Can Acupuncture help with Pregnancy?

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Acupuncture is the ancient Chinese method where tiny needles are used to stimulate particular areas or body “meridians” to rebalance the energy of your body. Can Acupuncture help with Pregnancy? Due to the effects of acupuncture for chronic conditions, most pregnant women are now going for acupuncture in providing drug-free relief from many of the unpleasant symptoms of pregnancy.

In all the purported uses of acupuncture, it is not a surprise, that it is effective in pregnant women treatment. Most women are looking for drug-free treatment for some conditions related to pregnancy. Hence, acupuncture without any contraindications, has highly been sought after since women will learn that it is both beneficial and safe for the baby and mother.

Scheduling a balanced treatment regularly throughout your pregnancy will enhance the mother’s health. This influences your baby’s development, and assist in preventing complications at childbirth. The acupuncture treatments will be given once a month until the final month. Then weekly sessions help prepare for your labor.

mapping out the acupuncture treatment points

An Australian study shows that women who have been regularly given acupuncture treatments before the 14th week of their pregnancy had shorter bouts and less nausea of morning sickness compared to those who were not given the treatment. Acupuncture has also been used to treat more serious condition hyperemesis gravidarum. This can cause serious vomiting which persists during the course of pregnancy.

During the second trimester, acupuncture can be used successfully to treat hemorrhoids and heartburn. In your third trimester, acupuncture will provide relief from joint pain, sciatica as well as carpal tunnel syndrome, which you will develop late during your pregnancy. The Acupuncture can be used in relieving pain during delivery and labor.

Pregnant women looking for the use of acupuncture for treating conditions that developed in the course of pregnancy need to visit an experienced and licensed acupuncturist. For instance, even though acupuncture is used in treating swelling of the ankles or edema, this will be a sign of a serious problem. An acupuncturist who is experienced in handling pregnant women treatment will recognize the problem and refer the patient back to her obstetrician.  Acupuncturists are expected to be well informed and always be learning, so acupuncture continuing education resources should be leveraged frequently.

Risks

There is a serious risk for the use of acupuncture at pregnancy. It will stimulate labor when it is not applied properly. You should choose a practitioner who is experienced to reduce this risk to nearly negligible levels. Most women have turned to acupuncture usage to stimulate labor purposefully when their babies are overdue.

needles used for acupuncture treatment

Some women have found that labor induced through acupuncture is gentler compared to labor induced through drugs like Pitocin. Besides the benefits of acupuncture during pregnancy, labor as well as delivery, it can be used in promoting fertility and in treating infertility.

Conclusion

Can Acupuncture help with Pregnancy? Acupuncture can assist with your pregnancy. You should find a certified acupuncture practitioner who is experienced in treating women who are pregnant. Acupuncturists with adequate training in the care for pregnant women can recognize the potentially serious nature of certain symptoms and only offer care that coincides with your primary care doctor or obstetrician.

Can Acupuncture Be Used To Induce Labor?

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Can Acupuncture Be Used To Induce Labor?  It is a common question in practice. The answer is yes. Using acupuncture in order to induce labor is an effective treatment option that prepares the baby and the mother for a smooth and safe delivery. Several women have been induced using acupuncture.

All women who use acupuncture induction will give birth within 48 hours. They were all slightly “overdue” according to their physicians. The average labor time was 4 – 5 hours. Many acupuncture points are not used during pregnancy because of the stimulating effects they have on the body.

These are the exact ones that are used during labor induction. Since it is not a harsh manual process or strong medication, this type of treatment is quite relaxing and feels good. This extra boost of rest is important for the energy needed for labor and delivery.

tcm acupuncture needles on the back

So, how does acupuncture work for labor induction?

Acupuncture assists to soften your cervix, it stimulates your uterus and produce the contractions and also relax your body, which will essentially get the baby moving. Patients are saying, “Wow, the baby is very active when on treatment!”

The idea behind acupuncture treatment is to move the baby downward. E-stim will stimulate and enhance the effects of movement. The points which are done on an induction treatment. These points are contraindicated in the pregnancy since they will stimulate the uterine contractions.

