ARTICLES

Acupuncture In Pregnancy

November 2000
By Ruth Clark

Acupuncture as practised by members of the “British Acupuncture Council” is one part of ‘Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the other being Chinese Herbal Medicine. In order to understand Chinese Medicine we have to discard all our western notions of the body being made up of individual bits – after all, acupuncture began more than 2,000 years ago, long before anyone had seen inside a human body. So we need to think of our bodies as working as a cleverly integrated combination of all its bits, holistic in the fullest sense of the word.

An example here may be useful – in TCM thinking, when we get angry our liver energy is over-working, and will often affect stomach energy, producing indigestion short term and, if continued, ulcers long term. But TCM would treat the liver energy, not the stomach energy – i.e. the cause not the symptoms.

Pregnancy is clearly not an illness, but it can produce disorders which, while not being life-threatening spoil the joy of expectancy. Many of the conditions such as nausea, headaches and indigestion will improve with acupuncture. Also I have found time and time again that the benefits go beyond that, to enhance a feeling of general well being. Practised weekly (or even just for the first and last six to ten weeks) it can make a real difference to the progress of labour by creating trust and relaxation.

I have been practising acupuncture in my own clinic in Olney for nine years, having spent the previous four years training. I have spent several sessions helping and observing in two very over-subscribed NHS TCM Obstetric clinics, both in hospitals in Plymouth and Warwick. Also I often treat pregnant mums in my own clinic, frequently to get labour started when overdue. Twice recently the results have been joyful to all concerned, one avoiding a threatened caesarean and another avoiding induction in hospital, producing a baby at home naturally. In another instance a breech baby turned before labour began.

I am not saying that acupuncture can solve every pregnant mum’s problems, but I am saying that it can make a difference safely.