Is Acupuncture Safe During Pregnancy?

A child is hugging the belly of a pregnant woman

If you suffer from stomach pain, back pain, or other pregnancy symptoms, you may wonder if acupuncture might really help or is a safe option. This ancient approach may help women handle some of the most frequent pregnancy acupuncture discomforts or even aid with labour pain, even though scientific information is contradictory.

Acupuncture

Is acupuncture safe while pregnant? For thousands of years, acupuncture has been performed in Asian nations as a type of traditional medicine. There are particular spots on your body called meridians where tiny needles are inserted to assist regulate the flow of life energy. Nausea, vomiting, and headaches have all been alleviated by the approach.

Is It Safe To Get Acupuncture When Pregnant?

Acupuncture pregnancy in Melbourne is usually regarded as safe if administered by a qualified practitioner who has dealt with pregnant women before. According to the ACOG, pregnancy-related labour discomfort may be alleviated with acupuncture.

According to a 2014 review of 105 types of research on prenatal acupuncture, just 1.3% of women had mild to severe adverse effects, the most prevalent of which was mild to moderate discomfort at the needle insertion site.

Research conducted in Korea in 2019 on more than 20,000 pregnant women revealed no link between acupuncture during pregnancy and an increased risk of preterm or stillbirth. According to a 2015 review of 15 research on the technique, placing needles into traditionally banned locations during pregnancy does not raise the risk of miscarriage, premature delivery, or stillbirth.

Acupuncture’s Prenatal Health Benefits

Are you looking or searching for pregnancy acupuncture near me? Acupuncture has been used for many years for typical pregnancy concerns. There have been few scientific investigations so far, and the results have been varied. ACOG says the therapy is probably helpful when treating labour pain, but the organization hasn’t commented on any other possible advantages of acupressure during pregnancy. ACOG

Pains of labour

Several trials have shown acupuncture to be a safe and effective way to reduce labour pain. Acupuncture techniques used in these trials vary widely, making it difficult to determine the most helpful treatment.

Research on 28 trials involving over 4,000 women indicated that acupuncture might improve pain relief, minimise drug use during childbirth, and even lessen the requirement for a C-section birth.

Pain in the Pelvis and Back

Many small studies have shown that acupuncture is safe during pregnancy to relieve lower back or pelvic discomfort. Although the trials were small and exploratory, participants were aware that they received acupuncture and requested to complete questionnaires as part of the study protocol.

The amount of gold in research, randomized controlled trials, was not used in these investigations (RCTs). Some individuals are randomly allocated during RCTs to get fake acupuncture to eliminate biases and placebo effects. In other words, participants may have found acupuncture to be successful only because they anticipated it.

Vomiting and Nausea

While the data is mixed and sparse, it has been suggested that acupuncture, typically applied to the wrist at the PC6 point, may help treat morning sickness in pregnant women.

According to research published in 2021, acupuncture was shown to be much more successful than usual therapies, including medicine, in treating pregnant women with hyperemesis. Women who received acupuncture treatment reported less nausea and vomiting and increased food intake. It also shortened hospital stays and reduced the risk of miscarriage.

An extensive 2015 study of 41 studies that evaluated the efficacy of acupressure for nausea in pregnancy among the 5,000 women found little elevated research and no evidence showing it worked much better than a fake procedure, except for one study which found it reduced nausea. According to the authors, acupuncture made with ginger, a herb proven to relieve stomach pain, may also be beneficial.

Finally,

Anecdotal evidence suggests that acupuncture may benefit expecting mothers, but more rigorous studies are needed before the treatment may be widely prescribed.

Because of this, pregnancy acupuncture has relatively minimal risks and costs. If you consider acupuncture to cope with your pregnancy symptoms or as part of your pain management strategy during childbirth, talk to your doctor first.