You just got a positive pregnancy test, and you set up an appointment with your OB-GYN or Midwife. Congratulations! Next, give your acupuncturist a call and start acupuncture treatment in the first trimester. Here’s a breakdown of how we can support you with acupuncture throughout your pregnancy—during all three trimesters.
Quick Links to the Sections Below
Acupuncture During the First Trimester
Your body undergoes a lot of changes in the first few months of pregnancy, so our goal is to have you feeling great and ensure you have a stable and healthy pregnancy in the months to come. Some women may experience morning sickness. Luckily, acupuncture is a wonderful, safe, and effective treatment for nausea. Some women also experience digestive discomfort, such as bloating or constipation. Acupuncture is great for that too! You may also be a bit more tired than usual. After all, you are growing a human—and that takes a lot of energy.
How Often Should You Get Acupuncture During the First Trimester?
If you’re experiencing moderate to severe morning sickness, we’ll want to see you twice a week for acupuncture during your first trimester. If you’re having mild morning sickness, we’ll see you weekly while it is at its worst. If you’re feeling okay (and some women feel pretty good in the first trimester), we’ll see you every three to four weeks.
Acupuncture During the Second Trimester
I think of the second trimester as the “honeymoon trimester” because most women feel their best during the second trimester. Typically nausea and digestive discomfort mostly resolve by the beginning of the second trimester. Most women have a bit more energy and very little pain during the second trimester. However, for most pregnant women, pain, and heartburn start to set in during the latter part of the second trimester.
How Often Should You Get Acupuncture During the Second Trimester?
Usually, symptoms like low back pain and hip pain don’t become bothersome until the middle or end of the second trimester or beginning of the third trimester, so we don’t usually recommend many treatments unless something is bothering you.
If you’re feeling pretty good, we typically recommend you come in about once every 4 weeks in your second trimester. If you’re having more symptoms, we’ll see you a bit more often. We let your body and how you’re feeling guide your treatment plan.
Acupuncture During the Third Trimester
It’s so hard to believe that time is flying, and you’ll get to meet your baby soon! As your baby gets bigger and closer to joining you outside the womb, aches and pains can become more bothersome (but everyone is different, and some women don’t have pain even in the third trimester). Sometimes stress or anxiety can also increase as you prepare for your baby’s arrival and plan your maternity leave. It’s also a really big life change to become a mother, even if you’ve been planning it for several months by now.
How Often Should You Get Acupuncture During the Third Trimester?
If you have symptoms, we recommend seeing you with increasing frequency up until your delivery. If your pain is more intense or bothersome, we recommend weekly acupuncture in the third trimester.
If your baby is breech, we recommend seeing you twice weekly starting around week 34 to have the best chance of turning your baby with acupuncture and moxibustion.
We’ll also send you home with moxibustion and instructions to give you the best chances of getting your baby to turn. At the end of the third trimester, starting at week 37, we typically recommend weekly acupuncture to help prepare your body for labor and delivery.
It’s a really big life change to become a parent. Your body goes through a lot during pregnancy to prepare for birth. Luckily, you’ll have a team of skilled acupuncturists to support your mental and physical health every step of the way through your perinatal care.
We’re Here to Support You Through All 3 Trimesters
It’s a really big life change to become a parent. Your body goes through a lot during pregnancy to prepare for birth. Luckily, you’ll have a team of skilled acupuncturists to support your mental and physical health every step of the way through your perinatal care.
To get started, head to our booking page and schedule your first appointment. If you’d like us to check your insurance benefits, we’d be happy to take care of that for you. We are in-network with CareFirst/BlueCross and Aetna.
About the Author
Hi! I’m Elyse, the go-getter who founded Cherry Blossom Healing Arts. I’m 100% a healer who loves to help people feel better! I absolutely love practicing acupuncture in Washington, DC.
