ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO ACUPUNCTURE IN PREGNANCY AND CHILDBIRTH

Acupuncturist, Debra Betts, draws on more than 15 years of experience specializing in the use of acupuncture during pregnancy and childbirth. Acupuncture is an ideal form of treatment in that it offers women drug-free relief from a multitude of problems that can arise during this time. Even for conditions like morning sickness, sciatica and symphysis pubis pain, which are often regarded as part of a normal pregnancy, acupuncture can not only improve a woman’s quality of life, but also prevent them from becoming serious enough to necessitate medical treatment. Pre-birth acupuncture can enhance an efficient labor, and the teaching of acupressure to a woman’s partner or caregiver can make a great difference in the levels of pain experienced during labor. During labor itself, acupuncture can play a role in actively reducing the level of medical interventions such as inductions, forceps deliveries, and caesarean sections. Acupuncture can provide effective treatment for disorders such as pregnancy-induced hypertension and posterior presentation, and help induce labor, allowing women to achieve natural childbirth. Each topic is presented from both a Western and traditional Chinese medical perspective. The discussion of clinical treatments reflects what has actually worked in practice for the author and the midwives she has worked with. The text is illuminated with clinical case histories, illustrations, and color photographs. Pages 320