nausea in pregnancy

Every woman expecting a child dreads the most well-known side effects of pregnancy:

• nausea
• and vomiting.

Acupuncture and / or acupressure can not only provide significant relief for these pregnancy symptoms.

Why do pregnant women suffer from nausea?

The majority of all pregnant women will sooner or later suffer from the dreaded symptoms of nausea and vomiting. In most cases, the issue resolves itself after a few weeks. Occasionally, however, serious problems can also arise here, since frequent vomiting causes excessive fluid loss, which can have negative consequences for the mother and the unborn child. In any case, a doctor should be consulted. [More info on signs of pregnancy] The causes of this phenomenon have not yet been conclusively clarified. However, it is assumed that this is a “natural reflex” that is intended to protect the expectant mother from eating food that is unfavorable for the child. Nausea and vomiting are particularly common when eating meat, fish and eggs. The hormone chorionic gonadotropin produced during pregnancy can cause the same symptoms, especially at high concentrations.

Acupuncture and acupressure for nausea during pregnancy

A study from 2004 shows that nausea and vomiting during pregnancy can be effectively treated with acupuncture and acupressure. In the study, 36 women who suffered from the symptoms in an extreme way were examined. About half of the women were randomly assigned to receive acupuncture or acupressure treatment, but the remainder received only a sham treatment. Specifically, the treatment involved a point on the inside of the wrist. This point was treated with acupuncture for 30 minutes a day. The women were supposed to press on this point with acupressure themselves in the event of nausea. The remaining subjects received treatment on non-effective areas of the body.

Great success of the study

The results of the study speak for themselves. Around 90 percent of the test women who were treated by acupuncture were almost or completely free of their complaints after only seven days. The acupressure test subjects were still 64 percent free of complaints. With the “placebo subjects” an improvement of 13 per cent could be reached by acupuncture, the acupressure remained without any effect. Both forms of therapy have no side effects whatsoever and are therefore particularly suitable for pregnant women, since the unborn child is not affected. Therefore, acupuncture and acupressure can be considered as quite effective, gentle and inexpensive solutions for nausea and vomiting during pregnancy. Especially acupressure can be practically applied at home, but it is not suitable for the “severe cases”.