SubscribeChinese medicine tactic doesn’t turn breech babies
By Amy Norton
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – A traditional Chinese therapy used for turning babies out of the breech position before birth may not be effective, a new study finds.
The study, reported in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, tested a tactic known as moxibustion, which uses heat to stimulate a particular acupuncture point in an effort to turn a breech fetus to the head-down position before birth.
Researchers found that the method appeared no more effective than Mother Nature among the 212 women they studied.
In about 3 percent to 5 percent of pregnancies, the fetus is in the breech position near the time of delivery — meaning the feet or buttocks are closest to the birth canal. Because delivering a baby in this position presents risks, doctors typically perform a cesarean section.
In the weeks before the due date, women can also choose to try an external cephalic version (ECV), where a doctor or midwife uses their hands on the woman’s abdomen to encourage the fetus to turn to the head-down position. The method, performed in the 37th week of pregnancy or later, is successful in 30 percent to 80 percent of cases, depending on the center.
Moxibustion has emerged as an alternative. Long used in Chinese medicine, the method involves burning a stick with the herb mugwort and placing it near the little toe to stimulate a particular acupuncture point there.
Some research has suggested moxibustion might be effective; a trial in China, for example, found that the method increased the chances of the fetus turning to the head-down position.
However, some other studies have been unable to replicate that success, and moxibustion remains “controversial” outside of Chinese medicine, according to the researchers on the new study, led by Marie-Julia Guittier of the Geneva University Hospitals in Switzerland.
For their study, the researchers followed 212 women who had a fetus in the breech position between the 34th and 36th week of pregnancy.
Half of the women were randomly assigned to have moxibustion therapy; a midwife trained in acupuncture performed it three times weekly in the hospital, and the women were encouraged to do it at home on all other days. The rest of the women received no therapy and served as control group.
All study participants, however, had the option of undergoing an ECV at the 37th week of pregnancy.
In the end, Guittier’s team found, 18 percent of fetuses in the moxibustion group had turned to the head-down position by the time of delivery or a scheduled ECV. In the control group, 16 percent of fetuses had spontaneously turned — a difference that was not statistically significant.
“To say the least, moxibustion was not as effective as suggested in (the) earlier trial that was conducted in China,” co-researcher Dr. Michel Boulvain, also with the Geneva University Hospitals, told Reuters Health in an email. The reasons for the differences in the trials, he added, are unclear.
It’s also unclear whether moxibustion has any physiological effects that would help turn a breech fetus.
Boulvain said that some researchers have reported increases in fetal movement during moxibustion sessions, which in theory could be beneficial. But he added that there are no known reasons, based on “traditional physiology,” for why moxibustion would work in this context. Continued…
Heavy Metal-Gina Loree Marks on Shiatsu and Seasonal Energies
Or, “Why does autumn feel so sad?”
Do you get that too? I mean, fall is beautiful here in Pennsylvania. The rolling hills that burst into bright golds and reds, the slanted sunlight coming through the trees, the crisp air tinged with the smell of firesmoke.
It’s gorgeous and yet… I can’t help but feel a little melancholy and suddenly connected to every other autumn past.
Peter Jackson caught that feeling perfectly in “The Return of the King“… that scene where Arwen gazes upon her beloved, but dead husband, Aragorn… the dry leaves swirling around her as she disappears into the forest.
Autumn, in all its glory, and in high celebration of the last harvest, is indeed bittersweet.
Traditionally, all would come together to reap the last of the fruits of the year’s labors. Partying, working, more partying… a celebration of life, but of death as well. Because after all, everyone was aware that the cold harsh killing frost was just around the corner.
What you scooped up from the earth was what you had to live on through the winter.
Those you were celebrating with would eventually part ways, in hopes of coming together again in the spring. You had to say good-bye for while. You had to let go of the hopes for the seeds you planted in spring to take root. You had to trust that what you had in store was enough to sustain you and yours for the winter.
Here’s what’s cool.
