Some ancient advice for your modern family.
Congratulations on your pregnancy! Your body is doing what countless bodies have done since the dawn of humanity. No matter what your journey to conception looked like, you’re here now. Breathe. Here are some quick tips from an acupuncturist to help you on your pregnancy journey.
First Trimester
The biggest symptoms that come up during this time are fatigue, constipation, and of course, morning sickness. This is a trimester of a lot of change; your body is producing more blood, and your hormone levels are shifting rapidly to help support the pregnancy.
Allow yourself to rest.
No matter how active and driven you were before you were pregnant, give yourself more down time to rest and recover. Your body is using up a lot of energy and adjusting to supporting a new life at this time. Remember that.
Just eat.
I see many patients coming in for treatment with such strong morning sickness that they’re confined to a crackers-and-bananas diet for weeks. This is okay; I say to them:
“just focus on being able to eat, and then we’ll focus on what you’re eating. Let go of the thoughts that you might not be eating the healthiest, keep your reserves up first.”
Incorporate more warming foods and ingredients into your diet.
For bad morning sickness, ginger, apple cider vinegar, and adjusting your eating routine can be very helpful.
Start acupuncture.
During the first trimester, acupuncture effectively helps to alleviate nausea, constipation, fatigue, and the anxiety of a new pregnancy.
Second Trimester
Here is often “the eye of the storm” in pregnancy. Upon entering your second trimester, the symptoms from the first trimester begin to alleviate, and can sometimes disappear overnight. Energy levels tend to balance out a little more, as the body is already making what it needs and has adjusted to being pregnant. Your baby is resting and growing comfortably. There may still be symptoms, such as emotional fluctuations, constipation, and restless sleep.
Maintain emotional balance.
The Chinese classical texts saw the connection between the mother’s stress levels and the baby’s personality and development. There is a lot of emphasis on avoiding stress and high emotional states like anger during this time.
Prioritize “Me Time”.
This is an essential month when you are bonding with your child, as your baby grows with you. Create some routines where you can be together.
Gentle exercise is recommended.
This keeps stress levels low and the body loose and relaxed while changing size and shape.
Focus on diet and lifestyle.
You can receive acupuncture throughout your entire pregnancy, but your second trimester treatments will focus just as much on diet and lifestyle coaching as acupuncture. These sessions especially allow you to have some much needed rest while your body does the intense work of growing a fetus.
Third Trimester
The third trimester is when your baby does a lot of rapid growth and development. Likely by now, you haven’t been sleeping through the night, and you might be experiencing more body pains and difficulty breathing/ digesting as your baby is taking up more room.
By 32 weeks, we’ll start using acupuncture to prepare your body for labor.
Acupuncture calms the body and nervous system, which alleviates pain and stimulates relaxation. Acupuncture in the last trimester of pregnancy has been shown to decrease labor time and pain. For more on labor preparation, see our article Preparing for Labor with Acupuncture. Starting this preparation early allows for a slow, steady stimulation of the uterus and cervix instead of a jarring treatment at the end, or a medical induction.
Add more variety to your diet.
With your baby growing more rapidly, it’s key to provide as many different nutrients as you can. At this time, you can start incorporating more spicy foods, as long as they don’t upset your system.
Gentle exercise is still recommended.
See your exercise coach for more recommendations, but the overall guidance is to follow your comfort and move in ways that feel good. Swimming in third trimester can be particularly helpful for balancing fluids to manage or prevent swelling.
Postpartum
According to Chinese medicine, the postpartum phase lasts much longer than we understand in modern America,. In fact, Chinese medicine recommends isolation and rest for the family for up to four weeks. Here are some quick but vital tips to aid recovery, even if you aren’t able to, or don’t want to maintain isolation.
Stay warm.
You’ve lost a lot of blood, which has kept you at a higher body temperature for the past several months. After labor, it is important to stay warm, as your blood flow and hormone levels re-regulate. This change in blood circulation affects the lymph and immune systems, and exposure to colder temperatures has a stronger effect on your body. Often in the West, an ice pack is applied after delivery, but this inhibits proper blood circulation and slows healing.
Now is the time to tonify and build your blood.
Incorporate “blood building” foods into your diet, including meats and broths, tonic herbs from an herbalist, and dark, whole grains, and rich vegetables into your diet. Make sure the food you consume is also warm in temperature, which makes it easier to digest and less of a shock to your system like cold foods and beverages are.
Have some “Family Time”.
The first few months postpartum are considered “the fourth trimester”. Your baby is doing a lot of development outside the womb, and needs to be with you to bond and develop its nervous system. Isolate as a family unit for a while. This helps you to develop your own routine, and get the rest you need without worrying about entertaining guests who want to meet your baby. This also allows your baby’s immune system to slowly strengthen, without extra challenges and exposures to new people.
Focus on diet and lifestyle.
Just like in your second trimester, care in your postpartum phase is as much about diet and lifestyle as it is about acupuncture. Acupuncture is safe during the postpartum phase, and available as soon as you’re ready. It helps to regulate and tonify the blood, balance hormones and sleep cycles, alleviate body pain and speed recovery. If you feel comfortable, find an acupuncturist who is willing to visit you at home while you’re postpartum.