Acupuncture and prenatal postpartum care

Elizabeth walks into the acupuncture office with nausea, and extreme sensitivity to certain smells. Even the smell of her favorite perfume makes her feel sick after her sixth week of pregnancy. She is experiencing a poor appetite and vomits often. Ginger tea and candy have been ineffective in helping calm her stomach. After her first acupuncture treatment she felt much better; her nausea was completely gone when she left the clinic. She also learned that applying pressure on the acupressure point Pericardium 6, a point on the wrist, will ease her symptoms between acupuncture treatments. Jen is in her second trimester of pregnancy and she suffers from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. She is wakened at night to pain and numbness in her hand and experiences the same numbness while driving during the day. Jen admits that she has an aversion to needles from getting vaccine shots as a child, but several of her close friends have strongly suggested that she try acupuncture. To her surprise, during her treatment, she did not feel sharp or severe pain; she described the feeling of the needles as a heavy sensation or a slight pressure, which was very different from her experience with shots. Unlike vaccination shots, acupuncture needles are solid, thin needles, about the diameter of a cat’s whiskers or smaller. Acupuncturists can help pregnant women in different ways to make their pregnancy easier. Some of these conditions consist of depression, migraines, sciatica pain, anxiety and stress, headaches, edema, back pain, breech presentation, and even to induce labor. Cupping is a traditional Chinese medical treatment that is effective for addressing any type of back pain regardless of if it is related to pregnancy. Cupping involves the acupuncturist burning a cotton ball in a glass cup to displace the air and create a vacuum that is able to then suction to a specific area of the body. This suction helps to stimulate the flow of blood, balances and realigns the Qi (energy), breaks up obstructions, and creates an avenue for toxins to be drawn out of the body. Cupping can cause some swelling and bruising on the skin from the suction, but these bruises are usually painless, and disappear within a few days of treatment. Some of my clients have told me cupping feels similar to deep tissue massage. Tara has a 10 month baby boy whom she is still breast feeding. However, she has lower back pain, which is aggravated by certain movements when breast feeding. Since the baby has arrived Tara has been feeling exhausted and struggling to keep her high levels of energy. In Oriental medicine we use many forms of diagnosis such as the pulse and the color of the tongue. After feeling Tara’s pulse and looking at her tongue, I asked if she was irritable and sometimes short tempered. Tara wondered how I knew, and of course her answer is “Yes.” I put two needles on both of her hands, and let her stretch her lower back with the needles still in for two minutes, she was so surprised that the pain disappeared! After the treatment I also gave her some diet recommendations. Acupuncture and Oriental medicine has helped women in all stages of pregnancy as well as after child birth for post-partum depression, lactation difficulties, fatigue and insomnia, anxiety, stress, pain disorders for thousands of years. This ancient medical practice is safe and effective, with very few, if any side effects.