Acupuncture In Pregnancy & Childbirth

March 8 & 9, 2008
Vancouver, BC

SATURDAY morning
9:00 am - 10:30 am
Introduction - considerations specific to obstetric acupuncture
- Forbidden acupuncture points in pregnancy – historical references, tracing their occurrence in the west and relevance to modern clinical practice.
- Safety in pregnancy – western medical considerations and when to refer
- Dietary recommendations from a Traditional Chinese medicine and Western medical perspective
- Needling techniques and use of Moxa in pregnancy
- Specific tongue and pulse presentations in pregnancy

Break 10:30 am – 10:45 am

10:45 am - 12:30 pm
A Review of research into the application of acupuncture in pregnancy
- Examining the effectiveness of acupuncture through research published in respected western medical journals
- Examining the safety of acupuncture including the incidence of miscarriage, still birth and premature labour in women receiving acupuncture when compared to control groups
- Using research to promote acupuncture in pregnancy and enhance your clinical practice

SATURDAY afternoon
1:45 pm - 3:30 pm
Prebirth acupuncture
- A review of research into prebirth acupuncture
- An observational study of its use as part of normal midwifery practice for 169 women in New Zealand
- The potential for prebirth acupuncture to reduce medical intervention including induction and caesarean sections
- The reality of using prebirth acupuncture in clinical practice as an acupuncturist

Break 3:30 pm – 3:45 pm

3:45 pm - 5:15 pm
Acupressure for pain relief in labour
- Research on the use of Acupressure in labour
- Relevance to clinical practice
- Teaching acupressure techniques to support people and midwives
- Clinical feedback as to point functions when used during labour

SUNDAY morning
9:00 am - 12:30 pm with Break at 10:30 am – 10:45 am
Acupuncture for selected conditions – western medical information and effective acupuncture clinical treatments for conditions frequently seen in clinical practice
- Nausea during pregnancy
- Miscarriage (threatened, inevitable, missed)
- Musculoskeletal conditions (rib pain , lower back pain, pain of the symphysis pubis, neck pain)
- Anaemia
- Pregnancy induced hypertension
- Breech and posterior positions
- Insomnia
- Anxiety and depression
- Pregnancy heat rashes
- Constipation
- Heart burn
- Vulval varicosities and haemorrhoids
- Induction

SUNDAY afternoon
1:45 pm - 5:15 pm with Break at 3:30 pm – 3:45 pm
Acupuncture for selected conditions - western medical information and effective acupuncture clinical treatments for:
- Labour
- Postnatal tonification treatments
- Mother warming
- Persistent uterine bleeding
- After pains
- Breast feeding problems
- Postnatal depression
- Postnatal dietary advice

Closing comments

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