Traditional Chinese medicine practitioners utilize a very popular needle-based therapy known as acupuncture to help relieve various types of emotional and physical problems that women usually experience during pregnancy.
Acupuncture Benefits for Pregnancy-Related Concerns
Research indicates that acupuncture can help improve the following conditions despite the fact its use during pregnancy has yet to be extensively studied,
Research indicates that acupuncture can help improve the following conditions despite the fact its use during pregnancy has yet to be extensively studied,
1) Morning Sickness
A lot of studies indicate that acupuncture can be a good way to treat vomiting and nausea in early pregnancy. A 2002 clinical trial, for example, involving 594 women (all suffering from nausea and vomiting and were less than 14 weeks pregnant) revealed that those women who were given acupuncture treatments once a week for an entire month experienced less nausea throughout the study. After the second week of the study, the acupuncture treated women also experienced fewer dry retching (compared to the women who were not administered with acupuncture).
A lot of studies indicate that acupuncture can be a good way to treat vomiting and nausea in early pregnancy. A 2002 clinical trial, for example, involving 594 women (all suffering from nausea and vomiting and were less than 14 weeks pregnant) revealed that those women who were given acupuncture treatments once a week for an entire month experienced less nausea throughout the study. After the second week of the study, the acupuncture treated women also experienced fewer dry retching (compared to the women who were not administered with acupuncture).
2) Pain
According to a 2008 published study review pregnancy related pelvic pain and back pain can be convincingly relieved with acupuncture.
According to a 2008 published study review pregnancy related pelvic pain and back pain can be convincingly relieved with acupuncture.
The authors of the review discovered that acupuncture combined with Western conventional medicine led to a much better relief of pain associated with pregnancycompared to the ones who received only conventional treatment (exercise-based therapy, physical therapy, and drugs). The authors called for further research on acupuncture treatment for pain caused by pregnancysince the review only included three clinical trials.
3) Depression
Accordingto a number of studiesIn treating pregnancy related emotional distress and depression, acupuncture has shown great potential. A clinical trial in 2010 had 150 participants (all pregnant women) suffering from major depression. The researchers revealed that the women who were given depression-specific acupuncture treatment for two months experienced a greater decrease in depression symptoms (compared to the participants who were given acupuncture treatment that did not specifically target depression or underwent massage therapy).
Accordingto a number of studiesIn treating pregnancy related emotional distress and depression, acupuncture has shown great potential. A clinical trial in 2010 had 150 participants (all pregnant women) suffering from major depression. The researchers revealed that the women who were given depression-specific acupuncture treatment for two months experienced a greater decrease in depression symptoms (compared to the participants who were given acupuncture treatment that did not specifically target depression or underwent massage therapy).
In a study, published in 2007, researchers discovered that acupuncture led to the relief of emotional issues during pregnancy (including irritability and anxiety).
4) Insomnia
A 2005 published small-scale showed that insomnia due to pregnancy can be eased with acupuncture. Thirty pregnant women struggling with sleep problems participated in this study. Two months of acupuncture treatment were designated to 17 of these women.
A 2005 published small-scale showed that insomnia due to pregnancy can be eased with acupuncture. Thirty pregnant women struggling with sleep problems participated in this study. Two months of acupuncture treatment were designated to 17 of these women.
The women treated with acupuncture experienced a significant reduction in insomnia over the course of the study period compared to women not treated with acupuncture.
Should Acupuncture Be Used During Pregnancy?
Even if acupuncture is deemed to be a very safe treatment, it’s still important to talk with your physician particularly if you are seriously considering embarking on acupuncture treatment for pregnancy-related issues.
Even if acupuncture is deemed to be a very safe treatment, it’s still important to talk with your physician particularly if you are seriously considering embarking on acupuncture treatment for pregnancy-related issues.