Eastern Medicine

My last doctor’s appointment took all of 10 minutes and cost the equivalent of $2 USD. The 90-minute roundtrip subway ride was more expensive (and time consuming). Upon arrival the nurses quickly checked my blood pressure, weight, and urine, and then I was ushered into my doctor’s office for a quick meeting. After a quick check for anemia and swelling I was pronounced very healthy. The doctor then briefly checked the baby’s heart rate and position using the ultrasound. She was pronounced healthy and in the correct position for birth- the same spot she has been in for the last 7 or 8 weeks now.

We don’t have another doctor’s appointment until the middle of week 36. Joe is going to join me at that appointment so he can see the baby on the ultrasound since he wasn’t previously allowed in the room when I had ultrasounds. By that point there probably won’t be much to see considering she will probably be pretty cramped, but I guess we won’t have to wait much longer before we get to meet her!

In addition to my doctor’s appointment, I decided to give acupuncture a try this week. I have very few pregnancy discomforts at this point, but in Asia acupuncture is revered as a cure-all for even the most minor ailments. Occasionally I experience heartburn/digestion problems or lower back pain at night, so I figured I might as well try it out and see if I like it, possibly reducing my discomfort. As a side note, I mainly notice heartburn/digestion problems on days when I don’t stretch in the mornings. Apparently research shows that yoga/stretching does improve digestion/heartburn.

The appointment started with suction cup therapy. 8 suction cups were positioned at various points on my back and hooked up to a machine. The machine then causes the cups to rhythmically tighten and release. This practice has been around for thousands of years in various forms and originated in China. It is used to improve circulation, digestion, and aches and pains of various sorts. I was trying to practice my relaxation breathing while all of this was going on, but the baby was moving around so much that I couldn’t focus. Whenever I lay down on my left side she seems to think it is play time, squirming around for 15-20 minutes before she relaxes again.

The cups leave marks for a couple of days- they look much worse than they are.

After the suction cup therapy ended the doctor carefully placed small needles on various different acupuncture points: my ankles, back, knees, ears, head, and wrists. The ones on my back stung briefly when they were inserted, but for the most part this process was painless. Once the needles were placed I felt extremely relaxed. It helped that the baby was now relaxed as well.

I have now had the treatment two times and I have another appointment tomorrow. Next week I will go two more times and then won’t return until 35 weeks. At 35 weeks the acupuncture points change and the focus is on helping prepare my body for birth. Apparently research shows that acupuncture can shorten birth times, improve the body’s ability to relax, and improve the overall health of mother and baby. It can also help turn a baby from breech to head down. If the baby is late, there are acupuncture points that can stimulate contractions and help get things moving.

As far as results, I didn’t notice anything different after my first acupuncture session, but I did experience positive results after the second session. I actually had heartburn when I arrived at the clinic, and I was pleased to find that after the treatment my heartburn was gone and I continued to feel good after consuming one of Joe’s spicy fish tacos.