During Pregnancy: Supporting a Healthy Journey with Acupuncture and Physiotherapy
North Shore Health – Comprehensive Care for Every Trimester
Updated June 2025 | 3 min read
Pregnancy Through the Lens of Chinese Medicine
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), pregnancy is seen as a profound physiological transformation that draws deeply from the body’s foundational reserves. These reserves—known as qi (energy) and blood—must be strong and well-nourished to support the development of a new life. Both pregnancy and breastfeeding are energetically demanding processes. As a result, TCM emphasizes the importance of rest, balanced nutrition, and therapies that reinforce the body's natural capacity to produce and circulate qi and blood.
Our approach at North Shore Health is to use acupuncture and physiotherapy to strengthen these systems, ease common symptoms, and help the body adapt to the unique demands of each stage of pregnancy. Whether you conceived naturally or through IVF, maintaining internal balance is key to a healthy pregnancy.
We frequently support patients experiencing challenges such as nausea, fatigue, headaches, insomnia, sinusitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, back or rib pain, pelvic discomfort, constipation, and baby positioning concerns. Our treatment also includes birth preparation, labour encouragement, and postnatal recovery care.
The First 12 Weeks: Supporting Early Pregnancy Physiology
The first trimester is a time of rapid and significant change. Hormonal shifts, immune adaptation, and increased circulatory demands place a considerable strain on the body’s internal reserves. In TCM, this is understood as a time when the body must mobilize large amounts of qi and blood to create a nourishing environment for the embryo.
Acupuncture during early pregnancy aims to stabilize and strengthen these reserves while calming the nervous system. Treatments are designed to support healthy implantation and early placental development, rebalance disrupted energy, and manage common early symptoms like fatigue, nausea, vomiting, and tension headaches. For patients who have undergone IVF, this is also a time when emotional reassurance is important, as early pregnancy after assisted conception can carry additional anxiety.
Recent studies have shown that acupuncture can regulate key hormones such as progesterone and beta-hCG during early pregnancy. A 2021 review in Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice reported that acupuncture significantly reduced first-trimester nausea and vomiting, with patients experiencing improved appetite, reduced fatigue, and fewer side effects from prenatal supplements.
In IVF pregnancies, acupuncture has also been shown to reduce uterine artery resistance, improve blood flow to the endometrium, and modulate immune activity, supporting early gestational development.
Weeks 12–34: Maintaining Balance and Treating Emerging Symptoms
As pregnancy progresses into the second trimester, the physiological focus shifts from implantation to fetal growth, cardiovascular changes, and structural adaptation. From a TCM perspective, this is when the body continues to draw on its qi and blood to sustain both maternal and fetal wellbeing. Monthly acupuncture sessions during this period help to maintain balance in these systems and offer symptom relief as new issues emerge.
Patients often present with musculoskeletal discomfort, back or pelvic pain, digestive changes, poor sleep, sinus congestion, and headaches. Acupuncture addresses these concerns by regulating nervous system function, improving microcirculation, and reducing inflammation. Acupuncture points are selected to tonify blood, support liver and kidney function, and harmonize the digestive system.
In cases where IVF medications or hormonal changes have created blood sugar fluctuations or digestive sluggishness, treatments are tailored to correct metabolic and gastrointestinal imbalances. Electroacupuncture may also be introduced to enhance circulation to the pelvic region, particularly in women with a history of uterine fibroids, prior caesareans, or IVF-related uterine factors.
Weeks 34–40: Preparing for Birth with Strength and Strategy
In the final weeks of pregnancy, both Chinese Medicine and Western obstetrics recognize the importance of preparing the body for labour. Acupuncture during this time is focused on encouraging the smooth descent of energy, softening the cervix, and improving pelvic blood flow. This is also when the positioning of the baby becomes critically important.
If your baby is in a breech position, we typically begin treatment at 34 weeks. Moxibustion—a form of heat therapy using mugwort—combined with acupuncture, has shown promising results in promoting fetal rotation. A 2022 meta-analysis in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology found that moxibustion significantly increased the rate of spontaneous cephalic version when used between weeks 33 and 36.
Regardless of fetal position, many women benefit from pre-birth acupuncture starting at 35 weeks. These treatments aim to tonify qi, relax pelvic musculature, and reduce anxiety surrounding labour. Research led by midwife and acupuncturist Debra Betts, along with clinical trials in Germany and New Zealand, suggests that pre-birth acupuncture may shorten labour duration and decrease medical intervention rates, including induction and caesarean sections.
We also use this time to teach acupressure techniques that can be applied by your birth partner to support natural pain relief, labour progression, and emotional focus during childbirth. These points are based on clinical research and have been successfully used in birthing settings around the world.
Weeks 40–42: Encouraging Labour and Supporting the Body’s Readiness
If you have reached full term or are approaching a planned induction, birth encouragement acupuncture can support the physiological process of labour onset. These treatments aim to stimulate uterine activity, soften the cervix, and calm the mind—all while respecting the natural rhythms of the body.
Acupuncture points are selected to increase nerve and blood supply to the uterus, improve cervical readiness, and release oxytocin naturally. For women who feel overwhelmed by the pressure of looming induction or who want to avoid unnecessary intervention, this stage offers an opportunity to align the body with the natural onset of labour. Research has shown that acupuncture at this stage can increase cervical Bishop scores, reduce the need for medical induction, and improve maternal satisfaction with the birth experience.
We also continue to support patients emotionally at this stage, addressing anxiety, fatigue, and tension with treatments that promote parasympathetic nervous system activity and create a sense of calm anticipation. Acupressure training for partners is reinforced at this time, with a focus on labour support and pain relief techniques.
How Physiotherapy Complements Acupuncture in Pregnancy
While acupuncture addresses internal physiology and energy balance, physiotherapy offers mechanical support during the significant structural changes of pregnancy. At North Shore Health, our women’s health physiotherapists specialize in pelvic floor therapy, postural alignment, and the treatment of pregnancy-related musculoskeletal issues.
Pelvic physiotherapy can help relieve pubic symphysis dysfunction, sacroiliac pain, sciatica, and rib or lumbar tension. Manual therapy and functional movement strategies restore pelvic mobility and support spinal alignment. This is particularly important in the third trimester, when fetal positioning and pelvic outlet dynamics influence labour outcomes.
Physiotherapy also plays a preventative role in reducing diastasis recti, incontinence, and postnatal pelvic floor dysfunction. Our integrated care model ensures that acupuncture and physiotherapy work in synergy to enhance circulation, relieve pain, and optimize maternal comfort.
Individualized, Evidence-Based Pregnancy Care at North Shore Health
Our clinic is grounded in the belief that every pregnancy is unique. Whether you’re navigating early symptoms, preparing for birth, recovering from IVF, or managing high-risk concerns, our personalized treatment plans evolve with your needs. We draw on the latest clinical research and decades of hands-on experience to deliver safe, effective, and integrative care.
From conception to the fourth trimester, we are here to support you physically, emotionally, and energetically. We invite you to explore our educational resources, learn more about acupressure for labour, and speak to our experienced practitioners about how acupuncture and physiotherapy can be tailored to your pregnancy journey.
📍 Serving North Shore, Sydney
📞 Call us at (09) 8065 2034
🌐 www.northshorehealthclinic.com.au
North Shore Health – Nurturing Mothers, Supporting Birth, and Restoring Balance.
Experience pregnancy care grounded in tradition, supported by science, and delivered with care.