Fertility & Pregnancy

The first trimester brings enormous physiological change. Acupuncture can provide gentle physical and emotional support during this time, particularly following IVF or embryo transfer, or for women who have experienced previous pregnancy loss.

Treatment is tailored to the individual pregnancy and may also help with some of the very real discomforts of early pregnancy, including nausea and morning sickness, constipation, digestive changes, fatigue, headaches, disrupted sleep, anxiety and general feelings of being unwell.

Importantly, acupuncture is complementary care. Where there is a history of recurrent pregnancy loss, bleeding, significant pain or a medically complex pregnancy, it sits alongside appropriate obstetric and medical care.

Once pregnancy is established and all is going well, treatment frequency can be reduced unless there is a particular reason for more regular care. For example if you have symptoms affecting your enjoyment of the second trimester like back pain, fatigue, reflux etc, continuing more regular acupuncture is recommended.

All going well, reducing to monthly acupuncture can be a lovely way to support your pregnant body as the physical demands of pregnancy increase. Blood volume and circulatory requirements rise, the growing uterus changes pressure through the pelvis and abdomen, and the digestive, vascular and musculoskeletal systems all have to accommodate the growing baby.

Monthly supportive treatments during this stage are adapted to what is happening for you — whether supporting discomforts or simply helping your body manage the increasing physical load of pregnancy.

From around 36 weeks I recommend returning to regular acupuncture as the focus shifts towards preparing for birth.

Pre-birth treatment is designed to support nervous system regulation, circulation, maternal relaxation and optimal fetal positioning as the body moves towards spontaneous labour. The aim is not to force labour to begin, but to support the normal physiological processes already taking place as your body prepares for birth.

Research into pre-birth acupuncture is promising but not definitive. Some individual studies have reported improvements in aspects of cervical readiness, labour duration or use of medical intervention.

Acupressure is also increasingly incorporated into maternity care. Many midwives are familiar with acupressure techniques and may recommend particular points before and during labour. Clinical research suggests acupressure may help reduce labour pain and may shorten parts of labour, although evidence for reducing caesarean birth remains uncertain.

I also offer sessions with partners teaching the What, How and Why’s of simple acupressure points that can be used at home and during labour.

Breech & Posterior Presentation

If your baby is breech or persistently posterior later in pregnancy, acupuncture and moxibustion provide a gentle, non forceful treatment option well worth trying alongside standard maternity care if you wish to turn the baby and avoid a caesarian birth if possible.

Breech Presentation

Moxibustion for breech presentation is one of the more fascinating traditional treatments in Chinese medicine. It involves warming the acupuncture point BL67, beside the little toenail, with moxa made from the herb mugwort. Acupuncture may also be incorporated depending on the individual presentation.

Clinically, this treatment has a long history of use and many practitioners report a high rate of babies turning following treatment. We still don't fully understand why such a seemingly simple treatment may influence fetal movement and positioning, and importantly, not every baby will or should turn — there may be physical or obstetric reasons for a baby remaining breech.

Research is encouraging. A 2023 Cochrane review concluded that moxibustion probably reduces the likelihood of a baby remaining breech at birth compared with usual care alone, although the evidence does not allow us to predict which individual pregnancies will respond.

Posterior Presentation

I take a similar approach when a baby is persistently posterior. In clinical practice, acupuncture is often used alongside maternal positioning, movement and birth preparation to encourage the conditions in which a baby has the opportunity to rotate.

The research here is less developed than it is for breech presentation however, given its gentle nature and the broader benefits of late-pregnancy acupuncture for maternal relaxation, pelvic comfort and birth preparation, I consider it a worthwhile treatment to try.

As with breech treatment, the aim is not to override what the body or baby is doing, but to provide another avenue of support while continuing appropriate maternity care.

First trimester: Regular treatment (ideally weekly), particularly following IVF, previous pregnancy loss or when early pregnancy symptoms are significant.

Second and early third trimester: Approximately monthly for general maternal support, or more frequently where there is a specific pregnancy-related concern.

From 36 weeks: Regular (ideally weekly) pre-birth acupuncture, with treatment increasingly focused on maternal wellbeing, fetal positioning and preparation for labour. In cases where the first birth preparation treatment is post 38 weeks, 2 sessions per week are recommended for optimal impact.