Traditional Chinese Medicine CAN HELP :

In a nutshell I could say that acupuncture demonstrates beneficial hormonal responses with decreased miscarriage rates, raising the possibility that acupuncture may promote specific beneficial effects in early pregnancy. The combination of proper diet, meditation, and acupuncture helps promote circulation to the uterus, support healthy egg maturation, and ensure a healthy uterine lining, thereby enhancing your chances to sustain a healthy pregnancy. In addition, acupuncture assists in reducing some uncomfortable pregnancy symptoms and helps the body in managing stress better and reduces anxiety, which can also help create a healthy environment for pregnancy.

In pregnancy, Acupuncture can help without an adverse outcome like Morning sickness, heartburn, swelling in the legs, constipation, carpal tunnel syndrome, piriformis muscle syndrome causing sciatica pain and more. Here are some of the pregnancy symptoms acupuncture can relieve that science has studied: Morning sickness. Nausea occurs in up to 50-80% of pregnant women. Data showed that the majority of pregnant ladies wish to avoid taking medications due to concern to affect the fetus . “ Teratogens are substances that may produce physical or functional defects in the human embryo /fetus after the pregnant woman is exposed to the substance. Alcohol and cocaine are examples of such substances.”

But they are also concerned about taking medications to avoid their nausea. Even if there has been no evidence linking doxylamine, dimenhydrinate or promethazine to congenital malformations there is no official approval for use in nausea and vomiting of pregnancy and physicians are left alone to make this difficult decision. That is why in the past years I have received several MD referrals to treat these patients who are not willing to try a medication to overcome this discomfort and they have found 80% effectiveness treating it with acupuncture alone that is safe if it is provided by a licensed CMAAC acupuncture Doctor. I have tried to educate the gynecologists and Family Doctors who constantly send these ladies to me to do it as soon as they get a positive pregnancy result. The sooner the treatment happens, the better. Is any Study supporting acupuncture for Morning sickness ? Yes, there are many out there but this particular research published more than 19 years ago at Obstetrics & Gynecology: February 2001 – Volume 97 – Issue 2 – p 184-188 was quite interesting. They analyzed the Effect of Acupuncture on Nausea of Pregnancy: what was a A Randomized, Controlled Trial in the maternity unit at Exeter Hospital ( Faculty of Science, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, United Kingdom)

The researchers gave 55 women between 6 and 10 weeks’ gestation genuine a traditional-style acupuncture or sham treatment with a cocktail stick on three or four occasions over 3 weeks and concluded that Acupuncture was as effective in treating nausea of pregnancy as a sham procedure., showing closer to twice more effective than the fake ( sham ) acupuncture. Acupuncture treatment is aimed at strengthening the energetic function of the digestive system and correcting any underlying disharmonies according to the diagnosis of TCM. Not every Pregnant will be treated the same way, it depends on her TCM Diagnosis and I will make sure she gets others’ advice that can help her overcome her nausea. Lower back and pelvic pain. Does it work ? The answer was published in Acupuncture in Medicine magazine on June 1, 2004, and it took place in the City I was born . The study happened at the Medicine School of São, José do Rio Preto, Brazil , Federal University of São Paulo, and they investigated the effects of acupuncture in low back and pelvic pain during pregnancy under real life conditions, as compared with patients undergoing conventional treatment alone. A total of 61 conventionally treated pregnant women were allocated randomly into two groups to be treated or not by acupuncture. And their final results indicated that acupuncture seems to alleviate low back and pelvic pain during pregnancy, as well as to increase the capacity for some physical activities and to diminish the need for drugs, which is a great advantage during this period.

What else do you need to know ?

