Women's Health

PMS, Pregnancy, Menopause

Why Source Healing

Professional Holistic Healthcare With Heart – For the past 12 years, Source Healing has been a trusted provider of Chicago acupuncture and Oriental Medicine with a strong word-of-mouth clientele. We are a small and friendly studio in the downtown River North/Gold Coast neighborhood who provides thorough and individualized care through all the phases of life.

Teaching responsibility for one’s health and a holistic approach to life is integral to our treatments. We are a team of experienced practitioners who love what we do and we welcome you to try us out. You might really like us.



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WOMEN’S HEALTH

Preventative holistic care of a woman’s body during the different phases of her life is crucial to her well-being, happiness, and quality of life. For over 5000 years, Chinese Medicine has used acupuncture, herbs and nutrition to balance the changing system in a woman’s body. Chinese Medicine is effective for balancing every phase of a woman’s life, from the onset of menstruation, fertility and pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, post-partum care and menopause. The following major transitions or phases in a woman’s body can be harmonized with Chinese Medicine:

Source Healing is well known for it’s efficacy in holistically promoting women’s health. At Source Healing, our practitioners specialize in women’s health issues, and tailor each session to individual needs. Our team adds a valuable holistic perspective to a woman’s team of healthcare providers. Visit our blog for more information.

HORMONAL BALANCING

From the onset of menstruation through menopause, balancing the cycle and hormones is critical to a woman’s quality of life and overall well-being. In Chinese Medicine, menstrual irregularities indicate imbalance in the energetic systems involved in reproduction and the aging process. The following are some common imbalances experienced:

  • PMS, moodiness, depression, anxiety
  • Irregular Periods
  • Endometriosis
  • Ovarian Cysts
  • Fibroids, Polyps
  • Heavy or scanty periods
  • Amenorrhea (no periods)
  • Painful periods
  • Headaches/Migraines
  • Digestive Irregularities
  • Acne around cycle

For a woman to be healthy, youthful, and vibrant, the body and all her systems must be in balance. With Acupuncture, herbs, dietary adjustments and lifestyle shifts, Source Healing practitioners can assist in your female balance.

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.

POSTPARTUM CARE

Postpartum is a critical time for a woman to receive preventative care.   Acupuncture and Chinese herbs in the first few weeks of postpartum can intercept abnormalities in lochial flow and rectify years of menstrual irregularities.   Treatments can also offset years of stress in a woman’s body that will make a difference in how easily she gets pregnant again, or how smoothly her body transitions into menopause.   Not only can treatments restore balance to a mother’s body and energy levels after the stress of birth, it has also been used for thousands of years to alleviate the following symptoms:

  • Post partum blues, anxiety
  • Postpartum aching, backache
  • Dizziness, Fatigue, Bleeding, Anemia
  • Mastitis, Lactation issues
  • Cesarean Scar Numbness
In Chinese Medicine, the postpartum period and the care a woman receives is an investment in the future health and happiness of the mother.  A happy and healthy mother means a happy and healthy family.

MENOPAUSE

Menopause should be a natural and smooth transition when menstruation simply ceases.   This time for a woman is seen as an exchange in reproductive energy for wisdom and spiritual energy…or “jing for shen”.   When the body is out of balance, this transition during perimenopause (pre-menopause) can be extremely difficult and unpleasant.  Treatments balance the body so that this transition can be made smoothly, without the symptoms of disharmony many women experience such as:

  • Night sweats, hot flashes
  • Moods swings, emotional instability
  • Insomnia, headaches
  • Increased anxiety, depression
  • Low libido, weight gain, fatigue
  • Dryness, hair loss
  • Irregular periods, heavy bleeding
  • Lack of focus, short term memory

Acupuncture, Chinese herbs, nutritional and lifestyle shifts have been used for thousands of years to smooth the pathway into the years of greater wisdom and freedom.