Summer 2014
Schedule Update
Starting September 1st, I will be making a few changes to the business hours:
- Monday: 11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
- Wednesday: 9:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
- Friday: 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
- Saturday (1st of each month): 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Acupuncture Can Support A Healthy Pregnancy

Acupuncture is a safe, gentle, and effective approach to improve the health of a woman and her baby during pregnancy. Pregnancy can be a profound experience causing a woman's body to undergo many physical and emotional changes. Acupuncture and Chinese medicine is an effective treatment option when often there are few alternatives offered by western medicine to reduce some of the uncomfortable changes during each trimester.
Acupuncture is helpful in treating some of the common complaints associated with pregnancy:
- Morning sickness
- Threatened miscarriage
- Fatigue
- Headaches
- Low back, sciatica, and hip pain
- Rib pain
- Anxiety, depression
- Constipation and hemorrhoids
- Preparation of the body for labor and childbirth
Labor and Childbirth Support:
Research shows women receiving acupuncture from week 37 of pregnancy to delivery significantly improve their labor and child birth experience with less pain and shorter delivery.
In the last several months, I have treated many women seeking assistance to improve their labor and child birth experience. Acupuncture is a safe and gentle way to prepare the mother's body for labor. The treatment will encourage the body to release prostaglandins which help soften the cervix, enhance dilation, and release oxytocin to begin contractions. Since the treatment is working with the woman's own hormones, the result is a more gradual and less traumatic labor experience.
I typically recommend weekly treatments for women starting week 37 until delivery. These treatments can provide the following benefits:
- Shorten the length of labor
- Ripen the cervix and enhance dilation
- Provide blood flow to the uterus and increase effectiveness of contractions
- Reduce the need for medical inductions and interventions
- Support the baby to be in the best possible position for labor
- Help the mother to have more energy and less stress during labor
Although acupuncture can help prepare the mother's body, it will not cause labor before the baby is ready. Labor is triggered from signals given by the baby's body. Acupuncture will help prepare the mother's body once the baby has triggered labor to begin.
Once a woman has reached her due date, treatments can be done to begin labor induction as long as there has been permission by the OBGYN or midwife. Most women who have reached their due date need one to three treatments before going into labor. If the treatment is effective, labor will start within 48 hours. Therefore, my recommendation for women who are approaching a scheduled medical induction is to receive their acupuncture treatment at least 48 hours prior to the medical induction. An Australian study found acupuncture to be 88% effective in labor induction efforts.
If you are interested in learning how acupuncture can support and improve your pregnancy, call today or book online to make an appointment.
More Newsletters
- December 2015 - Acupuncture Reduces Stress
- April 2015 - Why Athletes Should Use Acupuncture
- November 2014 - Enhance your Fertility with Acupuncture
- August 2014 - Acupuncture Can Support A Healthy Pregnancy
- June 2014 - Acupuncture Improves Sleep
- February 2014 - Acupuncture Treats Headaches
- November 2013 - Tuning Forks
- July 2013 - Fire Element and Cupping
- April 2013 - Chinese Medicine and the Liver
- November 2012 - Treating Pain through Acupuncture
- October 2012 - Chinese Medicine, Lung, and Large Intestine
- September 2012 - Auricular (Ear) Acupuncture
- February 2010 - Cupping
- March 2010 - Moxabustion (Moxa)