a much more holistic approach to healthcare.

Since moving back home to Louisville Kentucky I have found that unless I go and start self medicating out of books and with trial and error there really aren't a whole lot of resorces out there. I'm trying desperately to find a quality healthcare provider for myself and my baby and if anyone could lead me in the right direction I would be most grateful.

Comment by Chad J. Dupuis, L.Ac.

You are welcome. I know how frustrating it can be to not have care providers well versed in common alternative treatments. It's part of the reason I built this site and try to provide as much information as I can about my field as it tends to be poorly understood. Anyhow, I hope you can find someone in your area, I believe there are people there. In the meantime, while it probably won't resolve the condition, it should help to some degree - you can try holding the point PC 6. This is the point where the motion sickness bands and the like are intending on hitting - it's a very useful point for all kinds of nausea. You can read the page for the exact location and my article on common acupressure points has some other easy tips for finding it.

Comment by Archived User

Check out this website: http://acupuncture.rhizome.net.... Debra Betts has done lots of work on acupuncture in pregnancy and trains midwives in New Zealand to do acupuncture as a part of their practice. She also lectures around the world about the use of acupuncture during pregnancy. I have four children and had acupuncture during pregnancy for all my kids, and acupressure during labour for the last two. It significantly reduced the pain, making labour a completely bearable process for me. The labours were drug free, short and efficient. Even if you can't find someone who can do acupuncture on you I can definitely recommend the use of acupressure during labour. Debra's website also has some point location videos that can assist with finding the acupressure points most useful during labour.