Maternity acupuncture in the UK, what do you know about it?

Women are seeking acupuncture treatments for a variety of women's health–related conditions. A European Union (EU)/China survey from acupuncturists indicated that 41% of EU respondents commonly treated obstetric/gynecologic issues, of which half of them from the UK. Another U.K. survey of acupuncturists reported that fertility acupuncture is 15% of their treatments. Maternity acupuncture is also popular. In pregnancy, the most-common conditions were nausea and vomiting, lower-back or pelvic-girdle pain (LBPGP), and labor preparation and induction. Acupuncture during pregnancy and labor has been evaluated as safe when used by a suitably qualified practitioner, and a growing willingness to refer for pregnancy-related acupuncture has been reported from Western health practitioners.

The majority of acupuncturists in countries, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand, offer maternity treatment through private clinics. In contrast, the majority of maternity acupuncture care in European countries—such as Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland—is administered by hospital midwives who take short training courses.

A recent survey from the UK shows that the most-common maternity situations encountered were: birth preparation [96.5%]; nausea & vomiting [94.2%]; and inducing labor [90.8%]. More than 50% of the practitioners were also treating lower-back and pelvic pain [88.5%], breech presentations [85.0%], threatened miscarriages [63.2%], and headaches/migraines [52.8%]. Only a minority (8 [9.1%]) attended births. A greater number of referrals were received from medical health professionals for pregnancy [65.8%] than for fertility [19.5%] or menstrual conditions [9.7%].

References
Debra Betts, Med Acupunct. 2019 Oct 1; 31(5): 274–280.