Weekly acupuncture treatments are encouraged during this time to help calm and nourish the embryo during what can be an unsettling time. These treatments help to stabilise and support the pregnancy by strengthening and promoting blood flow to the uterus. The following are some common complaints that acupuncture can help alleviate:

• Morning sickness
• Muscular pain
• Fatigue
• Digestive complaints
• Spotting or abnormal discharge
• Anxiety/sleep disturbance
• History of miscarriage

If you have been struggling with getting pregnant or with recurrent miscarriage, a positive pregnancy test can bring a whole host of emotions with it. Some excitement and disbelief, elation and concern that it might not last.

All of these emotions may accompany physical signs of early pregnancy including nausea and vomiting, extreme fatigue, anxiety and insomnia or threatened miscarriage.

Acupuncture can help to calm the uterus and settle a new pregnancy. Acupuncture during the first trimester of pregnancy can reduce the incidence of miscarriage. If you have had a miscarriage in the past or have had difficulty getting pregnant, treatment during the first trimester will help create a uterine environment that will support a healthy pregnancy.

Acupuncture has been demonstrated to have significant immune-modulating effects and can enhance micro-circulation in the placenta. This effect may be important in reducing the risk of rejection by the mother’s immune system in the early days as the embryo implants and a pregnancy is established.

In addition, regular monitoring of the pulse (a TCM diagnostic technique) and regular treatment with acupuncture designed to reduce anxiety, offers you important and reassuring support during these first few weeks of pregnancy. Clinical trials have shown that regular monitoring and reassurance reduces miscarriage rates.

I suggest treatment frequency of one treatment per week until your 12th week of pregnancy.