Can acupuncture help morning sickness?
Nausea and morning sickness are caused by your body producing more progesterone at the beginning phase of your pregnancy. It can cause nausea because your body is not yet used to the high levels of progesterone in your system. It triggers your digestive system to function differently, often causing nausea and constipation.
In both Chinese and Western medicine, this can be a good sign of a healthy pregnancy. * It shows us that your body is having a strong response to being pregnant, and is working hard to maintain your pregnancy.
Thinking of the body in terms of Chinese medicine, we incorporate different directions into monitoring the proper functioning of your body. Your digestive system, for example, goes down, sending food and nutrients through your body. At the beginning of the pregnancy, you don’t want too much downward movement, which is why nausea is a sign of a strong pregnancy. When you’re having nausea and morning sickness, it shows us that a function of your system is moving “up”, instead of “down”, securing the pregnancy.
Just because morning sickness can be a positive sign does not mean that you have to suffer through it.
So how does acupuncture help with nausea?
Gentle stimulation of specific points on the body sends signals to the digestive and nervous system, stopping the physical process that’s causing your nausea. Some of these points are so effective you can easily find anti-nausea wrist bands that stimulate a popular acupuncture point on your wrist.
In acupuncture terms, these points gently descend “rebellious qi”, which is movement and activity that is going in the wrong direction, (nausea and vomiting go up, and the digestive system moves everything down through your body). We are not changing your increasing levels of progesterone, we’re adjusting how your body reacts to it, and releasing the mechanical functions that are changing due to your hormone fluctuations.
Acupuncture during the first trimester can greatly relieve your morning sickness symptoms while helping your body to maintain a strong, healthy pregnancy.
Your acupuncturist can also talk you through various herbs and foods to incorporate into your diet in order to relieve nausea at home.
*Depending on your levels of nausea. If you can’t eat anything, that is cause for concern and should be addressed by both your acupuncturist and your medical provider.