Acupuncture for Pregnancy and Postpartum

High blood pressure, or hypertension, can occur when arteries carrying blood from the heart to the body’s organs begin to narrow. This narrowing can cause increased pressure in the arteries. In pregnancy, this can make it hard for blood to reach the placenta, which provides nutrients and oxygen to the foetus. Reduced blood flow has the potential to slow the growth of the foetus and place the mother at greater risk of preterm labour and preeclampsia.

Women who have high blood pressure before they get pregnant most often must continue to monitor and control it with medications if necessary, throughout their pregnancy. High blood pressure that develops in pregnancy is called gestational hypertension. Typically, but not in every case, gestational hypertension occurs during the second half of pregnancy and goes away after delivery.

Pregnancy acupuncture can help manage high blood pressure by reducing stress and anxiety, improving circulation, regulating hormones, and reducing inflammation. If you are experiencing high blood pressure during pregnancy, consider trying acupuncture as a safe and effective treatment option in consultation with your healthcare provider.

Gestational diabetes occurs when a woman who didn’t have diabetes before pregnancy develops the condition during pregnancy. Normally, the body digests parts of your food into a sugar called glucose. Science identifies glucose as your body’s main source of energy. After digestion, the glucose moves into your blood to give your body energy.

To get the glucose out of your blood and into the cells of your body, your pancreas makes a hormone called insulin. In gestational diabetes, hormonal changes from pregnancy cause the body to either not make enough insulin, or not use it normally. Instead, the glucose builds up in your blood, which can in turn cause diabetes, otherwise known as high blood sugar.

Managing gestational diabetes, by following a treatment plan outlined by a healthcare provider, is the best way to reduce or prevent problems associated with high blood sugar during pregnancy. If not controlled, it can lead to high blood pressure from preeclampsia and having a large infant, which increases the risk of caesarean delivery.

Acupuncture treatments can potentially help manage gestational diabetes during pregnancy by regulating blood sugar levels by promoting the production and release of insulin. This can also possibly help reduce inflammation in the body, which could also help improve insulin sensitivity.

Infections, including some sexually transmitted infections (STIs), may occur during pregnancy and/or delivery. This could potentially lead to complications for the pregnant woman, the pregnancy, and the baby after delivery.

Some infections can pass from mother to infant during delivery when the infant passes through the birth canal; other infections can infect a fetus during the pregnancy. Many of these infections can be prevented or treated with appropriate pre-pregnancy, prenatal, and postpartum follow-up care.

Some infections in pregnancy can cause or contribute to:

• Pregnancy loss/miscarriage (before 20 weeks of pregnancy)
• Ectopic pregnancy (when the embryo implants outside of the uterus, usually in a fallopian tube)
• Preterm labor and delivery (before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy)
• Low birth weight
• Birth defects, including blindness, deafness, bone deformities, and intellectual disability
• Stillbirth (at or after 20 weeks of pregnancy)
• Illness in the newborn period (first month of life)
• Newborn death
• Maternal health complications

If you are planning to get pregnant, talk with your health care provider about getting vaccines and vaccine boosters for chicken pox (also called varicella) and rubella (also called German measles) before you conceive. While you are pregnant, you can also get some vaccines, such as the flu shot. If you know you have an infection, such as an STI, talk with your health care provider about it before you conceive to increase your chances of a healthy pregnancy.

Early prenatal testing for STIs and other infections can determine if the infection can be cured with drug treatment. Or, if you know you have an infection, tell your pregnancy health care provider about it as early as possible in your pregnancy. Early treatment decreases the risk to the fetus and infant. Even if the infection can’t be cured, you and your health care provider can take steps to protect your health and your infant’s health.

Acupuncture has been proven to be an effective method of helping with infections during pregnancy by boosting the immune system, reducing inflammation, and promoting healing. As documented through research and study (Acupuncture for Upper Respiratory Tract Infections in Pregnancy: A Randomized Controlled Trial” (Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2012), it can also help relieve symptoms such as fever, nausea, and pain.

Preeclampsia is a serious medical condition that can lead to preterm delivery and death. Its cause is unknown, but some women are at an increased risk. Risk factors include:

• First pregnancies
• Preeclampsia in a previous pregnancy
• Existing conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, kidney disease, and systemic lupus erythematosus
• Being 35 years of age or older
• Carrying two or more fetuses
• Obesity

Acupuncture has been proven to be an effective way to help manage preeclampsia during pregnancy by regulating blood pressure which can promote relaxation, improve blood flow, and reduce stress and anxiety. Acupuncture can also improve kidney function and reduce swelling to promote better blood circulation.

Preterm labour is labour that begins before 37 weeks of pregnancy. Any infant born before 37 weeks is believed to be at an increased risk for health problems, in most cases because organs such as the lungs and brain finish their development in the final weeks before a full-term delivery (39 to 40 weeks).

