PREGNANCY
First Trimester
Acupuncture regulates the endocrine system and balances the body to help reduce anxiety, alleviate fatigue & nausea, and provides a stabilizing effect on the body. Many of our fertility clients who get pregnant will continue to receive treatments on a regular basis during the first trimester.
Second Trimester
Acupuncture regulates the digestive, nervous & endocrine systems and helps to alleviate hemorrhoids, heartburn, edema, and stress.
Third Trimester
Acupuncture regulates the musculoskeletal system to provide relief from backache, pubic bone pain, sciatica, joint pain, and carpal tunnel. Treatments also encourage proper positioning of the baby for birth and help to optimize labor. Breech Treatments—Between 34 –36 weeks, Moxibustion is used daily for 5 days until the baby turns to proper position.
Breech Treatments
The Chinese have been safely turning breech babies for thousands of years with an easy, effective technique called moxibustion, which burns an cigar-shaped herb over the little toe of the feet. In a study published by Journal of American Medical Association, researchers concluded that moxibustion performed for one or two weeks starting in the 33-week of pregnancy is an effective and safe method for converting breech presentations in first-time pregnancies. In the 35th week of pregnancy 75.4 per cent of the fetuses in the moxibustion group had changed to the cephalic (head-first) position as compared to only 47.7 per cent in the control group. (Cardini, Francesco and Weixin, Huang. Moxibustion for correction of breech presentation. Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. 280, November 11, 1998, pp. 1580-84).
At Source Healing, we have had great results with women coming in for breech treatments anywhere from 33 weeks through 39 weeks. We can either perform the 30 minute treatments here at the clinic up to five days until the baby turns (and then another five days in a row, if it hasn't), or you can come in for the first treatment and we can teach you how to do it at home yourself with a Breech Moxabustion Kit (Moxa sticks, extinguisher, candle, instruction card for $25). See the Fee page for price of Breech Treatments.
Pre-Birth Treatments
Pre-birth acupuncture refers to a series of treatments in the final weeks of pregnancy to prepare women for childbirth. In the Journal of Chinese Medicine (No. 76, Oct 2004) Debra Betts states that research has demonstrated that "the mean duration of labour in a group of women giving birth for the first time was reduced from 8 hours and 2 minutes in the control group (70 women) to 6 hours and 36 minutes in the group of 70 women who had received pre-birth acupuncture. In clinical practice acupuncture is an ideal method oto help women prepare themselves to have the most efficient labour possible. Feedback suggests that pre-birth acupuncture offers a range of positive effects in labour that goes beyond reducing the time spent in labour, with midwives reporting a reduced rate of medical intervention." At Source Healing, we recommend weekly visits when the gestational age of 36-37 weeks has been reached. We find that the treatments work well for anxiety that occurs before childbirth.