In Chinese Medicine, Autumn is associated with the Metal element (hence the title of the post). Metal governs the Lung and Large Intestine meridians. Metal is associated with the emotion of grief. And, psychologically, the Lung meridian is about trust, and the Large Intestine meridian is about letting go.
Autumn with its colder, drier air can be injurious to Lungs, which need to stay warm and moist in order to function optimally.
Even the dry heat that we kick on to stave off the chill makes us more prone to colds and other lung conditions when fall arrives. Grief and melancholy, which as we can see are natural to this time of year, can get stuck in the lung area in the form of coughs if we get stuck in those emotions.
See how it all comes together?
So, how to adapt to the season?
~ Keep the natural climate of the lungs and air passages warm and moist with a neti pot and humidifier.
~ Make sure the upper back and neck stay warm. It’s believed that Wind and Cold enter the body at points located here which bring on colds and flu.You may have noticed how your upper back muscles tense up when you’re coming down with something.
~ Stimulation of the “Bearing Support” points on the back (along the spine just off the upper insdie tips of the shoulder blades) which will stimulate your Wei Chi (immunity).
~ Lung and Large Intestine Makka Ho stretches to open the lungs
~ Incorporate the pungent taste into your diet: garlic, horseradish, wasabi… too stimulate immunity and promote digestion
And emotionally?
As I said this is a time for letting go.
We tend to want to avoid feeling sad and blue, so it’s not always desirable to get into that space, but it’s an optimal time to grieve if you need to, so that you can move on through the rest of the year and clear the way when Spring comes round again.
Take stock of your internal garden. Clear away the brush, compost the plans that didn’t take root so you can start fresh again. Grieve what didn’t get realized. Allow yourself to let it all go and trust that what you have right now is just what you need. Give thanks.
(And a note from my herbal dabblings… ground ivy tea, a “weed” that grows in abundance here in PA, does wonders when taken as a tea for relieving coughs deep in the chest manifesting as unexpressed grief…)
American Chronicle Ear Acupuncture for Weight Loss
Ear Acupuncture for Weight Loss Alien Sheng May 03, 2007 The ear is a focal point for many nodes in the typical acupuncture treatment. Ear acupuncture for weight loss is one version of this and very effective as well. Ear Acupuncture for Weight Loss In the 1950s a Frenchmen named Dr. Nogier was intrigued by an old French folk remedy of cauterizing certain points of the ear to treat back pain. He began to search for and map certain points on the ear. His conclusions were that the ear represented a miniature map of the entire body and there were points there that corresponded to the acupuncture points of the entire body. His conclusions were studied with great interest in China and led to the development of Auricular Acupuncture. The concept was accepted so readily in China by practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine because the whole idea was both very much in line with the underlying principles and was also not new. There are several other such concepts. They are called holographic theories. Holographic theories suggest that the entire body can be represented in miniature within other parts of the body. In Japan, there is scalp acupuncture. In Korea, there is hand acupuncture. The fractal theories that are being developed in the field of self acupuncture are similar in concept as well.
Therefore, the use of ear acupuncture for weight loss is not a complete surprise. It is one of the conditions that seem to respond well to auricular acupuncture. Of course, weight loss would respond well to a complete normal body acupuncture treatment plan that included herbal supplements, diet, and exercise as well. Ear acupuncture is often selected for weight loss, not because it is the only way to do it, but that it is an easier method. It has also been proven to be especially effective, at least in the correction of certain factors that lead to overeating. It is another weapon in the arsenal of the Eastern practitioner to deal with this increasingly common disharmony. There are certainly health risks to obesity, and the psychological implications are important to a sense of well being also.
A proper Traditional Chinese Medicine approach to weight loss would consider the whole person and suggest a treatment that might involve a bit of effort and sacrifice, but would be almost sure to restore a healthy body.
There are no quick fixes in acupuncture, not even in the ear.
Acupuncture face lifts
Acupuncture facelifts are safer, less expensive, and have more natural looking results than most Western options. Celebrity acupuncturist Heather Lounsbury, L.Ac. demonstrates her technique and explains how it works.
Duration : 0:5:38
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