Acupuncture supports your body throughout pregnancy to manage your symptoms. It also plays an important role in postpartum care to rebalance your hormones and help your body recover from childbirth. 

Acupuncture can be tremendously helpful for enhancing fertility. Research shows that acupuncture can even make IVF and IUI treatments more likely to be successful. But if you’re already expecting a little one, or if you recently gave birth to a bundle of joy, you may be wondering about acupuncture for pregnancy and postpartum support. 

One of the wonderful things about acupuncture is how gentle it is. This holistic complementary therapy is so effective because it’s supportive — it works with your body so you can get the extra help you need to feel better naturally.

Whether you’re dealing with pregnancy symptoms or postpartum recovery, acupuncture can improve your quality of life so you can enjoy every aspect of motherhood.

Using acupuncture for pregnancy support

Pregnancy can be an exciting time in your life, especially if you’ve always dreamed of having a baby. If you struggle with infertility or have invested in IVF and/or IUI treatments, the moment you find out you’re finally expecting is twice as sweet. 

During pregnancy, your body goes through a number of changes to accommodate the growth and development of your baby. Hormone fluctuations, including increasing progesterone levels and relaxin production, can contribute to a variety of unpleasant symptoms. 

Additionally, the physical impact of having a growing belly can put a significant strain on your body. As your uterus expands, this places pressure on the spine, as well as the surrounding nerves, ligaments, and organs. The extra weight, combined with gravity, only serves to increase the intensity of your symptoms.

Acupuncture can help you address your pregnancy-related symptoms, including:

  • Morning sickness

  • Nausea

  • Indigestion

  • Diarrhea

  • Constipation

  • Bladder control issues

  • Headaches

  • Lower back pain

  • Muscle pain

  • Pelvic pain

  • Leg pain

  • Nerve pain

  • Itching

  • Insomnia

  • Poor sleep quality

  • Stress

  • Water retention

Research shows that acupuncture is safe for pregnant women from the first trimester to the last. So, no matter what stage of pregnancy you find yourself in, whether you’re in the first few weeks or rapidly approaching your due date, it’s never too late to start acupuncture for pregnancy support.

Acupuncture is a popular holistic treatment for pregnancy symptoms, and has been shown to be an effective therapy for the back pain, morning sickness, and pelvic pain that many mothers-to-be experience. Acupuncture has even been used to correct breech position, thus preventing a birth complication.

Because every patient’s needs are different, at Integrative Healing Arts, we will work with you to come up with a plan that supports you throughout your pregnancy. While acupuncture is the primary tool we use, we also rely on other therapies, like massage, to help you control your stress and manage your pain.  

The benefits of acupuncture for postpartum care

We always advise expecting mothers to consider acupuncture therapy. We also recommend using acupuncture to help new mothers recover from childbirth. This wonderfully supportive therapy promotes health and wellness, no matter which condition you’re currently going through.

Acupuncture has a normalizing effect on the body, which helps stabilize hormone levels after delivery. This, combined with its stress-reducing benefits, makes acupuncture for pregnancy and post-partum care a must.

In a review, acupuncture was shown to significantly reduce the risk of postpartum depression in new mothers. At the same time, acupuncture also led to an increase in estrogen levels, which helps restore normal menstrual cycles after childbirth. Because estrogen plays such an important role in the genitourinary tract, this increase in estrogen can also help strengthen your pelvic floor after giving birth.

Interestingly, acupuncture can even be used to stimulate lactation. If you’re struggling to produce enough milk for your baby, acupuncture has been shown to increase breast milk supply in nursing mothers.

Overall, acupuncture supports your body as it shifts from carrying a child to supporting that child’s ability to grow and thrive in the outside world. 

Acupuncture gives new moms a chance to heal

New moms are often on their feet, up and down constantly preparing bottles, changing diapers, and soothing fussy newborns. Motherhood is a physically demanding job! No matter how thrilled you may be with your baby, being a new mom can still be overwhelming — and that’s okay. 

Childbirth is a miraculous experience. But carrying a baby and enduring the delivery process takes a toll on your body. So in the weeks following your baby’s birth, it’s important to give yourself the patience, attention, and TLC you need to recover.

Including acupuncture in your postpartum care plan can help alleviate stress, reduce muscle strain, and gently support muscle tone by improving blood flow. Acupuncture supports your hormonal health as well as your physical and mental wellness in the months following childbirth.

In addition to acupuncture, we advise many of our new moms to engage in the traditional Chinese practice of “Zuo Yue Zi”, or “sitting the month”. This postpartum care practice gives new mothers a chance to recover from childbearing and childbirth by placing a healthy emphasis on self-care. 

We’ve also found that many of our patients enjoy a speedier, smoother recovery from childbirth with the help of Chinese herbal medicine. The right herbs in the right doses support your body’s ability to restore balance following childbirth so you can get back on your feet quickly and start enjoying all the little joys of being a mother. 

Learn more about acupuncture for pregnancy and postpartum support

One of the challenges of being a new mom that nobody talks about is learning how to care for yourself properly during your pregnancy and after giving birth. If you feel like you have no idea what you’re doing or where to turn, we’re here to help. 

At Integrative Healing Arts, we’ve helped countless women manage their pregnancy symptoms and overcome their postpartum mood swings and hormonal imbalances. We’re ready to help you, too!

To learn more about how acupuncture can alleviate your pregnancy symptoms and make postpartum care that much easier, get in touch with us today. We have the knowledge and expertise to guide you as to which alternative therapies will work best for you.