More pregnant and nursing mothers are using herbal remedies than health care providers realize. Lack of familiarity with herbalism in addition to the sparsity of high-quality research for many complementary and alternative medicines are barriers for the western practitioner to engage a patient about herbal therapies. This review provides historical information and available evidence for Traditional Chinese and Western herbal medicines commonly sought by pregnant and nursing mothers. We will review herbs commonly used for: nausea and vomiting, constipation, gestational diabetes, threatened miscarriage, immune system support, parturition preparation, postpartum depression, postpartum bleeding and pain, wound healing, and lactation support.
Acupuncture is the procedure of inserting fine needles into specific points on the body for therapeutic purposes. Acupuncture and its derivatives (acupressure, moxibustion, electroacupuncture, and transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation on acupoints) are a popular treatment choice in the peripartum period (32 wk' gestation to 14 d postdelivery). There is substantial research evidence supporting acupuncture and its derivatives in the peripartum period. Benefits in the use of acupressure to reduce labor pain intensity and a reduction in the duration of labor with acupressure have been found. There is mixed evidence for the use of both moxibustion and moxibustion with acupuncture for noncephalic presentations and for acupressure for reducing intraoperative nausea. There is limited evidence available on acupuncture use in women with high-risk pregnancies or multifetal gestations.
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