misplaced needles. Serious incidents
appear to be rare, but it is important to
choose a qualified practitioner who has
current certification on display and who
appears to have good needle sterilisation
practices. The licensing requirements
for acupuncturists vary from country to
country – so you should question your
practitioner about their training and
experience before treatment. If you have
a blood disorder, take blood thinners, or
have a pacemaker, you should discuss
acupuncture first with your specialist, and
may have to reconsider altogether.
If you’ve ever tried to get a traditional
foot massage whilst visibly pregnant,
you’ll already be familiar with another risk
highlighted by Gianna: “There are some
well-known forbidden acupuncture points
during pregnancy. These points are
reserved to induce a natural miscarriage,
if for example a doctor has determined
that a pregnancy is not viable. These
points are also used to induce a period or
promote labour.” If your baby is overdue
and you are staring down the barrel of an
unwanted induction, then these risks can
become a benefit – Gianna frequently
brings on labour by using “induction
points on the hands and feet, which are
known to ‘strongly descend.’ They can
also be used to strengthen contractions,
if labour has stalled.”
Connected to acupuncture is the
practice of moxibustion – the burning of
cigar-like sticks of a herb called mugwort
near particular acupuncture points.
Commonly used to turn breech/transverse
babies in China, moxibustion can also be
used to boost fertility says Gianna. Clinical
trials of moxibustion to date h ave not
consistently proved its effectiveness – but
there is still plenty of anecdotal evidence
from women who have felt increased
movement from their baby during
treatment. The only real risk with moxa
sticks is accidental burning – a top tip is to
balance the sticks on coffee cups on the
floor then gradually tilt your toes towards
them – it’s far easier than trying to reach
your pinky toe when heavily pregnant!
Gianna believes that “although in China it
is claimed that 80-90 per cent of breech
babies turn using moxibustion, I think it is
successful in about 30 per cent of cases.
That means there are 30 per cent less
c-sections though.” If you have a fever,
diabetes, or have high blood pressure,
you shouldn’t attempt moxibustion.
Whilst further clinical trials into
acupuncture and moxibustion are
needed, their acceptance by mainstream
Western medical practitioners is
increasing. There’s certainly no shortage
of satisfied customers. If you don’t
like the sight of needles, try shutting
your eyes ... parents (and prospective
parents) need to grab any opportunity for
shut-eye they can!
June 2017
51