Pregnancy and postpartum care
From trying to conceive through your baby's first year, our acupuncturists, massage therapists, and counselors work alongside your OB, midwife, or fertility clinic. We never take their place.
The same practitioners can see you across the whole journey, so nobody has to start from the beginning each time your body changes. Below is what fits at each stage, who has stated training in it, and where the evidence is strong and where it is thin. We would rather tell you plainly than oversell.
One request first. Tell your practitioner if you are pregnant or might be, even early on, so they can adjust positioning, points, and pressure.
Trying to conceive
Many people come to acupuncture while trying to conceive, or during IVF, for support, rest, and a calmer nervous system. We will not promise it raises your chances. Large trials have not shown more live births with acupuncture during IVF, and Europe's fertility society does not recommend it as an IVF add-on. Rest and stress relief during a demanding process are reasons enough, as long as your fertility clinic knows.
Two of our acupuncturists describe this work in their bios: Al Reed, LAc (fertility and cycle support) and Stephanie Berzon, LAc (reproductive health, hormonal imbalances, fertility).
One line is settled science: if you could become pregnant, U.S. guidelines recommend a daily supplement with 0.4 to 0.8 mg of folic acid, starting at least one month before conception and continuing through the first two to three months of pregnancy.
Pregnancy
Massage during pregnancy is a good way to relax, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says yes to it. You will lie on your side, supported by pillows, rather than face down. In studies of healthy pregnancies, relaxation massage eased stress, back and leg pain, and symptoms of anxiety and depression, with only minor, short-lived side effects such as soreness.
Dawn Larned, LMT lists pregnancy and post-natal massage and teaches prenatal yoga.
Back and pelvic pain are common: more than two-thirds of pregnant people have low back pain. Some studies suggest acupuncture can ease pregnancy-related pelvic pain, and the side effects reported were minor and short-lived. Call your prenatal provider first if back pain is severe, lasts more than two weeks, or comes with fever, burning when you pee, or vaginal bleeding; back pain can be a sign of preterm labor or a urinary tract infection.
For morning sickness, some people find acupressure helpful, though the research is limited and mixed. Severe vomiting (hyperemesis) needs medical care, and the Oregon Health Plan covers acupuncture for it with a referral. Call your provider if you cannot keep liquids down, pass only small amounts of dark urine, feel dizzy when you stand, or have a racing heart.
Mood changes in pregnancy are common and worth saying out loud. Our counselor sees people for anxiety, low mood, and the strain of a big transition, alongside your medical care.
If you have high blood pressure, gestational diabetes, a history of blood clots, bleeding, or another complication, check with your prenatal provider before booking.
Getting ready for birth
If your baby is breech late in pregnancy, moxibustion may help. A warming herb is held near an acupuncture point on the little toe, with or without needles. A 2023 Cochrane review of 13 studies found it probably lowers the chance the baby is still breech at birth. It has not been shown to lower caesarean rates, and your OB or midwife should be involved throughout. They may also talk with you about turning the baby by hand (external cephalic version) after 36 weeks.
Acupuncture and massage are among the non-drug comfort options ACOG lists for labor. In studies, people who had acupuncture were more satisfied with their pain relief and used less pain medicine, though pain intensity itself may not change. We do not claim acupuncture starts labor; the research does not support it.
The fourth trimester
The months after birth ask a lot of a body. Postnatal massage is about comfort and recovery; there is no strong trial base to promise more, and we will not. Dawn Larned, LMT lists post-natal recovery, Arvigo Maya abdominal therapy, and scar work after childbirth. Acupuncture can be a place to rest and recover too.
Counseling helps, and the evidence here is strong. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends counseling for people at higher risk of depression during pregnancy and after birth, and talk therapy, including group therapy, is a standard treatment for postpartum depression. About 1 in 8 people who recently gave birth report symptoms. Baby blues usually ease within a few days to two weeks. If low mood, anxiety, or not feeling like yourself lasts longer, or shows up any time in the first year, call your OB or midwife right away; you do not need to wait for your postpartum checkup.
Most postpartum people are encouraged to work back toward about 150 minutes of moderate activity a week, with their provider's okay. Our physical therapist can help you rebuild strength after birth. Stop and call your provider if you have vaginal bleeding, belly pain, fluid leaking, shortness of breath before exertion, dizziness, headache, chest pain, muscle weakness that affects your balance, or calf pain or swelling.
