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Acupuncture during pregnancy

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  • 29-11-2010 12:35am
    #1
    Sparky100
    Registered Users Posts: 159 ✭✭


    Hi All,

    I am wondering if anyone out there has got acupuncture in the past for pregnancies or is having some during their pregnancy now? And if so - what benefits it brought during pregnancy etc

    I was considering have a couple of sessions before the birth of my baby in April to relieve anxiety/stress and especially if could help in any way for labour/birth

    Thanks


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    #2
    5uspect
    Moderators, Arts Moderators Posts: 10,515 Mod ✭✭✭✭5uspect


    Acupuncture doesn't work. It's just a placebo effect.
    Don't waste your time and money on such nonsense.


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    #3
    lynski
    Registered Users Posts: 1,585 ✭✭✭lynski


    mm yeah whatever.... obviously a very positive person there with extensive personal experience sharing their insight. helpful too.

    To actually answer the question the op posted, I used acupuncture during my first pg, regular sessions throughout, I had been a regular user beforehand too, and I found it beneficial for all pg related ailments eg low energy, headaches, skin irritation, backache(especially useful), relaxation, colds and sore throats (not pg related but there are few other treatments you can use safely), anything really.
    I also went to him when I was overdue and due to be induced to 'get things started' didn't work for me. Did work for my sister tho. Ad I did use some ear needles for labor and they helped int he early stages pf my first induced labor
    I would have used it all the way through my second pg, but we moved and I was too far away from my usual guy and financially things were tighter. However I was lucky enough to use a contact I had to get labor started and I had a show within 2 hrs of the session and had my daughter without intervention and very little pain relief the next morning. (I used self-hypnosis for that, no doubt something else considered only a placebo)
    I would be happy to use acupuncture to treat pretty much anything I was suffering from or my family. I will be getting some sessions in the weeks running up to my due date.
    I can recommend the Dan Tien studio who currently has an offer on boards deals. I was not impressed by my one trip to a Dr. China, although the treatment worked the 'upselling' afterwards was really intense.
    HTH


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    #4
    5uspect
    Moderators, Arts Moderators Posts: 10,515 Mod ✭✭✭✭5uspect


    lynski wrote: »
    mm yeah whatever.... obviously a very positive person there with extensive personal experience sharing their insight. helpful too.

    HTH

    I beg your pardon? What exactly is unhelpful about what I said?

    It is a well documented fact that acupuncture does not work any better than a placebo (sugar pill etc). I don't share personal insights as they are subject to bias. I rely on what is shown in the scientific literature since all the unbiased evidence on its efficacy is there.

    Being a positive person has been shown to be beneficial to your health. If having someone stick pins into you makes you feel positive you will feel better.
    I would imagine that you wouldn't like someone to let some of your blood with leeches but it will perform just as well as the crazy pin thing due again to the placebo effect.

    If you are interested in pursuing this course then you can find useful information here:
    http://www.nhs.uk/chq/pages/957.aspx?categoryid=73&subcategoryid=107

    I would recommend against it however and suggest you take part in activities that are shown to actively reduce stress and anxiety.


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    #5
    lynski
    Registered Users Posts: 1,585 ✭✭✭lynski


    Sparky100 wrote: »
    Hi All,

    I am wondering if anyone out there has got acupuncture in the past for pregnancies or is having some during their pregnancy now? And if so - what benefits it brought during pregnancy etc
    5uspect wrote: »
    Acupuncture doesn't work. It's just a placebo effect.
    Don't waste your time and money on such nonsense.
    5uspect wrote: »
    I beg your pardon? What exactly is unhelpful about what I said?

    The op asked for experience, not dismissal, I am sure she has the wherewithal to google the studies against and for acupuncture, she came here for personal experiences. Do you have any, have you actually tried it?
    if it is a placebo effect it is a powerful one and certainly more powerful then a doctor telling you 'sorry as you are pregnant, can't give you anything for that". A placebo effect is still an effect.
    There are plenty of studies showing that it is useful for pregnancy and other conditions. I am not getting into a tit for tat on studies, I just responded to the ops question.


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    #6
    Nevyn
    Closed Accounts Posts: 43,045 ✭✭✭✭Nevyn


    5uspect if you want to argue about accupuncture do it in a different forum.
    If you have a personal experience of accupunture while pregnant you want to share feel free.

    I know two people who had treatment sessions for chronic morning sickness and it helped.


