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Step 1: Common problems during pregnancy before birth
As the result of our highly stressed
lifestyle, common problems experienced by many first time mother (to be)
include:
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severe fluid retention and weight gain
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fatigue and exhaustion
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sugar craving
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sleeping problems before labour
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degrees of emotional stress and
anxiety
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delayed labour
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problems with dilation
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over-sized baby.
Other common situations include:
"delayed labour" or
"labour overdue", meaning that the baby is past the due date but the
mother still has not experienced signs of contraction. This case is
especially typical of expecting mothers who had history of stress,
anxiety or depression in the past or are on anxiety or depression
related medications.
Step 2: Chinese medicine perspective on pregnancy maintenance and labour.
Chinese medicine perceives pregnancy
as a serious matter for your body as having a baby growing inside you
poses a HUGE load on your system, it is similar to how buying a house
can affect your bank account balance.
Consequently, it is important for
you to ensure your body is well rested, having an adequate diet and
supplements to support the complete needs of a growing baby inside your
body. Problematic labour usually occur when you are not aware of your
stress level, sleeping troubles as well as how your body has been
running on adrenaline causing cravings, excessive fluid retention and
weight gain.
As the result, it often leads to delayed labour with
excessive pain, chaos and serious complications to both the mother and
the baby.
Delayed labour also happens when the mother is severely stressed, tense and fatigued.
This is because, from a Chinese medicine point of view
(or from my clinical point of view), that stress, anxiety and depression
often bear high levels of tension in the body, eg, the person often feel
uptight or tense, so, the body "HOLDS TOO TIGHT" and doesn't "LET GO" , the natural signal and trigger for labour is blocked.
The labour is often delayed and overdue. In addition, the
expecting mother may also suffer from some degree of (vary from moderate to
severe) fluid retention, which also indicate the body is under "stress".
Step 3: How Can Acupuncture Help ?
Acupuncture offers a safe, effective and ideal
treatment to minimise your stress, boost your energy and making the whole journey a better experience.
It ensures your body is in-tuned with the pregnancy and "proper
signals" flow through at the right time to minimise chances of delayed
labour and other possible complications.
In the case of using acupuncture to facilitate a smooth
labour or even to induce an overdue labour, acupuncture works on the
following aspects including:
Key aspects:
► Reduce stress and tension
in the body, minimise "stress reactions" in order for the "body's
natural signal to "kick in" to bring on dilation and contraction.
► Relax
the muscles around the lumbar, sacral and coccyx areas to initiate
dilation
► Reduce emotional stress and anxiety.
► Making
sure you gain good quality sleep, so you would have fresh energy to deal
with birthing process.
► Relax the pelvic muscles to help with dilation
► Assist in "fully" dilation of the cervix, therefore,
when contractions start, you are ready to push.
► To quicken or push forward a weak and sluggish
contraction to start the "whole process"
► Minimise complication
Detail Information:
- Reduce stress and tension in the body. It helps to
relieve the emotional worrying that often associate with labour in new
mothers or mothers who had a traumatic labour in the past.
Through reducing emotional tension, it helps
the body to relax. It also helps you to sleep better at night, so,
you are well rested and energised for the event.
In addition, it helps to relax the tighten muscles in the
lumbar-sacral-coccyx area and assists in " fully" dilation of your cervix, so it is
ready for the baby to come through. Consequently, when your contractions
start, you are ready to push.
Also through reducing tensions in the body and
mind, it "switches off" the "stress mode" when the
body is under stress, therefore, it allows the body to "function" normally
and allows the signals of labour to occur.
Acupuncture also helps in reducing fluid
retention, reducing "sluggish feeling", and allowing labour to proceed
quickly, smoothly with the mother feeling "in control". |
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Acupuncture During Pregnancy
During the pregnancy, if the expecting mother feels tired, exhausted or is working full time, acupuncture is highly recommended to reduce stress, boost energy in order to minimise your fluid retention and keep your body in good shape while you are pregnant.
Acupuncture For Post Natal Maintenance
After giving birth, our body is often drained both
physically and emotionally. It requires time, adequate nourishment and
nutrition to recover. Acupuncture and Chinese herbs provide natural and
effective treatments allowing our body to recover without any
interference with breast feeding. |
