WOMEN'S HEALTH
Prenatal to postnatal care: reproductive health, fertility, obstetrics, and recovery.
FERTILITY SUPPORT
WHETHER YOU ARE TRYING TO CONCEIVE NATURALLY OR WITH ASSISTED REPRODUCTIVE THERAPY. MANY STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT ACUPUNCTURE CAN SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE THE SUCCESS RATES OF CONCEPTION: NATURALLY, DURING IN-VITRO FERTILIZATION, INTRAUTERINE INSEMINATION, OR TIMED INTERCOURSE CYCLES. ACUPUNCTURE HAS ALSO BEEN PROVEN TO REDUCE THE CHANCE OF MISCARRIAGE AND COMPLICATIONS DURING PREGNANCY. IDEALLY, ACUPUNCTURE THERAPY SHOULD BEGIN AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE; AT LEAST THREE CYCLES BEFORE BEGINNING AN IVF, IUI, NATURAL, OR TIMED CYCLE; HOWEVER, IT IS NOT TOO LATE TO BEGIN IF YOU ARE BEYOND THAT POINT. ACUPUNCTURE CAN ALSO HELP WOMEN WITH REPRODUCTIVE CONDITIONS SUCH AS PCOS, ENDOMETRIOSIS, THYROID DISEASE, ETC. WHO MAY ALSO BE STRUGGLING WITH FERTILITY. NO MATTER WHAT YOUR HISTORY IS, ACUPUNCTURE IS A VALUABLE PARTNER TO HAVE ON YOUR JOURNEY TO MOTHERHOOD.
LABOR PREPARATION & STIMULATION
ACUPUNCTURE TREATMENT TO PREPARE FOR AND STIMULATE LABOR CAN BEGIN AS EARLY AS WEEK 38. INITIAL TREATMENTS FOCUS ON PREPARING THE CERVIX BY PROMOTING DILATION AND SOFTENING. AS CONDITIONS PROGRESS, THE PROTOCOL MOVES TOWARD SIMULATING LABOR BY ENCOURAGING THE DOWNWARD MOVEMENT OF THE BABY. TREATMENT PROTOCOLS WILL VARY DEPENDING ON CONDITIONS OF THE BODY AND PRESENTATION AT APPOINTMENT.
BREECH TURN MOXIBUSTION & CUPPING
WOMEN WITH A BREECH PRESENTATION MAY SEEK TREATMENT WITH CHINESE MEDICINE FROM 32–38 WEEKS, BUT IT IS PREFERABLY PERFORMED AROUND 34 WEEKS OF PREGNANCY. THE TREATMENT BEGINS WITH CUPPING ON THE LOW BACK WHICH IS THEN FOLLOWED BY MOXIBUSTION APPLIED TO SPECIFIC AREAS ON THE LOWER LIMBS. THE CUPPING IS ADMINISTERED TO CREATE EXTRA SPACE IN THE PELVIC OUTLET FOR THE BABY TO TURN. MOXIBUSTION, A TECHNIQUE INVOLVING THE BURNING OF AN HERBAL CIGAR, IS USED TO ENCOURAGE A FETUS IN BREECH PRESENTATION TO TURN. YOUR ACUPUNCTURIST WILL SEND YOU HOME WITH YOUR OWN MOXA STICK AND INSTRUCTIONS TO CONTINUE THE TREATMENT AT HOME. GENERALLY, IT IS WITHIN THE FIRST WEEK OF TREATMENT THAT MALPOSITION IS CORRECTED. ONCE BABY HAS TURNED, MOXIBUSTION TREATMENT CAN STOP.
MOTHER ROASTING
IN CHINESE MEDICINE, MOTHER ROASTING IS A TRADITIONAL TREATMENT USED TO FACILITATE THE PHYSICAL RECOVERY OF THE MOTHER AND PROVIDE NOURISHMENT DURING THE POSTPARTUM PHASE. IT IS IMPORTANT FOR NEW MOTHERS TO TAKE SPECIAL CARE DURING THIS TIME AS IT WILL SET THE FOUNDATION FOR HER HEALTH IN THE LONG TERM. THIS TREATMENT INVOLVES THE BURNING OF HERBAL CONES TO ADD TARGETED WARMTH TO SPECIFIC POINTS ON THE BODY. THE TREATMENT IS FINISHED WITH GENTLE ACUPUNCTURE TO FURTHER PROMOTE ENERGETIC BALANCE.
