Being pregnant
Healthy pregnancy, healthy baby
Managing pregnancy symptoms
Whether it’s a complete surprise, a bit of a shock or the happy end of a long and difficult road, finding out you’re pregnant is often accompanied by a mix of emotions, from elation and joy, to panic and anxiety, and your emotions will probably ebb and flow with every passing day
Apart from the notorious morning sickness, most pregnancies are problem free – give or take a variety of minor aches, pains and discomforts.
Most women prefer not to have to take medicines whilst pregnant, so acupuncture offers an effective and drug free way of managing pregnancy symptoms from morning sickness through sinusitis, allergies, back and rib ache, constipation and symphysis pubis pain, thrush or cystitis.
Feel free to ring me to chat about whether acupuncture is for you
Acupuncture in pregnancy
Acupuncture provides a safe and gentle method of managing pregnancy symptoms. You don’t have to soldier on suffering nausea, back ache, constipation, varicose veins or hay fever.
It’s also quite normal to feel absolutely wiped out In the first trimester. Your body is mustering all its resources to build a new human being, so there’s not a lot left over for you.
By the last trimester, you’re lugging nearly a stone of baby and amniotic fluid around and probably aren’t getting a lot of sleep, so again, you can feel pretty exhausted.
Of course it’s important to make sure you’re eating a good varied diet to support your own health and provide everything your baby needs, but in my experience, acupuncture can really help support your energy and all of those invisible physical processes.
People often, and quite reasonably, ask if it’s safe to have acupuncture when you’re pregnant. There are a few points that are traditionally avoided in pregnancy, but otherwise there really are no issues.
If you’ve never had acupuncture before, you might worry that it’s painful; It really isn’t. The needles are super fine and you’ll feel less than a pin prick as they’re inserted.
You should always tell your acupuncturist about any medication you’re taking, or any health conditions you suffer as this may affect your treatment.
The following table lists some of the pregnancy conditions acupuncture can treat. If something else is bothering you, give me a call to see if acupuncture could help you.
Acupuncture treatments in pregnancy
| Acupuncture in pregnancy | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Morning sickness | Heartburn & indigestion | Bladder infections | Thrush |
| Symphesis pubis pain | Sinusitis | Breech presentation | Overdue labour |
| Constipation | Haemorrhoids | Varicose veins | Insomnia |
| Stress | Anxiety & depression | Palpitations | Itching |
| Fatigue | Hyperemesis | Back pain & Rib pain | Allergies |
| Anaemia | Breathlessness | Threatened miscarriage | Pre-birth treatments |
Eating well in pregnancy
It goes without saying that it’s incredibly important that you eat well when you’re pregnant, both to give yourself plenty of energy and to nourish your growing baby. That doesn’t mean getting enough calories for two, it does mean eating a wide variety of foods to provide all the nutrients you need. You really mustn’t worry about putting on a few pounds (though not too many!); looking after a newborn and producing the milk to feed him or her will burn through most of it.
The Chinese view of balanced eating can help you make sure you’re getting adequate nutrition and keep you from worrying whether you’re eating the right things.
Keeping fit - exercise in pregnancy
Many women worry about how much exercise they should be doing when they’re pregnant. It’s important to keep moving throughout but you need to balance that with your own energy reserves. Although some of our athletes have continued to do their sport throughout most of their pregnancy,, remember these women were super-fit to begin with.
Gentle exercise that keeps you flexible, keeps the circulation moving and supports the physical changes you are going through, is the best for most women. Qi Gong, the traditional Chinese exercise routines do all of that withough tiring you out. The exercises and breathing routines also support your emotions.