Certain conditions increase the risk for preterm labour induction, including infections, developing a shortened cervix, or previous preterm births. Progesterone, a hormone produced naturally during pregnancy, may be used to help prevent preterm birth in certain women. A 2003 clinical study led by NICHD researchers found that progesterone supplementation to women at high risk for preterm delivery due to a prior preterm birth reduces the risk of a subsequent preterm birth by one-third.

In this case, acupuncture therapies have been proven to help prevent and manage preterm labour during pregnancy by regulating hormones, including oxytocin, which plays a key role in labour and delivery. Acupuncture has been linked to the promotion of relaxation while improving the blood flow to the uterus which can help reduce the risk of preterm labour.

Research shows that around 13% of women reported frequent symptoms of depression after childbirth, and that anxiety co-occurs in up to 43% of depressed pregnant and postpartum women, making pregnancy depression and anxiety among the more common pregnancy complications. These medical conditions can have significant effects on the health of the mother and her baby. But the good news is that these are treatable medical conditions. The NICHD-led Moms’ Mental Health Matters initiative is designed to educate families and health care providers about who is at risk for depression and anxiety during and after pregnancy, the signs of these problems, and how to get help.

Consider acupuncture as a safe and effective option to help manage pregnancy-related depression and anxiety by reducing stress, balancing hormones, improving sleep, and enhancing mood. Acupuncture has been recognised as a way to help reduce stress and promote relaxation by stimulating the release of endorphins and by helping regulate hormones, including serotonin and dopamine.

Miscarriage is the term used to describe a pregnancy loss from natural causes before 20 weeks. Signs can include vaginal spotting or bleeding, cramping, fluid or tissue passing from the vagina. However, bleeding from the vagina does not mean that a miscarriage will happen or is happening. Women experiencing this sign at any point in their pregnancy should contact their healthcare provider immediately.

Try acupuncture as a complementary therapy that may help prevent miscarriage by improving blood flow, reducing stress, balancing hormones, and strengthening the immune system. If you are at risk of miscarriage or have experienced a miscarriage in the past, consider trying acupuncture as a safe and effective therapy in consultation with your healthcare provider.

The loss of pregnancy after the 20th week of pregnancy is called a stillbirth. In approximately half of all reported cases, health care providers can find no cause for the loss. However, health conditions that can contribute to stillbirth include chromosomal abnormalities, placental problems, poor fetal growth, chronic health issues of the mother, and infection.

If you are at risk of stillbirth or have experienced a stillbirth in the past, consider trying pregnancy acupuncture therapies. By stimulating specific points in your body, the immune system can be strengthened, and it can also help promote your baby’s movement by stimulating the mother’s uterus and encouraging fetal activity.

• Severe, persistent nausea and vomiting. 

Although having some nausea and vomiting is normal during pregnancy, particularly in the first trimester, some women experience more severe symptoms that last into the third trimester.

The cause of the more severe form of this problem, known as hyperemesis gravidarum (pronounced HEYE-pur-EM-uh-suhss grav-uh-DAR-uhm), is not known. Women with hyperemesis gravidarum reportedly experience nausea that does not go away, weight loss, reduced appetite, dehydration, and feeling faint.

Affected women may need to be hospitalized so that they can receive fluids and nutrients. Some women feel better after their 20th week of pregnancy, while others experience the symptoms throughout their pregnancy.

Acupuncture can be used to regulate your digestive system by stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for controlling digestion and other involuntary bodily functions. It further reduces inflammation by stimulating the release of anti-inflammatory chemicals in the body.

• Iron-deficiency anemia.

Pregnant women need more iron than normal for the increased amount of blood they produce during pregnancy. Iron deficiency anaemia—when the body doesn’t have enough iron—is somewhat common during pregnancy and is associated with preterm birth and low birth weight. Symptoms of an iron deficiency can include feeling tired or faint, experiencing shortness of breath, and becoming pale.

ACOG recommends 27 milligrams of iron daily (found in most prenatal vitamins) to reduce the risk for iron-deficiency anaemia. Some women may need extra iron through iron supplements. Your healthcare provider may screen you for iron-deficiency anaemia and, if you have it, may recommend iron supplements.

Seek out Chinese herbal medicine to help you overcome this by increasing red blood cell production, improving digestion and helping with better nutrient absorption, including iron.

• Sacroiliac joint pain

During pregnancy, hormonal changes can cause the ligaments around the sacroiliac joint to become more relaxed, which can result in joint instability and pain. Symptoms of sacroiliac joint pain in pregnancy may include lower back pain, hip pain, pelvic pain and pain in the buttocks or thighs. The pain can range from mild to severe and can make it difficult to stand, sit, or walk for long periods.

An acupuncture treatment will carefully select specific points on the body to stimulate. These points may be located on the lower back, hips, legs, or feet, depending on the individual’s symptoms and needs.