Advice needed - should I continue with my accupuncture now I am pregnant?

[LIG1979]

Hello, hopefully someone here can help me.

I am 4.4 pregnant after a miscarriage in April, a chemical pregnancy in August and discovering I had PCOS in May. I have been having accupuncture every fortnight since September and it has really helped to bring down my cycle length and clear my skin.

Now I am pregnant, is there any benefit in continuing the accupuncture? Is it harmful to stop and will it make my PCOS worse and increase my chance of another miscarriage?

I would absolutely carry on but do make sure you tell your acupuncturist you are pregnant. It is actually very beneficial during the first 12 weeks particularly as they can do points to support the pregnancy and minimise some unwanted symptoms such as nausea, even spotting and bleeding.

It sounds like your acupuncturist is trained in fertility as he / she has managed to regulate your cycle length so I bet they will know all about which points to use in early pregnancy.

I have also used acupuncture to reduce cycle length after 2 Mcs and now 7 weeks pregnant. I will carry on going until at least 12 weeks then probably monthly after that if no problems. it's also a good thing to do in the last trimester to prepare you for birth and get the baby in the right position.

I'd take your acupuncturist's advice. I left the area shortly before getting my BFP but I certainly would have continued seeing her if I'd still been able to. I know she said she would change the points, and there were certain ones she couldn't use once I was pregnant, but she definitely believed it was beneficial.

It does seem to depend on the practitioner though. I saw a reflexologist who specialised in fertility and she wouldn't see you during the first trimester at all.

Acupuncture also helped to sort out my dodgy cycle and I'm pretty sure it played a role in getting me pregnant after a couple of miscarriages and a chemical pregnancy. Glad to hear it seems to be working for others too!

I'm 5 wks today and seeing my acupuncturist this afternoon for the first time since I got my BFP at the weekend. I'm hoping she will calm me down & help the bean get stuck on tight!

Thank you for all your help. I think I could also do with continuing for relaxation and to stop me stressing about it all going wrong. I'll give her a call although I think that she already suspected I may be pregnant at my last appt as she said a few odd things.

My acupuncturist recommends you continue in the first trimester. The points mine has used for me since my BFP have been different so definitely mention it.

The main benefit I've had from my acupuncture (pre BFP) has been relaxation and this week's session (I'm 6+2) really helped me feel relaxed in a very helpful way. I'm feeling very tired but not finding sleep helps as it's very fitful/keep waking up, but after this week's session I felt like I was going to bed in a normal state (not a zonked at 8.30pm state) and had a really good's night sleep. Very welcome in my opinion!

Good luck with your pregnancy x.

Hearty congrats Teds77 on your bfp :)

Thanks womanly - early days but feeling very blessed! Hope all is well with you and your bean xx.

Congratulations :) I had my first acupuncture yesterday to try to help nausea (I am 14 weeks). Before I did I asked my doctor about safety and he said it was 'perfectly safe'. I also asked the 'therapist' to tell me if it was safe in pregnancy, and she said that it was, but there were certain points she wouldn't use in pregnancy.

I would def continue. I had 2 mc and believe the acu helped me to get pg this time and I am now 32 weeks. I have been going every 2 weeks throughout. It has helped raise my energy levels when I've been flagging but also helped regulate my digestive system. I haven't had any heartburn, constipation etc that everyone talks about and put it down to the acu.

It also reassures me to see him every 2 weeks and talk through any concerns and get another view point other than the strictly medical one.

Hope this helps

I stopped mine once I got my BFP as I didn't enjoy it and it had just been a means to an end to correct my luteal phase defect. But had I not disliked being poked with needles I would have continued - my acupuncturist suggested that I did so.

I continued with acupuncture throughout my pregnancy. They stop doing acupuncture when you're pregnant and burn a herb mixture on the points instead. It can also help towards the end to keep your energy levels high and I needed it to kickstart labour too.

I too had acu to help concieve after a mc. I had always assumed I'd stop when I got pregnant and went to my first appointment after my bfp intending it to be my last. It dawned on me whilst I was lying there that I was only at the very begining of my journey and just felt it would be natural to continue. My therapist said she usually sees pregnant women every 4/6 weeks to keep things ticking over or more frequently if there was a specific problem like ms to work on.

Thank you all for your comments - I think I will continue although if I get past the 1st trimester I may cut down the frequency to save on costs. I also quite enjoy the 'me time' and the chance to relax for 50 mins so don't really want to stop.