I moved my acupuncture practice from Portland, Maine, to Bellingham in April of 2004. While in Maine I was privileged to be associated with Women to Women in Yarmouth, Maine, an internationally-known women’s holistic health center made famous by Christiane Northrup, M.D., author of Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom; Your Diet, Your Health; and Wisdom of Menopause, and frequent guest on PBS and shows such as “Oprah,” “Today,” and “Good Morning, America.”
Dr. Bethany Hays, an obstetrician who was also affiliated with Women to Women and more recently founded True North, an innovative integrative health center in Portland, sent a number of her pregnant patients to me for relief of a variety of symptoms, including morning sickness, back and leg pain, fatigue, digestive disorders, carpal tunnel pain, headaches, edema, and anxiety.
I’ve successfully treated women who’ve had breech presentations prior to birth and helped “jump-start” labor for women who are overdue, and in the process helped ease the pain and stress of labor.
I’ve also treated new mothers for problems with lactation, mastitis, sore nipples, back pain from nursing and carrying the baby, post-partum depression, and generalized fatigue and depletion. Because of these rich and rewarding experiences, one of my specialties is working with pregnant women and new mothers.
Here in Bellingham I’ve worked with pregnant patients from the Bellingham Birth Center and Gentle Hands Midwifery. I’ve continued the work I started in Maine with women in all stages of pregnancy, overdue labor, and post-partum symptoms. With 10 years as a massage therapist before becoming an acupuncturist, I do a great deal of hands-on work with each of my patients. The combination of acupuncture and massage is very relaxing, renewing, and healing.
MORNING SICKNESS: THE MOST COMMON COMPLAINT
Not all women experience morning sickness, but it can be one of the earliest signs of pregnancy. It can manifest as mild nausea or severe and frequent vomiting, and it can occur at any time of the day, not just the morning. Typically, morning sickness lasts for only about three months. In some cases, diagnosed as hyper-emesis, the nausea and vomiting are continual, debilitating, and in some cases, require hospitalization.
Acupuncture can be very effective in relieving the nausea and vomiting associated with pregnancy, with careful attention to the particular pattern a women reports in the morning sickness. The majority of women experience a cessation or alleviation of their discomfort. In mild cases, two treatments a week can be sufficient, while in more severe and protracted situations it may be necessary to receive treatment every day until the vomiting stops.
One of the main “distal” points used for nausea and vomiting is on the Pericardium meridian on the inside of the forearm. Some drugstores sell acupressure bands for nausea that press on this particular point. As a temporary measure, one can press on that point to help bring relief, but the best approach would be to have a full treatment of acupuncture using this point in combination with others that address the full picture of an individual’s condition.