For plenty of first-time mothers, pregnancy is equal parts a wonderful and terrifying thing to behold. After all, you’re growing a whole other human being inside your body and you’re probably scared that doing one small thing wrong can cause harm to your baby.

It is for this exact reason why plenty of first-time mothers seek out more natural forms of treatment for certain aspects of their pregnancies. Of these natural forms of treatment, Traditional Chinese Medicine is one of the most popular forms of these. In fact, some of these treatments prove to be so successful that plenty of mothers use these even for their second, third, and even fourth pregnancy.

One of the most widely used forms of TCM to treat certain aspects of pregnancy is moxibustion. Along with acupuncture, moxibustion for late pregnancy is one of the most popular types of TCM used in relation to pregnancy. If this is something that you might be considering, here is everything you need to know about moxibustion and how it is used for late pregnancy.

Before anything else, you may be wondering what exactly moxibustion is and how it can help you in the later stages of your pregnancy. To start with, moxibustion is a type of Traditional Chinese Medicine that involves the burning of the moxa herb or mugwort leaf to stimulate acupuncture points. There are two main types of moxibustion: direct and indirect.

Direct

The direct method of moxibustion is carried out by placing a burning stick or cone of mugwort directly over the acupoint of the body in order to stimulate the blood and chi. These are removed before the patient feels any pain. All in all, the patient feels nothing except for a warming sensation on the area of contact.

Indirect

The indirect form of moxibustion is performed very similarly to the direct form of moxibustion. The only difference is that the mugwort is placed over the acupoint, but it does not touch the skin. It is then held there for several minutes until the skin turns pink.

This can also be done by wrapping acupuncture needles in mugwort and inserting these in various acupoints on the body. The moxa is then burned, which warms the needles and brings warmth to the acupoints.

When it comes to using moxibustion for late pregnancy, this method is usually combined with acupuncture for full effectivity. This method is most commonly used in late pregnancy to help increase fetal activity and help turn a baby that is in the breech position to the head-down position.

However, moxibustion combined with acupuncture has been observed to help relieve some of the more uncomfortable symptoms of pregnancy, such as morning sickness, headaches, as well as pelvic and lower back pain.

If you decide to make use of moxibustion for your pregnancy, it’s very important to remember to always work with a professional like Westchester Acupuncture to perform this procedure. When you first come in for moxibustion, one of the first things that will take place is the initial examination.

The practitioner will take note of your medical history and current condition, as well as examine you to determine the best course of treatment for your case. During the actual treatment, you can opt to have it performed by a professional or to have them teach you, your partner, or a loved one to perform the treatment on you.

When moxibustion is being performed on you, you should be sitting down in a relaxed position in order to make the entire process easier to carry out. For turning babies in the breech position, moxibustion is usually performed for 15 minutes for up to 10 days.

When you feel the baby turning, you must stop the moxibustion treatment. However, if the baby has not turned in this span of time, you may have to consult your practitioner for further assessment.

You may be wondering if the use of moxibustion is the right choice for you, personally. Fortunately, as long as you have no known medical complications throughout the course of your pregnancy, you will have no problems using moxibustion for late pregnancy as long as you’ve consulted with your OB-GYN and has approved it.

However, there are certain circumstances involved that may affect the effectivity of moxibustion treatment. If you’re seeking moxibustion to turn a breech baby, it is highly recommended to perform the treatment when you are 34-36 weeks pregnant.

Again, if you are interested in this form of treatment, you should definitely consult with your medical practitioner to make sure that this is safe for you and your baby.

Generally, moxibustion for late pregnancy is fairly safe, natural procedure that you can use to turn your breech baby. However, if you suffer from respiratory or breathing problems like asthma, you should definitely consult with your medical practitioner first before you decide to try the procedure.

When considering the use of Traditional Chinese Medicine treatments for certain aspects of your pregnancy, always remember to consult with your OB-GYN or midwife to make sure that you aren’t at risk for any complications that may arise as a result of the treatment.

Never try these treatments on your own, always look for a professional to consult with and to perform these procedures, especially if they require the use of specific tools and materials, such as acupuncture needles and mugwort for moxibustion.

If you’re looking for a practitioner to administer moxibustion for late pregnancy, Westchester Acupuncture is more than happy to be the practitioner for you. We offer a number of Traditional Chinese Medicine treatments to help patients with a variety of health issues, with a special focus on women’s health, including pregnancy, fertility, and menstrual disorders.

Our offered services include acupuncture, moxibustion, cupping, and tui na, just to name a few. To learn more about the different services that we offer, as well as how these can help you, take a look at the educational resources that we have on our website.

If you’re interested in seeking out our services to help with any health issues you may have, feel free to give us a call at (917) 273-8912 or fill out our website form to schedule an appointment today!