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Acupuncture
Relief Right to the Point
By Phyllis Edgerly Ring
Postpartum is one of the most critical times for a woman to receive regular preventative care from a Chinese medical practitioner, says Hobbs. Acupuncturists can often offset years of "suboptimal" lifestyle and stress in the first few weeks postpartum, as well as intercept abnormalities in lochial flow to rectify years of menstrual irregularities and prevent them from occurring. "We theoretically prevent serious postpartum depression from occurring by addressing the normal recuperative cycle in the woman," she says.
In addition to restoring a mother's energy levels after the stress of birth and alleviating depression and anxiety, acupuncture can be used postpartum to relieve backache, perineal or other kinds of pain.
Isabel Viana of Durango, Colo., has appreciated acupuncture's effectiveness ever since it relieved a 30-year-old pain in her lower back related to undiagnosed food allergies. Two years ago, she sought acupuncture again to help with healing after the Cesarean section that delivered her daughter.
"I recovered rather fast and completely," Viana says. "I had two treatments, once a week, starting about a week after I gave birth. Two weeks after surgery, my abdomen was pain free. I've heard from other moms who still feel pain in their scar years after surgery. My doctor, who had a C-section herself, said that seven years later, she still felt a numbing in the area."
Acupuncture can provide serious help, but Buchanan notes that it can have its light moments, too. During the induction of her labor, "my practitioner applied electrical stimulation to some of the needles, and the machine, for some reason, kept on playing 'Happy Birthday' over and over!" she says. "She couldn't get it to shut off, and it made us all laugh since we were trying to stimulate labor. I took it as a good sign."
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