In my acupuncture clinic I have some women who have been pregnant for 30 weeks and they come to get acupuncture and moxibustion for their breech fetuses.
There are three types of patients I have usually see:
1. Liver Qi stagnation: stressful first time young mother, dry throat, bitter taste in the mouth, irritability, sigh a lot, in low spirit without a good desire to eat.
2. Spleen deficiency with damp: overweight pregnant women with weak muscles, shortness of breath, heavy swollen feet and over size of the belly, heartburn, nausea and vomiting
3. Qi and blood deficiency: shallow complexion, fatigue, palpitations, light-headed and vertigo, reduced appetite and slurred speech.
Western medicine lists many causes of breech fetus. In traditional Chinese Medicine Chinese doctors believe that the pregnant women have an increased dependence on blood and yin. As menstration stops during pregnancy the flow of Qi and blood is stagnated and accumulates in the uterus. This creates the extra demand for yin.
Treatments:
1. Daily acupuncture treatment for 7 days
2. Moxibustion once a day for 7 days
3. Walking one house a day
4. Be happy and relax
For further reading on acupuncture and pregnancy see this article here.
About the author: Dr. Shanwen Gao has been treating pregnant women for many years. She has helped with not just pregnancy symptoms but helped couples with fertility treatments. Dr. Gao is located in Centennial (part of Denver) Colorado.