Acupuncture has also showed amazing effects treating Depression, pregnancies-induced headaches; avoiding the use of Medications and also has been helping Sleep Problems what many researchers has shown that women who receive acupuncture sleep better during pregnancy, too.And most of all it can prevent early miscarriages: I have seen at least closer to 700 cases of miscarriages in these past 16 years of practice in WINNIPEG . ( LOST count from the ones I followed in BRAZIL)

Most patients come to me after one or more miscarriages. They get desperate to keep their pregnancies and because it is something out of their control the mind plays a dangerous game, adding more stress and anxiety which is not good for a patient’s Liver Qi ( energy) that can increase her chances of having another miscarriage. I will share some words of wisdom here from TCM Dr “ No matter what the etiology might be, treatment of miscarriage essentially is about establishing biological harmony. Both spiritual and physiological factors should always be taken into consideration. The human body, just like all other phenomena in nature, has its cyclical patterns according to the day, month and season. Only when our body’s internal cycles are adjusted to the cycles occurring in nature can it function effectively. Whether it be herbs, acupuncture, diet, exercise and/or counseling, the objective always is the same. When such factors are taken into consideration, miscarriage can be treated with great efficiency.” ( GARY WAGMAN, PHD, LAC, the author of Your Yin Yang Body Type – The Korean Tradition of Sasang Medicine)

In my practice, I’ve had a significant success rate of 70% in helping couples achieve healthy pregnancies after experiencing one or more miscarriages through the use of acupuncture. Before the acupuncture sessions, these patients were monitored by their primary doctors and gynecologists, who conduct further investigations to identify any specific issues contributing to the miscarriages. I like to work in partnership with physicians and other health care workers in order to achieve a better multidisciplinary approach that can make the different in their overall health and the baby ‘s safety.

I strongly believe in working together. Teamwork can make a huge difference! I’m happy that acupuncture is gaining more recognition among fertility specialists. Now, I receive regular referrals from them, and we share updates and changes in the health of our mutual patients. When we collaborate and support each other, we can achieve faster and better results toward our shared goal.

To prevent miscarriages I also recommend checking the partner for possible issues with sperm morphology.  In cases where both partners are treated simultaneously, three months later, the majority of them successfully become pregnant, and the rates of miscarriages are significantly reduced.

Let’s revisit a challenging time because, as we all know, we learn from our mistakes, but in this case, it wasn’t my mistake. It was a situation that Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Doctors and Acupuncturists, along with other healthcare practitioners, had to handle during the recent pandemic. We encountered numerous difficulties in delivering crucial services, especially for high-risk pregnancies and recurrent miscarriages.

The pandemic presented distinct challenges as health authorities categorized acupuncture within the Beauty Industry Business, deeming it non-essential. Consequently, clinics were mandated to close for an extended period, up to three months. Compounding this issue, Manitoba Health Officials permitted individuals without acupuncture licenses, based solely on their Essential List Industry Business designation, to perform acupuncture. This meant that individuals with little to no training, lacking the necessary licensure, were entrusted to carry out procedures that licensed acupuncturists and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Doctors, with 2000 to 5500 hours of training, were prohibited from performing.

This situation was deemed unfair and, from a personal standpoint, unforgivable. However, recognizing it as a historical occurrence, I acknowledged the need to ensure its non-repetition. Taking matters into my own hands, I dedicated significant effort, working tirelessly day and night, to demonstrate to the authorities the illogical and irresponsible nature of this practice.

During the enforced clinic closures, individuals who were progressing well in early pregnancy were deprived of TCM interventions, leading to unfortunate outcomes such as miscarriages.

Advocacy efforts were initiated by me, as a Board Member Director of the TCMAAM,  involving engagement with health officials to address the categorization of acupuncture as non-essential. Subsequently, a letter from the Health Minister was obtained, on my name, representing all the TCM Doctors and acupuncturists in Manitoba, affirming the reclassification of acupuncture as an essential service. This pivotal change allowed for the resumption of acupuncture services, particularly for those grappling with high-risk pregnancies and recurrent miscarriages.

This is proof that acupuncture really works in making pregnancies healthier and outcomes better. Basically, acupuncture is a big help for people dealing with tough pregnancies or repeated miscarriages. I was so happy to have visitors recently – these are the ladies I helped with infertility when I reopened my clinic during the pandemic. Now, their babies are 2-3 years old, and these parents are trying for baby number 2!

For Appointments

Priscilla Kerr
Phone (204) 788-5715
FAX : (204) 202-8947