Women during pregnancy may suffer from various conditions
that may affect the pregnant women’s health and the normal development and
delivery of baby. Concerns over drug-related adverse effects during pregnancy
prompted increase in approaches of other non-pharmacological treatments. Among
them, acupuncture as a treatment for various pregnancy conditions has attracted
considerable attentions. Many studies showed its benefits in treating
conditions such as pregnant-related vomit and nausea, breech position, low back
and pelvic pain, delayed labour onset and labour pain. However safety issues over acupuncture treatment during pregnancy still exist.
Recently a group of scientists led by Dr. Hyangsook
Lee
in Korea studied the safety of acupuncture during pregnancy. They analysed 105
clinical studies concerning adverse effects of acupuncture and found that
“Detailed adverse effects were reported only in 25
studies represented by 27 articles (25.7%). Adverse effects evaluated as
certain, probable or possible in the causality assessment were all
mild/moderate in severity, with needling pain being the most frequent. Severe
adverse effects or deaths were few and all considered unlikely to have been
caused by acupuncture. Total adverse effect incidence was 1.9%, and the
incidence of adverse effects evaluated as certainly, probably or possibly causally
related to acupuncture was 1.3%”.
The authors conclude that “acupuncture during pregnancy appears
to be associated with few adverse effects when correctly applied.” Indeed,
acupuncture offers a safe, effective and drug-free option during pregnancy.
Reference:
Park J et al., The safety of acupuncture during
pregnancy: a systematic review. Acupunct Med. 2014 Feb 19. doi:
10.1136/acupmed-2013-010480. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24554789
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