Acupuncture Before, During and After Pregnancy: Support Through the Trimesters

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Many expectant mothers wonder about acupuncture. What it can offer during this period, and where it stops.

Nausea and vomiting: the best documented

This is the best-supported indication. A recent systematic review (Jin et al., 2024; 24 trials, 2,390 women) concludes that acupuncture, especially as a complement to usual care, reduces nausea and vomiting of pregnancy, and that it is safe in this context (see on PubMed). The most used points are Neiguan (PC6, at the wrist), ST36 and CV12. The quality of the evidence remains moderate to low, but the benefit/risk profile is favourable.

Low back and pelvic pain

Pain in the lower back and pelvis is common in late pregnancy. Trials suggest that acupuncture can relieve pain and improve mobility, but the quality of the studies is variable and caution remains in order. We offer it as a support, alongside the advice from your prenatal care.

The available data on acupuncture during pregnancy involve limited numbers and, outside the best-studied indications such as nausea, do not allow a firm conclusion about safety. In practice, certain points are avoided during pregnancy, and your obstetric care remains the reference: speak about it with your health professional.

What the tradition sees, in the background

Beneath these cautious indications, Chinese medicine draws a coherent picture of pregnancy. In that frame, carrying a child mobilizes first of all the Blood and the essence: two deep “vessels,” the Ren Mai (the “conception vessel”) and the Chong Mai (the “sea of Blood”), concentrate downwards, towards the uterus, what’s needed to nourish the life taking form. That says how much effort this season asks of the body — and why fatigue, especially in early pregnancy, is nothing out of the ordinary.

Nausea, in this reading, is a Qi that “rises back” against the current when the Stomach is jostled; the point most used against it, at the wrist, bears a fine name: Neiguan, “the inner gate,” the one that helps bring back down what rises. And if the tradition sets certain points aside during pregnancy, it’s the same caution the box above expresses: during these months, the art isn’t to act forcefully, but to support without disturbing anything.

Safety during pregnancy

Acupuncture during pregnancy must be practised by a qualified acupuncturist, a member of the Ordre: certain points are deliberately avoided during pregnancy, and the approach is adapted to the trimester. It comes as a complement to your medical or midwifery care, never in its place.

What acupuncture does not do

It isn’t a treatment for infertility: that’s another subject, covered in our article on acupuncture and fertility, and whose clinical side is set out separately. The evidence that it induces labour, shortens delivery or turns a breech baby is weak or contradictory; we make no such promise. For postpartum depression, medical care is essential; acupuncture can, at best, support well-being alongside it.

When to seek care without delay

During pregnancy, certain signs call for urgent medical assessment, before any other step:

• vaginal bleeding or loss of fluid
• painful or regular contractions before term
• decreased or absent fetal movement
• severe headache, visual disturbances, sudden swelling (possible signs of pre-eclampsia)
• fever, severe abdominal pain

If in doubt, contact your physician, your midwife, or Info-Santé 811.

Nausea, a heavy back, the fatigue of the first months? Each session is adapted to your trimester. Book online. Also worth reading: acupuncture and women’s health. In the Plateau-Mont-Royal. In clinic: reasons for consultation.

Source

• Jin B et al. (2024). Acupuncture for nausea and vomiting during pregnancy: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Complement Ther Med. Consult on PubMed ↗