I know prevention of morning sickness doesn’t seem to make sense, but it absolutely does in Chinese medicine. The best time to treat a winter cold, is to build the bodies’ immune system before winter arrives. The best time to treat a heat condition that worsens every summer, is to remove the excess heat in winter. The best time to treat a menstrual-related headache or migraine is to treat it before your next period. The best cure for any condition is prevention.
If you’ve been pregnant and suffered with morning sickness before, then definitely look at prevention if you are wishing to fall pregnant again. However, how do you know if you will suffer from morning sickness if you’ve never been pregnant? If you can answer yes to two or more of the symptoms below, it may indicate a cold or deficient digestive system, causing you to be more prone to suffering morning sickness.
- bloating, especially after eating cold foods
- indigestion
- diarrhea
- history of reflux or easy to vomit
- low energy, low libido
- travel sickness
- light menstrual bleeding
- iron deficiency
- feel nauseous when nervous or anxious
- easily cold – especially hands and feet
- diagnosed irritable bowel syndrome
- feeling of a cold abdomen or low back
Acupuncture and Chinese herbs are extremely effective in treating morning sickness as a symptom on its own, however, because you don’t generally feel like eating, trying to warm and strengthen your stomach energy through herbs, tea or food can be difficult. Also, if you have fallen pregnant through IVF or ART, the clinics are very specific about ensuring your body temperature does not increase, so adding external heat (through moxibustion, a hot water bottle or a heat lamp) is out of the question. So prevention is important to ensure you can really enjoy your pregnancy.
If you have any questions about how acupuncture can specifically help you, please contact the clinic on (07) 5539 2362.