You've just done a pregnancy test, or several and found out you're Pregnant. Receiving news of a positive pregnancy test can be a time of mixed emotions as you settle into your new path ahead. Excitement, Joy, nerves or even worry. Everyone says those first 12 weeks are the hardest, as you are at your most vulnerable. Let's discuss whether having Acupuncture is a good idea or not and why.
Let's get to the point right away.
Firstly, there is NO evidence to suggest that Acupuncture is dangerous to a Pregnant woman.
This means there is NO evidence within research, of increase miscarriage rates with the use of acupuncture. The findings showed that in research trials, miscarriage occurred across all groups, not just the Acupuncture group.
[Ref Park, J. The safety of Acupuncture during pregnancy: a systematic review. Acupuncture Med. 2014; 32(3):257-66]
Spontaneous Pregnancy Loss rates are anywhere between 0-25% of all clinically diagnosed pregnancies, with major factors being:
- A First Pregnancy
- Your Health History
- Your age (older women Pregnancy loss rates are somewhere between 15-25%)
- Complications
- Congenital abnormalities.
[perfectpullquote align="full" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""]Secondly, This makes the unfortunate point that... Miscarriage happens.[/perfectpullquote]
So let's go back to the initial question: Is Acupuncture safe during Early Pregnancy?
If there is no evidence suggesting Acupuncture is harmful to a Pregnant woman, then YES, you can consider it to be safe, even beneficial during early pregnancy.
Creating the perfect environment for this amazing process
According to Author, Nurse and researcher from New Zealand, Debra Betts, the key ingredients to a successful pregnancy during the early days and weeks is:
- Good quality sleep
- A strong immune system
- Manageable stress or moderated stress levels
- Managed Inflammation
Getting the delicate balance just right with this technique
Betts determines that these kept in check, make the perfect environment for successful implantation and minimise any threat of miscarriage. This is because the hormonal processes taking place in those early days need the delicate balance of the immune system, stress and inflammation in check.
Stress is a disruptor to hormones, as is inflammation. The immune system needs proteins called cytokines to be solely focused on keeping the progesterone mechanism working until the Placenta takes over at 10 weeks. If cytokines are disrupted by inflammation or stress, it can signal to the body to focus on the immune response instead of the Progesterone mechanism.
Looking at the list of the key ingredients to a successful Pregnancy; Quality sleep, strong immunity, managed stress and inflammation are some of the simple benefits of receiving Acupuncture.
Acupuncture is a natural approach to managing these because it can:
- Calm the nervous system
- Stimulate a parasympathetic response ('rest & digest' state)
- Promote the body's anti-inflammatory processes
- Support non-specific immunity
- Settle any localised inflammation in the case of injury or "itis".
There are other benefits to a woman in early Pregnancy when receiving Acupuncture, and you can read them in this post here. You may have thought to yourself "Is acupuncture safe during early Pregnancy?" before, but if you want to feel reassured, manage your anxious feelings about this vulnerable and "watchful waiting" time, think of Acupuncture as a good support system for your early weeks of Pregnancy. If you're feeling unsure and worried, feel free to email me info@springfertility.com.au or Private Message me on the Spring Fertility Facebook Page.
