Pregnancy

Yes. Acupuncture has been used during pregnancy for centuries, and it is one of the few forms of care that does not involve taking anything. Dr. Schiff has been helping women get pregnant for over 20 years and sees many of them right through their pregnancies. Tell us how far along you are when you book, and bring along any questions your doctor has. Our guide on whether acupuncture is safe during pregnancy goes through the evidence.

Yes, with a practitioner trained in pregnancy care, and the first trimester is when many of our patients begin. What changes is the point selection. Chinese medicine sets aside a small group of points for the whole pregnancy because they are traditionally used to encourage labor: among them LI4 on the hand, SP6 above the inner ankle, and points on the lower abdomen and sacrum. Dr. Schiff avoids those points from the day you tell her you are pregnant, along with strong stimulation and electroacupuncture over the abdomen. Reviews of acupuncture in pregnancy report side effects that are mild and uncommon, mostly soreness at a needle site, with no rise in miscarriage or preterm birth. Tell us as soon as you know, so the plan changes with you.

Whenever you like. The first trimester, when nausea and fatigue tend to be at their worst, is a common starting point, and back and hip pain or swelling often bring women in later on. Treatment can be started at any point and carried through to full term.

It may, and it is low risk, which is why it is so often tried. The best studied approach stimulates the P6 point on the inner forearm, by needle or by a pressure band. A Cochrane review of treatments for nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy found the evidence for acupuncture and acupressure limited, with some trials showing less nausea and others no clear difference, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists lists P6 acupressure among its non-drug options. In practice we see patients once or twice a week while the nausea is at its worst, usually the sixth to the fourteenth week, and space visits out as it settles. Severe vomiting with weight loss or dehydration is hyperemesis gravidarum, and it needs your doctor first.

The old standbys: nausea and vomiting, fatigue, low back and hip pain, headaches, heartburn, hemorrhoids, swelling, and anxiety. It is also traditionally used when a baby is breech, and the World Health Organization has recognized it for relieving labor pain. What we treat, and how, depends on where you are and what is bothering you.

Many practitioners, Dr. Schiff among them, offer a short series of weekly treatments from about week 36 or 37, often called pre-birth acupuncture, with points chosen to support the body as it readies itself. We do not claim that it starts labor. A Cochrane review of acupuncture and acupressure for induction found some evidence that acupuncture may improve how ready the cervix is, and no clear effect on whether an induction is needed or on how the birth goes. Treatment in the final weeks is planned with your obstetrician or midwife informed, and if your baby is breech, our guide on moxibustion for a breech baby explains the separate method used from around week 33.

We encourage it. The first 12 weeks are the most important stretch of a pregnancy, and continuing treatment through them is a natural extension of the work we have already done together. From there we shift to whatever the pregnancy brings.

Yes, and the weeks after birth are a traditional focus of Chinese medicine. Acupuncture is used postpartum to restore a mother's energy after the demands of delivery and to ease backache, perineal pain, and the aches of feeding and carrying a newborn. Mood is part of the picture: a 2018 systematic review found acupuncture may improve symptoms of postpartum depression, while calling the trials small and the evidence insufficient, so we treat it alongside, never instead of, your doctor's care, and anyone with thoughts of harming themselves or the baby needs medical help the same day. A low milk supply is a traditional indication as well, approached through the same pattern reading; the studies are small and we promise nothing. You are welcome back whenever you are ready, and Dr. Schiff can come to you at home in the first weeks.

Yes. Coverage for acupuncture varies by plan, so we can verify your benefits before you arrive. Complete the online form on our New Patient Forms page and we will contact you as soon as your benefits are established.