New Mothers
Acupuncture for New Mothers
Tiredness and Exhaustion after the Birth
Many women experience tiredness and exhaustion after the labour and birth. Some women are anaemic after the birth and disturbed nights and the demands of breastfeeding a new baby are all factors that can contribute to feelings of exhaustion.
Many women acupuncture a relaxing experience. Acupuncture may help to relieve tiredness and exhaustion by treating some of the underlying patterns that Traditional Chinese medicine may identify. Together with dietary advice it may help in the treatment of anaemia and help support a good milk supply for breastfeeding.
Breastfeeding Problems (such as poor milk supply or mastitis)
Integral to successful breastfeeding is good positioning, and your own midwife will be able to offer you excellent advice and support with this. In spite of this some women, such as those who have had a greater than average blood loss at the birth may develop problems with poor milk supply.
Acupuncture has been shown in studies to be effective in increasing milk supply (Wang et al, 2008) and offers women a drug free option. Acupuncture may also be effective in treating mastitis.
Dietary medicine and herbal medicine may also be helpful in treating breast milk supply issues. Please feel free to talk to us about this.
Postnatal Depression
About 10% of women develop postnatal depression after having a baby, which can last from several weeks to several months. Common symptoms include exhaustion, tearfulness, and feelings of being unable to cope with motherhood, insomnia, lack of appetite, anxiety and irritability. Many women find acupuncture a relaxing experience which may help to relieve some of these symptoms.
Acupuncture aims to treat some of the underlying patterns that Traditional Chinese medicine may identify and has been found in clinical studies to be beneficial in the treatment of depression (Mamber et al, 2004; Wang et al, 2008). In combination with dietary and lifestyle advice and support from family members, and health professionals such as GP and health visitor, acupuncture may help in the treatment of postnatal depression.
Back and Neck Pain
The rigours of pregnancy, childbirth and looking after a baby mean that back and neck pain are common in new mothers. Strong evidence supports the effectiveness of acupuncture in treating back and neck pain reducing the pain of backache. It increases mobility and is significantly more effective than pain killers such as paracetamol, physiotherapy or exercises (Wedenberg et al, 2000; da Silva et al, 2004)
Insomnia
Babies can wake frequently to feed. When they do settle, it can be both frustrating and exhausting if you find it hard to sleep yourself.
Acupuncture is both relaxing and calming and may help to enhance your sleep. Traditional Chinese Medicine diagnoses a number of causes of insomnia after birth. Through this diagnosis, appropriate dietary and lifestyle advice can be given to build your strength. This advice also aims to settle mood and enhance sleep.