Acupuncture and Pregnancy Facts

The study undertaken at North Carolina University discovered that pregnant women receiving acupuncture are likely to get into labor with no medical push. The study included 56 women who were 39.5 to 41 weeks pregnant. Half of them received three sessions of acupuncture, but the remaining half didn’t.

70% of the women who got acupuncture on their own, got into labor this was compared to the 50% women who got standard care. These women who got acupuncture were less likely to give birth through cesarean section — thirty-nine percent compared to seventeen percent. Another report by Australian researcher indicated that by using the acupuncture in stimulating labor in overdue mothers to be had a success rate of 88%.

Understanding how acupuncture can induce labor

Using acupuncture for labor induce is a different experience. Depending on the practitioner, acupuncture needles will be inserted in strategic locations in the hands, feet and lower leg. The needles are solid and extremely thin. The insertion is not painful.

The needles will create stimulation in your body that is used in reprogramming the mother energy in a way to get your body ready for labor. With some women, this can be a significant change. Rarely is Labor expected to start immediately, However, some women do experience labor instantly on several occasions.

primary acupuncture locations

Conclusion

Acupuncture is an effective means of inducing labor. If you compare it to the potential Pitocin side effects, Pitocin is an alternative for acupuncture, it is very clear that the acupuncture needs to be the first line for induction. There are no known side effects of Acupuncture, as the needles do not get closer to the abdomen and there is no possible negative side effect for the baby.

All about Acupuncture Needles

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Acupuncture is a traditional medical technique which involves inserting as well as needles manipulating acupuncture into a body part to assist in relieving pain or providing therapy. There are various kinds of acupuncture needles. All About Acupuncture Needles is discussed below.

The needles range from stainless steel, small, thin, and the longer ones that are made of gold and silver. Acupuncture still has remained a largely controversial and misunderstood form of medicine.

young woman getting acupuncture treatment

Acupuncture needles are penetrating the skin, and therefore hygiene is the main concern. Many acupuncturists will use pre-sterilized needle packs for single-use, they will be packaged in blister packs that are backed with the foil, and are guiding tubes on one end in order to avoid any injury while using them.

The needles we use these days are packed in sterilized blisters and are disposable, which means that they should be thrown away after one use. Where can you find needles? In congresses, seminars, big classes of acupuncture. You can also surf the web and find the names and addresses of many companies who sell them and will send them to you through the post.

The shaft is always made of stainless steel and often covered with a layer of silicone so that they slide without difficulty when inserted in the skin and flesh. The hardness, solidity, and flexibility of the shaft or body of the needle must be balanced, so as not to break and not to bend too easily.

tradiional chinese medicine and acupuncture

But it is on the tip that the manufacturers have concentrated all their efforts: depending on its shape and sharpness it must glide into the skin effortlessly, and inflict as little pain as possible if none at all. So there are many kinds of needles, and the manufacturers come from China, Japan, Korea, Germany, and I suppose other countries (I do not pretend to be an encyclopedia).

You will speculate to the material’s nature used at the start for making an acupuncture needle. Bronze, Bamboo, jade, copper, silver gold, other kinds of metals.

Acupuncture needles come in a variety of lengths and diameters, based on their purpose, and on which part of the body they are to be employed. In ancient Chinese practice, there were as many nine types of needles. In modern acupuncture, the most common type of needle can be the thread-like or metal fusiform, the acupuncture needles are made of gold or silver.

Besides fusiform acupuncture needles, there exist specialized needles types for certain uses. The first is the three-edged needle. This is a thick, and round-handled needle together with the triangular shaft. It is looking like a lance with a sharp tip it is used to bloodletting. This is the process for allowing blood flow from your body in a controlled way in order to treat diseases such as polycythemia and hemochromatosis.

Conclusion

If you want to know all about acupuncture needles, the intradermal needles are thin, short needles which are used often in the treatment of addiction and chronic pain. Press needles usually are small needles which are pressed in the body and are held using a small surgical patch which is sterilized.