Acupuncture in Pregnancy

Acupuncture during pregnancy can help both the mother and the baby. The baby's organ systems develop in predictable course throughout the trimesters, so long as nothing goes wrong during the trimesters the baby's health is dependent on the mother's health. If a mother chooses to undergo acupuncture once a month to relief symptoms of pregnancy she'll also be improving her baby's health. Read on to find out what kind of pregnancy symptoms acupuncture is reported to relief and how it can enhance your and your baby's health.

How does Acupuncture Work?

The use of acupuncture as an alternative to medicine has been becoming popular. In fact, Americans make about 5 million trips to acupuncturists per year to get relief from their aliments. The theory behind acupuncture is rooted in the belief that vital energy known as "qi" (chee) flows through the body along paths known as "meridians." Along these pathways are about 2,000 points that can be manipulated through acupuncture. In other words, inserting thin Gold needles in these points can increase the blood flow or energy flow to certain body parts.

Some of the points targeted in pregnancy include:

Zhubin: is located below your calf muscle, just above your inner anklebone. This point when targeted can relieve pregnancy symptoms such as hypertension and anxiety.

Zusanli: is located above your kneecap. When targeted this spot can reduce water retention and promote digestion.

Good Neiguan: is located two fingers above the inner wrist. This point when targeted is reported to relieve morning sickness.

Studies: Relief of Symptoms

An Australian study published in the journal Birth looked at 593 pregnant women during a four-week period. All the women were 14 weeks pregnant, and those who received acupuncture treatments reported fewer days of nausea than the women who received no treatments.

In addition acupuncture has been reported to help pregnant women with lower back and pelvic pain. Other types of symptoms that acupuncture has been reported to alleviate include: