4 Acupuncture Benefits During Pregnancy

Pregnancy can be both physically and mentally difficult at times, no matter how smooth the journey goes. With the various aches that your growing body will experience, it’s natural for you to want to find a treatment, such as acupuncture, to help alleviate your symptoms.

There are various benefits associated with receiving acupuncture during pregnancy. The benefits of acupuncture during pregnancy include, but are not limited to:

1. It can help to alleviate aches and pains
2. It can provide relief from nausea and vomiting 
3. It’s a method for turning a breech baby
4. It can alleviate depression symptoms

1. It Can Help To Alleviate Aches & Pains

Pregnancy is full of aches and pains as your body homes and accommodates your growing baby. This comes down to the fact that you’re carrying added weight, including your growing baby, that puts pressure on various parts of your body like your lower back and hips. In addition to this, during pregnancy your joints naturally loosen due to the hormone, relaxin, which also contributes to the pain. 

Multiple studies, including one carried out by Kvorning et al, found that acupuncture ‘relieved pelvic and lower back pain’.

As a result, acupuncture can be an act of self-care in that it can help you to manage your pain and help to take the edge off when you’re starting to feel uncomfortable, especially towards the end of your pregnancy.

While everyone’s needs are different, booking an appointment with an established clinic for acupuncture treatment could therefore help to alleviate some of your aches and pains.

2. It Can Provide Relief From Nausea & Vomiting 

A large benefit of acupuncture is that it can provide relief from nausea and vomiting.

It’s no secret that nausea and vomiting can become a significant symptom throughout pregnancy. In fact, morning sickness affects around 70% of women, with hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) (severe nausea and vomiting) affecting around 3%. 

A study on the effectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of hyperemesis gravidarum found that acupuncture was effective in treating severe nausea. 

If you’re struggling with relentless morning sickness symptoms during pregnancy, acupuncture could help to provide you with some relief as an effective treatment for many.

It’s also worth noting that whilst acupuncture might not entirely eliminate the sickness, it can be beneficial when used in conjunction with other methods of alleviating sickness, such as eating little and often.

3. It’s A Method For Turning A Breech Baby

Acupuncture can also be an effective method for turning a breech baby, aiding you in delivering your baby naturally.

There can be a lot of anxiety surrounding the position of a baby in the womb and how this can impact delivery, as it is typically recommended that breech babies are born by c-section. 

While 25% of babies are breech before the 28-week mark, in 3% to 4% of term pregnancies, babies are in the breech position.

That said, acupuncture can help. A study where ‘bilateral acupuncture alongside moxibustion was applied at the BL67 acupoint’ to women at 33 to 35 weeks pregnant found that the number of caesareans was lower in the treatment group, and was effective at helping babies to turn to the foetal position before birth.

If you’re interested in receiving acupuncture in a bid to help to turn a breech baby, be sure to talk to your midwife and do your research to find the right clinic before you book an appointment.

4. It Can Alleviate Depression Symptoms

Last, but not least, incorporating acupuncture treatment into your routine can help to alleviate depression symptoms.

Depression can affect anyone, even expecting mothers. In fact, depression affects as many as 10 to 15% of pregnant women.

That said, considering the side effects associated with many antidepressants, it’s common to look for more natural alternatives of helping depression when you’re pregnant.

Studies have shown that acupuncture can help to ‘lessen depression symptoms’ during pregnancy, offering a natural way to alleviate depression symptoms.

As a result, acupuncture could help you to manage your depression symptoms. That said, if you’re struggling with symptoms of depression during your pregnancy, or no longer feel like you’re able to cope, be sure to speak with your GP to discuss your options.

Hopefully this article has given you a wider understanding of the benefits associated with receiving acupuncture treatment during pregnancy.

We are Fox Chiropractic: specialists in the diagnosis and treatment of musculoskeletal injury or pain. For more information about the services we provide, check out our website or get in touch to speak to a friendly member of the team on 07540 942 448 /  info@foxchiropractic.co.uk.

Written by Jemima Thomas for Fox Chiropractic.