Acupuncture for Morning Sickness
Morning sickness is often one of the earliest signs of pregnancy and is one of the most common complaints during the first trimester. It can also continue throughout a pregnancy. And it doesn’t have to just happen in the mornings!
In Chinese medicine, morning sickness is often seen as an imbalance between the liver and the stomach/spleen or from the accumulation of too much heat in the stomach. Differentiation is made on accompanying signs such as loss of appetite, heartburn etc.
Morning sickness can usually be treated by acupuncture alone. In severe and stubborn cases (such as Hyperemisis Gravidarum) herbal remedies may also be added.
Acupuncture is perhaps the most well known treatment for morning sickness. It is used in a basic form by midwives and there is a wide selection of wrist bands/accessories designed to reduce nausea by pressing on acupuncture points. These can be very beneficial adjuncts to treatment.
Dietary advice, concerning what to eat and when to eat plays an important role in this case and patients should be advised what is appropriate for hem.
In clinical practice, I find that many of my patients that I have treated prior to pregnancy and continue to treat throughout the 1st trimester suffer very little from morning sickness. And remember, simply because it is common this does not mean that nothing can be done and that you have to suffer.
Case History
Jill was recommended by a friend who had already been treated for morning sickness at the clinic. She was in week 8 of the pregnancy and was feeling nauseous constantly throughout the day, while being sick probably once or twice each day. Within one treatment she stopped actually being sick. Within two treatments, her nausea greatly reduced and she had been able to go back to work fully. With the morning sickness gone, I continued to treat her for other conditions during the pregnancy such as heartburn, constipation and turning the position of the baby. These all went with great success until the birth of a happy and healthy baby girl. Jill continued to have treatment after the birth to get have strength back to normal as quickly as possible.