Did you know there are pressure points on your body that can help relieve your morning sickness? These points lie on energy channels called meridians that, from a Chinese medicine perspective, make up the anatomy of your body. These acupressure points work particularly well when your nausea is mild. They allow you to manage your own symptoms using your own hands or your partners’. If your symptoms are more severe, you will need acupuncture to affect your body more deeply and bring about lasting change. Acupuncture uses fine needles to remove blockages, supplement deficiencies or clear excesses in your meridians to bring about a state of health and well-being. Morning sickness according to Chinese medicine Morning sickness or nausea is seen as Qi (energy) going in the wrong direction. Your stomach energy should go down and out; not up. By using the following acupressure techniques, you can help to restore the correct direction of energy flow. There are a couple of points to try and not all of them will work for you, it’s a matter of trial and error as everyone is different. It’s important to note that acupressure is different to massage because it’s sustained pressure on a certain point to bring about a benefit. Getting ready for self-treatment Before you begin, it helps if you can rate your nausea on a scale of one to ten (ten being the worst and one being the best). This way you will be able to gauge the change when using acupressure. Once you have found the right spot, hold it there for a minute or two before repeating on the other side of your body. Acupressure points are mirrored on both sides of the body always. Take a look at the inside of your left wrist crease. Use your thumb to measure 1-2 thumb widths back towards your elbow crease. This point is called “Pericardium six” because it lies on the Pericardium meridian. It has a connection to the inner lining of your stomach and has the effect of calming your mind. Start pressing deeply between the two tendons you can see there. If you can’t see the tendons, bend your hand towards your elbow crease and claw your fingers, this will bring the tendons up for you to see. You will also notice that the two bones of your arm come together here at your wrist. This is the place you start to press – at the join of the bones in between the tendons. Press deeply – if it hurts in a “good” way, you are on the right spot – if not, move a little more towards your elbow crease and try again. Keep moving around this spot until you find some relief. Gage how you feel now out of ten, if nothing changes on this arm, try your right arm. It may work on one, the other, both or none! If it isn’t working for you try this next point. The next point to try is called “Kidney six” as it lies on the Kidney meridian. It’s also a master point of one of the “eight extra meridians” called “Yin Qiao Mai”. These meridians are said to be the first to come into being in the womb. They hold deep reservoirs of Qi (energy) and are often used to affect powerful changes within the body. They link the twelve main meridians to each other and also serve to defend the body against attack by viruses and bacteria. Find your inner ankle and draw an imaginary line parallel to the sole of your foot that brushes the bottom of your ankle bone. Now draw another line that’s next to your ankle and parallel to your Achilles tendon. At the intersection of both of these you will find the point “Kidney six”. Again, you will need to feel around this area trying for different spots. When you find the right spot, you’ll notice it will feel sore, like “good” pain. Press up towards your ankle in a couple of spots to find the point and hold it there for a minute or two. Make sure you have assessed your nausea level before out of ten so you can gauge whether there has been an effect. If it doesn’t work for you on one side of your body, try the other side. It may even work on both. You could also try the following massage down your conception vessel which runs down the mid-line of your body. Start from beneath your breastbone where your ribs meet and follow that line down to your navel, pressing firmly. This could also help your Stomach Qi to move down instead of up. If this works for you, incorporate it into your daily routine for a few minutes. When you find the spots that work for you, use them daily, morning and night for a couple of minutes each. It’s that easy. If you don’t find these points to be effective, it means you need different ones. There are many that help with nausea. I have chosen a few however as you are unique, you may require a special combination.
If you would like to learn more about acupuncture during pregnancy, contact our office for a consultation.
Credit: Rebecca Mar Young