Always alongside your OB or midwife
Our care works alongside your prenatal, birth, and postpartum care, never in place of it. Please keep your OB, midwife, or fertility clinic in the loop, and tell us if anything about your pregnancy changes.
Call 911 or get medical care right away, during pregnancy and up to a year after, if you have: a headache that will not go away or gets worse; dizziness or fainting; changes in your vision; a fever of 100.4°F or higher; extreme swelling of your hands or face; thoughts of harming yourself or your baby; trouble breathing; chest pain or a fast-beating heart; severe nausea and throwing up; severe belly pain that does not go away; your baby's movement stopping or slowing; vaginal bleeding or fluid leaking during pregnancy; heavy bleeding after pregnancy; severe swelling, redness, or pain in a leg or arm.
If you are in crisis or thinking about harming yourself or your baby, call or text 988, or call 911.
National Maternal Mental Health Hotline: call or text 1-833-852-6262 (1-833-TLC-MAMA). Free, confidential, 24 hours a day, in English and Spanish.
Postpartum Support International HelpLine: 1-800-944-4773 (press 1 for Español, 2 for English), or text "Help" to 800-944-4773. En Español, text 971-203-7773. This is a support line, not a crisis line.
Insurance
The Oregon Health Plan covers acupuncture in pregnancy for three things, each with a referral and diagnosis from your maternity care provider: severe nausea and vomiting (hyperemesis), up to 12 sessions; breech position between 33 and 38 weeks, acupuncture and moxibustion, up to 6 sessions; and back or pelvic pain, up to 12 sessions. Ordinary morning sickness is not on the list.
Commercial plans vary by plan and by practitioner; the insurance chart shows who takes what. Call 503-758-9760 to confirm your coverage before your first visit.
Book online or contact the front desk. Your acupuncturist or therapist will ask about your pregnancy at your first visit.
Photos: Sian Labay, Jeferson Santu and Arteida Mjeshtri (Unsplash); Anne-Cécile Robert, kenan zhang and William Fortunato (Pexels).
Questions
In the trials Cochrane reviewed for pregnancy back and pelvic pain, side effects were minor and short-lived, and ACOG names acupuncture among non-drug labor comfort options that have not been found to harm the mother, the baby, or the progress of labor. Tell your acupuncturist you are pregnant so they can choose points and positioning to match, and keep your OB or midwife informed.
ACOG's answer to "can I get a massage while pregnant" is yes, lying on your side, and it suggests telling your therapist you are pregnant if you are not showing yet. Many providers suggest waiting until the second trimester as a cautious habit, and the research trials only enrolled people at 12 weeks or later, so the first trimester has less direct study. If you have a complication such as high blood pressure or a clotting history, check with your provider first.
We will not promise that. The largest trial, 848 women in Australia and New Zealand, found almost identical live birth rates with acupuncture and with sham treatment (18.3% versus 17.8%), and the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology does not recommend acupuncture as an IVF add-on. People still choose it for rest and stress relief during a demanding process, and that is a fine reason, as long as your fertility clinic knows.
Moxibustion warms an acupuncture point, traditionally on the outer edge of the little toe, with burning mugwort held near the skin. A 2023 Cochrane review of 13 studies found it probably lowers the chance the baby is still breech at birth, though it did not clearly change caesarean rates. The Oregon Health Plan covers it between 33 and 38 weeks with a referral, and your OB or midwife may also discuss turning the baby by hand after 36 weeks. Do it with their knowledge.
The Oregon Health Plan covers acupuncture in pregnancy for hyperemesis (up to 12 sessions), breech position at 33 to 38 weeks (up to 6), and back or pelvic pain (up to 12), each with a referral and diagnosis from your maternity care provider. Commercial plans vary by plan and by practitioner; call 503-758-9760 and we will check yours.
Baby blues usually lift within a few days to two weeks. Postpartum depression lasts longer, can start any time in the first year, and is treatable with talk therapy, including group therapy, and sometimes medication; about 1 in 8 people with a recent birth report symptoms. Call your OB or midwife right away rather than waiting for your checkup. For round-the-clock support, call or text the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline at 1-833-852-6262; in a crisis, call or text 988 or call 911.