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    #7
    5uspect
    Moderators, Arts Moderators Posts: 10,515 Mod ✭✭✭✭5uspect


    lynski wrote: »
    The op asked for experience, not dismissal, I am sure she has the wherewithal to google the studies against and for acupuncture, she came here for personal experiences. Do you have any, have you actually tried it?
    if it is a placebo effect it is a powerful one and certainly more powerful then a doctor telling you 'sorry as you are pregnant, can't give you anything for that". A placebo effect is still an effect.
    There are plenty of studies showing that it is useful for pregnancy and other conditions. I am not getting into a tit for tat on studies, I just responded to the ops question.

    But the whole point is that personal experiences aren't proof of efficacy. They're evidence for bias in the subject. You can find loads of studies for and against any voodoo magic you want online. However the meta analysis of the studies when weighted on scientific rigour show that it has no effect beyond placebo.

    Practitioners and proponents are probably the worst people to offer advise. They are too emotionally and often dogmatically invested in the particular area to credibility offer unbiased opinion. They will cherry pick evidence, offer special pleading and engage in cognitive dissonance in the face of overwhelming evidence to protect their cherished beliefs from the nasty nay sayers.

    The flip side is that critics are generally much better at evaluating because of their attempts to shoot down the subject. The subject should stand on it's own merit. That's why science is peer reviewed and voodoo magic is not.

    One of the reasons researchers believe that alternative therapies are so popular is that it's practitioners, unlike a lot of dispassionate or overworked doctors, take a lot of time to relax the subject. They decorate their spaces in warm soothing colours with nice smells and sounds. This is generally the polar opposite to cold, dull clinical hospitals.

    As I said earlier a person's mood and state of mind is a huge factor. I consider alternative therapies dangerous because their practitioners are so deeply invested in the nonsense they pedal (the recent Simon Singh libel case for example). Often to the detriment of the health of their customers. There is a case for homoeopathy to become an ethical placebo since by definition their remedies are just water and customers don't have any physical interventions such as pins stuck in them or spinal manipulations. However Homoeopaths and Chiropractors and every other quack out there refuse to accept that all they are doing is engaging in stagecraft for the psychological benefit of the customer.

    They declare that western medicine is evil and that they have special knowledge that science cannot fathom. They are typically poorly or self regulated, if at all and advertise their methods as fact.

    On a lighter note:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMGIbOGu8q0


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    #8
    Squiggler
    Closed Accounts Posts: 945 ✭✭✭Squiggler


    After 5 years of unsuccessful conventional medical treatment I underwent (Medical Doctor and Specialist recommended) acupuncture treatment for serious nerve damage which caused severe back pain, migraines, sciatica, numbness and various other problems. I didn't expect it to help, but it did, improvement was dramatic and the results were permanent. It's been about 5 years since I have required any treatment.

    As a non-drug and non-invasive treatment acupuncture is ideal during pregnancy. I'm 24 weeks pregnant now and so far no return to pain, but if I did start to I would definitely go for more acupuncture.

    I certainly would not describe acupuncture as a placebo, not after everything I went through.


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    #9
    5uspect
    Moderators, Arts Moderators Posts: 10,515 Mod ✭✭✭✭5uspect


    The placebo effect doesn't mean nothing happens. It's a very powerful effect that can have very real effects. My point is that acupuncture is no better than placebo.


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    #10
    ThisRegard
    Closed Accounts Posts: 27,834 ✭✭✭✭ThisRegard


    I'll invite you around here and you can tell my wife her treatment was all in her head. You'll be leaving her looking for 'conventional' medical treatment.

    It's not well documented it doesn't work, there's studies saying it doesn't alright, as there are saying it does, you're just focusing on those that suit you. You're in no way helpful to the op.


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    #11
    Squiggler
    Closed Accounts Posts: 945 ✭✭✭Squiggler


    5uspect wrote: »
    The placebo effect doesn't mean nothing happens. It's a very powerful effect that can have very real effects. My point is that acupuncture is no better than placebo.

    For the placebo effect to work the patient must believe that they are actually getting something that will help. If you read my post above I did not believe that acupuncture would help.

    As you were already advised this thread is not the place for a debate. Unless you have personal experience, one way or the other, that will be of help to the OP you would be best advised to go and debate the subject somewhere else.

    Edit: You might also want to read this (which I've just come across, talk about good timing) http://www.independent.ie/health/latest-news/acupunctures-effect-isnt-just-psychological-2441291.html


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