Data from the NHS Whittington Maternity Acupuncture Service, suggests that acupuncture normalises birth and reduces costs to the NHS. Records on over 6000 births from a two year period, were examined to quantify the effect acupuncture had on labour and delivery outcomes. The service is free to users, and women self-refer to receive weekly traditional acupuncture from 37 weeks gestation, as routine birth preparation. Data on women who received treatment was compared to that on women who did not.
Analysis showed women receiving acupuncture had fewer births requiring surgical intervention, and required less analgesia during birthing, fewer induction components and a shorter hospital stay. Women valued the availability of acupuncture highly.
(Birth preparation acupuncture for normalising birth: An analysis of NHS service routine data and proof of concept. Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, 23 January 2020.)
Author: Robin Costello
I offer traditional Chinese acupuncture in Exeter, from a tranquil clinic a mile from the city centre, and next to the University of Exeter. I graduated originally from the London School of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine’s 3 year full time Acupuncture Diploma (DipAc) course. I am on the practitioners register of the British Acupuncture Council (MBAcC), a regulatory and professional body with an entry standard of a full three year undergraduate degree level training.
I have worked in a hospital in south west China, deepening my knowledge and using acupuncture and Chinese massage (tuina) as the treatment of choice in its country of origin. I have taught Chinese medicine in colleges, the NHS and at university level. I also practise Qi Gong, and Chinese dietary therapy, that is the medicinal use of ordinary foods, chosen to help achieve particular therapeutic effects in different individuals.
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