Acupuncture for Nausea & Vomiting During Pregnancy

Posted on June 20, 2016

Most insurances cover acupuncture for nausea and vomiting during pregnancy.

Smith et al in 2002 published two articles from their research on nausea and vomiting in pregnancy. The first looked at the effectiveness of acupuncture for nausea and vomiting. (1) and the second at the safety of acupuncture treatment in early pregnancy (2) The objective was to compare; traditional acupuncture treatment based on pattern differential pattern diagnosis of nausea/vomiting, or acupuncture at one point Neiguan P6 only, sham acupuncture which was acupuncture at an undefined areas close to defined acupuncture points, and a no intervention group. 593 women were randomized into the 4 groups, the women were less than 14 weeks pregnant.

The outcomes were measured in terms of nausea, dry retching, vomiting, and health status. When compared to the women who did not receive any treatment; the traditional acupuncture group reported less nausea through the study and less dry retching from the second week.

The Neiguan P-6 acupuncture group reported less nausea form the second week and less dry retching from the third week. The sham acupuncture group (this is not an inert placebo, it is simply needle insertion close to a defined point) reported less nausea from the third week.   All groups had a decrease in nausea and dry retching, however, the traditional acupuncture group responded within the first week of treatment. The patients receiving traditional acupuncture also reported improvement in five aspects of general health status (vitality, social function, physical function, mental health and emotional role function) compared to improvement in two aspects with Neiguan P-6 and Sham groups.

Treatment was once a week. This is not the recommended dose given by acupuncturists generally and the authors of this research speculated that more frequent treatments may have produced greater benefits. (Twice per week is what I recommend, along with acupressure points stimulated on the ear by the patient on a daily basis, nutritional advice is also given 🙂

In assessing the safety of acupuncture in early pregnancy data was collected on perinatal outcome, congenital abnormalities, pregnancy complications and the newborn. No differences were found between study groups in the incidence of these outcomes.

The conclusion of the study stated Acupuncture is a safe and effective treatment for women who experience nausea and dry retching in early pregnancy.