The Benefits of Acupuncture Before, During, and After Pregnancy

Pregnancy can be a journey that brings a lot of joy along with physical changes that may be a bit more challenging. No matter where you are on your pregnancy journey (trying to conceive, pregnant, or postpartum) acupuncture can be helpful for a range of reasons. Acupuncture has been used for hundreds of years to support fertility, improve pregnancy symptoms, and promote healing postpartum.

At our Clearwater acupuncture clinic, we provide safe, gentle, and effective acupuncture treatments tailored to support women through every stage of their pregnancy journey. Today we’ll be going over how acupuncture can help before, during, and after pregnancy. Have questions? Interested in a free 15-minute discovery call? For any of your needs, simply reach out to Dawn Potter Acupuncture today.

Before Pregnancy: Acupuncture for Fertility Support

If you’re trying to conceive, acupuncture can play a significant role in optimizing reproductive health and preparing your body for pregnancy. Whether you are trying naturally or undergoing fertility treatments such as IUI or IVF, acupuncture can:

-Regulate menstrual cycles to improve ovulation timing

-Enhance blood flow to the uterus for a healthy endometrial lining

-Reduce stress and anxiety, which can impact fertility

-Balance hormones to support reproductive function

-Improve sperm quality in male partners

Many women turn to fertility acupuncture as a natural way to increase their chances of conception and prepare for a healthy pregnancy.

During Pregnancy: Acupuncture for a Smoother Journey

Pregnancy brings many changes to your body, some of which can cause discomfort. Acupuncture is a safe and effective way to relieve common pregnancy symptoms without relying on medications. Some key benefits include:

-Nausea & Morning Sickness Relief: Helps ease queasiness and vomiting, especially in the first trimester

-Pain Management: Reduces back pain, pelvic discomfort, and sciatica

-Stress & Anxiety Reduction: Promotes relaxation and emotional well-being

-Improved Sleep: Helps with pregnancy-related insomnia

-Reduced Swelling: Supports circulation and reduces fluid retention

In the third trimester, acupuncture can also help prepare the body for labor by softening the cervix and encouraging optimal fetal positioning.

After Pregnancy: Acupuncture for Postpartum Recovery

The postpartum period is just as important as pregnancy itself. Acupuncture can help new mothers recover more quickly and feel their best as they care for their newborn. Benefits of postpartum acupuncture include:

-Hormonal Balance: Helps regulate postpartum mood swings and reduce the risk of postpartum depression

-Increased Energy Levels: Supports adrenal health and combats postpartum fatigue

-Faster Healing: Promotes circulation and tissue repair after delivery or C-section

-Breastfeeding Support: Encourages healthy milk supply and relieves issues like clogged ducts

By incorporating acupuncture into your postpartum care, you can support both your physical and emotional well-being during this transition into motherhood.

Experience Pregnancy Support with Acupuncture in Clearwater

Whether you’re trying to conceive, experiencing pregnancy discomfort, or recovering postpartum, acupuncture offers a natural, holistic approach to supporting your body. Our Clearwater acupuncture clinic specializes in safe, pregnancy-friendly treatments to help you feel your best at every stage.

Ready to experience the benefits of acupuncture? Schedule your free discovery call or appointment today.

Can Acupuncture Boost Frozen Embryo Transfer/In Vitro Fertilization Success Rates?

For those undergoing fertility treatments like frozen embryo transfer (FET), the journey to parenthood can be both physically and emotionally challenging. While advancements in fertility treatments continue to evolve, many are turning to complementary therapies like acupuncture to boost their chances of in vitro fertilization (IVF) success. A recent study that was conducted by Vios Fertility Institute in Chicago sheds light on how individualized acupuncture before and after embryo transfer may improve fertility outcomes. Today we’ll be discussing this study and why acupuncture may be right for you. Have additional questions? Interested in scheduling a free telehealth consultation? For any of your needs, simply reach out to Dawn Potter Acupuncture.

What Did The Study Show?

In this retrospective cohort study, 2,330 patients who underwent frozen embryo transfers between May 2018 and May 2021 were examined. Out of these, 579 individuals received acupuncture treatments immediately before and after their embryo transfer, while 1,751 patients opted to proceed with FET alone. The key objective of this study was to compare the live birth rates between these two groups.

The Results Of The Study:

The study revealed some positive findings when it comes to acupuncture and IVF:

• Acupuncture Improved Live Birth Rates: The patients who received acupuncture therapy before and after embryo transfer saw a remarkable 55% increase in live birth rates compared to those who opted for FET alone. In fact, the odds ratio (OR) for live births in the acupuncture group was 1.55, indicating a significant advantage for those receiving this complementary treatment.

