Nausea During Pregnancy
Nausea during pregnancy is often dismissed as a minor disorder. Yet anyone who has ever had to endure this while either working or taking care of a toddler will attest that it can often be debilitating. Nausea is estimated to affect one third of all pregnancies.
Ironically for many women ‘morning sickness’ can be suffered at anytime of the day or night, sometimes constantly. It is often described as a terrible hangover that never relents or constant food poisoning. It is experienced mostly in the early stages of pregnancy between six and sixteen weeks, although for some unfortunate women it is a constant presence until they reach full term.
Although the nausea associated with pregnancy can arise from a variety of conditions, in Chinese Medicine all involve the inability of the stomach energy to descend. Pregnancy affects not only the process of digestion but also the stomach’s function of aiding the movement of food downward through the digestive tract. This results in nausea and vomiting.
Often dietary changes can aid in reducing symptoms. But of course this depends on what a woman can eat during this time as food aversions are common.
Acupuncture treatments are aimed at strengthening the energetic function of the stomach and restoring the proper digestion.
The effectiveness of Acupuncture to treat morning sickness has been recognized in the western medicine. With clinical research finding Acupuncture is a safe and effective treatment for morning sickness (Smith et al. 2002). For women suffering with morning sickness, Acupuncture provides a safe, effective solution that can improve the experience of early pregnancy.
