TREATMENT OF NAUSEA AND VOMITING IN PREGNANCY WITH ACUPUNCTURE
Approximately 50% of expectant mothers have complaints of nausea and vomiting, especially in the first months of pregnancy. This condition can be very severe in 0.5 – 1% of pregnant women and may lead to weight loss. This complaint, called hyperemesis gravidarum, requires treatment. Excessive nausea and vomiting will not harm the baby. Contrary to popular belief, hyperemesis gravidarum does not cause developmental delay in the baby and the baby is born with a low weight. Likewise, pregnant women do not develop conditions such as high blood pressure, pregnancy poisoning, miscarriage or premature birth due to excessive nausea and vomiting.
Acupuncture is a side-effect treatment method. Due to this feature, acupuncture treatment can be applied during pregnancy.
The duration of Hyperemesis Gravidarum treatment with acupuncture and the number of sessions may vary depending on the patient’s response to the treatment and the course of the disease. In general, it is seen that the severity of nausea and vomiting of the patients at the end of the first trimester decreases to a level that can be called almost non-existent. However, although rare, there are cases of hyperemesis gravidarum that persist throughout pregnancy.
In acupuncture treatment, classical body acupuncture is mostly applied and the sessions last for 20 minutes. How long the session intervals will be depends on the patient’s response to the treatment. Apart from the applied acupuncture treatment, the patient is explained in detail how the patient should be fed during this process. It is recommended that the expectant mothers who have excessive nausea and vomiting during pregnancy should eat 6 meals a day. In addition, light and dry foods should be preferred. Fluid intake is very important. Especially one hour after eating, fluid should be taken. Expectant mothers who complain of hyperemesis gravidarum should stay away from stress and rest as much as possible. Sometimes, acupuncture treatment applied every 2-3 days may need to be applied every other day at first. Even after the first session, nausea and vomiting of the patients decrease and at the same time, an increase in their decreased appetite can be observed.
As a result, a higher quality pregnancy process can be experienced with Acupuncture in this process, which seriously impairs the quality of life and the pregnancy process during pregnancy and causes various problems from malnutrition to anxiety and depressive symptoms.
