Women’s Health
Three Ways Acupuncture Can Help with Menopause
For many women, the journey through menopause can be fraught with various symptoms that can range in severity from mild at one end of the spectrum to debilitating at the other. The menopausal transition is different for every woman and tailored treatments offered by acupuncture can provide significant benefits. Although studies outline more, let’s look at just three of the benefits of using acupuncture to treat menopausal symptoms. continue reading
Six Ways Acupuncture Can Improve Women’s Health
Women’s health issues can be complex and unique to each person. However, traditional Western medicine solutions are full of invasive procedures that can alter hormones. Other solutions include prescription drugs that can have strong side effects for those taking them. Unfortunately, many women believe these are the only options.
However, acupuncture can be a tremendous solution in addressing a growing number of women’s health issues. These are the six most common, but there are many more so be sure you talk to your acupuncturist when filling out your health intake so you can get each of your questions answered. continue reading
How Sarah experienced a quick delivery with no medical interventions…
How Sarah (39) experienced a quick and easy delivery...
Experiencing birth trauma can be a painful, frightening and devastating thing. Something that women not only never forget, but also often continue to carry with them, causing an increase in stress, anxiety, pain and suffering (mental and physical) throughout their postnatal days and beyond.
This is how Sarah (39) came to our clinic feeling, about 36 weeks into her 2nd pregnancy.
Sarah had a very long and difficult delivery with her first baby as her baby was in a position where the back of her baby’s head was facing towards Sarah’s back; a position called “occiput posterior”, or OP.
Babies are in “optimal” positioning when they are head down, facing your back, and their chins slightly tucked (termed “occipital anterior.”) This position is considered “optimal” because the baby is lined up best to fit through the pelvis as easily as possible. Also, this places the greatest amount of pressure against the cervix, encouraging dilation.
When babies are not positioned occiput anterior, mom’s tend to have longer, more painful labors.
In Sarah’s case, after laboring for hours, un-medicated, her first baby did not descend far enough such that it required forceps to assist the baby through the birth canal. Sarah suffered a significant amount of pain and pelvic floor trauma in the process. (The baby was born, totally healthy though!!)
After learning that her second baby was also not in optimal position, Sarah’s midwife encouraged her to seek our help to encourage optimal fetal positioning. Sarah had also been suffering from back and hip pain in the final weeks leading up to her delivery so she was also keen on obtaining a bit of pain relief.
With weekly visits from weeks 36 through 40, Sarah experienced reduced inflammation and tightness in her back and hips. Her baby came right on time; she delivered the day after her final treatment with us! Her baby was perfectly positioned and Sarah experienced a super-fast delivery with little to no trauma.
In Sarah’s gleeful words, “I would definitely recommend Erin for pregnant women looking to improve their overall well-being, decrease pregnancy related back pain, and decrease the likelihood of needing interventions during delivery.”
At Erin Kumpf Acupuncture & Herbs, we provide women in Hoboken, Jersey City and surrounding cities with prenatal and postnatal support, vital for the best health for you and your baby during and after pregnancy. Prenatal care helps ensure your pregnancy progresses as it should and addresses any potential problems. Postnatal care focuses on helping you be the healthiest you can be in order to properly nurture and care for your baby.
Our prenatal support includes acupuncture, herbal medicine, nutrition and diet, mind-body medicine and other components of holistic medicine that greatly enhance physical and emotional health.
Acupuncture is effective in both prenatal and postnatal support as it relieves tension, helps prevent a miscarriage or premature labor, and even promotes labor when the time comes to deliver your baby. Once you have your baby acupuncture is a wonderful treatment for helping improve sleep, regulating hormones, increasing milk production, promoting healing of the body’s tissues, and reducing the postpartum depression many women experience.
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Or, just call 201-338-0552 and we will be happy to answer your questions!
Acupuncture and Cervical Health
Women’s health is a big part of the healthcare industry. And acupuncture can be very beneficial in caring for the overall health of women. Acupuncture has been especially effective in helping with things like infertility, turning breech babies, inducing labor and clearing up infections. The cervix is just one small part of the uterus. Specifically it is the lower part of the uterus that opens to allow passage between the uterus and the vagina. The cervix widens during childbirth to allow the baby to pass, it also allows the passage of menstrual fluids from the uterus out of the body and it is vital for sperm to pass through the cervix to reach the uterus when trying to procreate.
The cervix is very vulnerable to several health conditions, such as chronic inflammation, polyps, dysplasia and even cancer. Cervical conditions rarely present symptoms in the early stages, which makes it extremely important for women to get regular pap smears. If an abnormality is detected, there are several ways to address it, depending on the severity. In the early stages of any of the aforementioned conditions, acupuncture can be a positive addition to Western medical treatments. Acupuncture is very good at decreasing inflammation and helping to dissolve polyps and tumors. Acupuncture can also balance hormones, which allows the body to correct any imbalances.
One of the most studied areas of acupuncture is in treating fertility issues. When invitro fertilization by itself does not get the job done, adding acupuncture may be the last piece of the puzzle. Acupuncture does much more than just balance the hormones. When a woman is trying to get pregnant and struggling with it due to fertility issues, the stress levels are extremely high. And high stress levels have been proven to disrupt the body’s ability to conceive. One of the things that acupuncture is really successful at is decreasing stress levels. This can make it easier for the fertility treatments to work. Acupuncture has also been shown to increase blood flow to areas of the body, including the uterus. This can help to make a very hospitable place for a baby to grow.
Acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine are also widely used for treating infections and sexually transmitted diseases. In traditional Chinese medicine, most infections have some sort of heat or discharge associated with them. This medicine uses principles, herbs and acupressure points that have specific properties that can drain heat and expel toxins from the body. This can lead to an overall improvement in both uterine and cervical health.
Another area where acupuncture can help with cervical health is at the time of birth. About four percent of babies are presented in the breech position prior to birth. An accessory modality known as moxibustion, has proven time and time again, that it can actually turn the baby to the proper birthing position. Moxibustion involves the burning of an herb, dried mugwort, very near the skin on a specific acupressure point that is located on the outer edge of the pinky toe. By performing moxibustion several times a day, the baby and the body somehow know that there needs to be a repositioning and the baby tends to turn during the night.
When it comes to women’s health, acupuncture is an amazing resource. Contact us to schedule your appointment today.
