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Home › Articles › Comfort in Pregnancy › Acupuncture

Acupuncture

Relief Right to the Point

By Phyllis Edgerly Ring

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Birth and Beyond

Research reported in a November 1998 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association finds that an aspect of acupuncture called moxabustion, when applied to 130 pregnant women with breech presentations, significantly increased the number of head-first births. Used for centuries in China to turn breech babies, moxabustion employs long sticks of the herb moxa to produce a gentle, smoldering heat and a smoke that are held close to an acupuncture point in the little toe. The treatment, most effective at 32 to 36 weeks, should only be used in healthy pregnancies.

Acupuncture is used during labor itself mainly to facilitate pain relief and boost energy. But if needed, it can also help stimulate contractions without the use of drugs, says Hobbs. "This is best accomplished over two to three successive days of one-hour treatments, so early referral is essential."

Buchanan first sought acupuncture for relief from a prolonged asthma attack. Successful treatment made her more confident about acupuncture as a means to induce labor. "It has less impact on an unborn baby than the drugs that are used."It has less impact on an unborn baby than the drugs that are used," she says. Although she didn't receive acupuncture during labor itself, Buchanan did receive acupressure during labor with her second child. "It helped tremendously with low back pain, as my babies have big heads and were posterior [deliveries]," says Buchanan.

Acupuncture can provide other benefits post-delivery, too. "Right after her baby was born, a friend of mine started to bleed very heavily," Buchanan says, remembering. "My acupuncturist got out her needles and poked my friend's toe, and it was like a faucet had been immediately turned off."


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