  
  

• Acupuncture Reduced Biochemical Pregnancies: In addition to improved live birth rates, the acupuncture group experienced a 42% reduction in biochemical pregnancies. This condition, where a pregnancy is lost shortly after implantation, can be both physically and emotionally draining for patients. The odds ratio for biochemical pregnancies in the acupuncture group was 0.58, further highlighting the potential benefits of acupuncture.

  
  

• Acupuncture Made No Significant Differences in Miscarriage or Ectopic Pregnancy Rates: The study did not show any significant differences between the groups when it came to miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy rates. While acupuncture improved live birth outcomes and reduced biochemical pregnancies, its effect on miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy was not statistically significant.

Why is Acupuncture Beneficial for Fertility?

Acupuncture has been a part of Traditional Chinese Medicine for thousands of years and has been known to promote balance in the body’s energy (also known as Qi). When it comes to fertility, acupuncture is thought to improve blood flow to the uterus, reduce stress, and regulate hormone levels, all of which are crucial for enhancing fertility outcomes.

During the embryo transfer process, the body experiences heightened stress, which may affect the success of implantation. Acupuncture helps to relax the body, stimulate the nervous system, and create a more optimal environment for implantation. In this study, acupuncture was administered immediately before and after embryo transfer, suggesting that timing may also play a role in the effectiveness of acupuncture treatment.

What Does This Mean for Those Undergoing In Vitro Fertilization/Frozen Embryo Transfer?

For individuals considering fertility treatments like FET, acupuncture may be a valuable complementary therapy to increase the chances of success. With a 55% increase in live birth rates and a reduction in biochemical pregnancies, acupuncture could serve as a powerful tool to support those on their fertility journey.

If you’re undergoing FET or other fertility treatments, speak with your fertility specialist about incorporating acupuncture into your treatment plan. By combining the best of modern medicine with time-honored techniques, you may increase your chances of achieving a successful pregnancy.

Acupuncture Can Be Beneficial Throughout Your Pregnancy Journey

Along with being helpful during fertility treatments, acupuncture has a range of benefits during and even after your pregnancy. Dawn Potter Acupuncture would be happy to help with any of your acupuncture or other wellness needs. We offer free telehealth consultations and would be happy to tailor a treatment plan to your needs.

Acupuncture for Pregnancy, Childbirth and Beyond

Though, at first, you may not think to put acupuncture on your “to do” list when you find out you are pregnant, it is actually a valuable and natural way to help ensure a healthy pregnancy, a smooth delivery, and a quick postpartum recovery. At Dawn Potter Acupuncture we have decades of experience working with pregnancy.

Why Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine?

If we look back through Chinese history and the ancestral worship that is part of it, we see a very strong cultural commitment to having healthy children.  As a result, throughout the centuries, Oriental Medicine has developed effective treatments to help couples conceive and to promote healthy pregnancies and uncomplicated deliveries.

Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine focuses on re-establishing and maintaining a healthful natural balance and flow of vital energy (or Qi “chee”) within the body.  Qi is the basis for the proper functioning of all of our organs and physiological processes, including reproduction: it provides structural integrity and stability, physiological efficiency, and the potential for life, health, and healing in general.

Qi circulates in pathways throughout the body, known as meridians.  In Oriental Medicine, one is said to be in perfect health when this Qi is balanced and flowing unimpeded, in the correct direction, and in an adequate amount throughout the body. When this energy becomes imbalanced, blocked or deficient, we experience pain, discomfort, and disease.

Acupuncture needles, placed properly, directly access and regulate the flow of the energy in the meridians and correct imbalances, thereby creating healing and harmony within the body.

Acupuncture is a safe, effective, and natural way for women to reduce their symptoms of pregnancy.  Moreover, it does this without the risks and side effects of pharmaceutical medications, most of which are contraindicated during pregnancy anyway.

Acupuncture for a Healthy Mother and Baby:

Acupuncture treatment once or twice a month during pregnancy is valuable for both mom and baby.  It will help ensure optimal health of the mother and the fetus at different stages of development, cell differentiation, and growth.  It can also prevent and treat pregnancy-related symptoms.

One popular acupoint used during pregnancy is Zhubin (K-9) known as “the beautiful baby point”, located on the inner part of the lower leg above the ankle bone.  It is said to calm the mind, relieve anxiety, build blood, and benefit the fetus.

During the final 4 to 6 weeks of pregnancy, weekly treatments are recommended, to help prepare for labor.  Typically, a session lasts 30 to 45 minutes, and women usually only feel a mild pressure or heaviness sensation at the site of the needle insertion.

Some women have pre-existing medical conditions that may worsen during pregnancy but can be safely addressed with acupuncture. This is a great option when pharmaceuticals are contraindicated or the mother just wants treatment as natural as possible.

Acupuncture for Pregnancy-Related Symptoms:

Acupuncture significantly relieves fatigue, anxiety, migraine headaches, bleeding, and, of course, the morning sickness that can be common during the first trimester. An Australian study published in the journal Birth reported that of nearly 600 women suffering from morning sickness, (all of whom were less than 14 weeks pregnant), those who received acupuncture treatment reported having less frequent and shorter periods of nausea than those who did not get acupuncture.

The second trimester can bring stress, sinus congestion, heartburn, constipation, and hemorrhoids which acupuncture can help to alleviate. Other second-trimester symptoms that acupuncture can assist are edema, elevated blood pressure, elevated blood glucose, or excessive weight gain, but these conditions are potentially dangerous, and should also be monitored by a Western-trained physician or midwife.

Sciatica, back pain, pelvic pain, joint pain, and carpal tunnel syndrome can be common during the third trimester. Acupuncture treatment is known to bring relief to these symptoms, and it can bring this relief quickly, without any medications. In fact, a recent study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology found that acupuncture in combination with standard treatment was more effective at relieving mixed pelvic/back pain during pregnancy than standard treatment alone.

If symptoms are particularly severe, weekly treatments may be necessary to get you through a particular period of time during the pregnancy.

Beginning around 32 to 34 weeks, special acupoints will be included during treatment to encourage the proper head-down positioning of the baby for birth. Also at this time, acupuncture treatment frequency will increase to weekly to help optimize childbirth.

Acupuncture for Labor Comfort & Childbirth:

Acupuncture is a great way to safely and encourage the body to go into a natural labor. Acu-points that could stimulate uterine contraction are deliberately avoided during the 40 weeks of pregnancy, and at about the 36-week mark, we use these, as well as points to help turn the baby into the correct head-down position, are used freely. Acupuncture for labor comfort will also help to nourish the mother’s vital energy as well as calm her anxiety. This helps her to relax, which also facilitates a healthy delivery.

Acupuncture during labor itself is used to reduce pain and boost energy, but can also be used to strengthen weak contractions. In China this is a common practice because birth is seen as a natural process that is to be interfered with as little as possible; acupuncture facilitates the natural process, it doesn’t force anything to happen.

Acupuncture for Post-Partum Recovery:

After delivery, acupuncture assists in the normal recuperative process.  It can help stop bleeding and discharge, relieve backache, and ease pain in the perineal area.  It can also help to hasten recovery from a C-Section surgery.  Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine help to restore the mother’s vital Qi energy and Blood, support milk production, and normalize the Qi and Blood flow through the abdomen.  It is also ideal for preventing and treating post-partum depression.  So, even though the new mom will be busy tending to her newborn, it is important that she still gets her acupuncture treatments.

It is clear to see that all women would benefit from receiving acupuncture throughout their pregnancies.  Acupuncture is valuable to ensure a healthy mother and fetus and to address pre-existing and pregnancy-related symptoms during pregnancy.  It is also a wonderful alternative to pitocin or C-section for inducing labor.  In addition, acupuncture can facilitate the labor process and assist in post-partum recovery.

Schedule Acupuncture For Pregnancy, Post-Partum & Beyond in Clearwater

Expecting a child? Interested in acupuncture? Dawn Potter would be happy to help. We offer acupuncture and a wide range of other treatment options that can help.

Sources:

Chao AS, Chao A, Wang TH, et al. Pain relief by applying transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) on acupuncture points during the first stage of labor: a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial. Pain. 2007 Feb;127(3):214-20. View Abstract.

Crocker, Walt. Acupuncture May Be a Safe Alternative for Inducing Labor: Chinese Method Has Been Used Thousands of Years. Accessed on 5/25/08 from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/19749/acupuncture_may_be_a_safe_alternative.html?page=2

Maciocia, Giovanni.  Obstetrics and Gynecology in Oriental Medicine.  Churchill Livingston, London, 1998.

Rabinowitz, Naomi, MD, Dipl.Ac., Acupuncture and Pregnancy, accessed on 5/25/08 at http://www.acufinder.com/Acupuncture+Information/Detail/ACUPUNCTURE+AND+PREGNANCY

Dawn Potter, AP, Dipl.OM

Published in Select Magazine, Mar-Apr 2009

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