Pregnancy Acupuncture Tauranga

Pregnancy acupuncture is offered in our Tauranga clinic starting as early as the first trimester and leading up to labour for a range of pregnancy related issues. We offer pre-birth treatments to help prepare your body for labour, helping to promote beneficial hormones and reducing stress leading up to the birth. Acupuncture is safe during all stages of pregnancy and a treatment is considered based on your individual needs and the stage of your pregnancy.

About the Practitioner

Rose Skerten is an Acupuncturist and Chinese Medicine Practitioner who specialises in treating women’s health and pregnancy acupuncture. She completed mentorship training with Dr Debra Betts at Hutt Hospital Maternity Acupuncture Clinic in Wellington during her BSHSci in Acupuncture training. She also ran a voluntary acupuncture clinic at the Tauranga Birthing Centre in 2022-2023.

What we treat

Anxiety, depression, insomnia and sleep changes
Muscular tension: back, hip, pelvic and round ligament pain
Pubic symphysis pain and lightening crotch
Nausea and vomiting
Fatigue and tiredness
Headaches and migraines
Carpal tunnel and swelling
Heart burn and digestive issues
Haemorrhoids and varicose veins
Stress reduction in preparation for birth
Supporting softening and ripening of cervix in preparation for labour
Supporting optimal position of baby in preparation for the birth, including acupuncture and moxabustion (warming therapy) for breech babies.

Preparing for Labour

We offer a series of 3 - 4 weekly sessions leading up to the birth of your baby. This starts from 36 or 37 wks to support preparation for labour and help with: cervical softening and ripening, stress management, fears or worry about approaching birth, positioning of baby, pain relief and any other issues you may be experiencing. A relaxing acupuncture treatment can help to facilitate the body’s natural production of hormones, such as prostaglandin’s and oxytocin, which can help to support your body to initiate labour and physiological birthing process as naturally as possible.

Acupressure Guidance

Acupressure for pregnancy guidance is offered to you and your partner or support person, to help with preparing your body leading up to birth and as a practical resource to help with pain relief and stress in labour. We recommend your support person come into our Tauranga Acupuncture Clinic during 37 or 38 wk to learn acupressure.

Acupuncture and acupressure research

For information including useful resources and research about acupuncture and acupressure during pregnancy you can find this at Dr Debra Betts website, a leading expert on pregnancy acupuncture in NZ.

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Postpartum Acupuncture Tauranga

The postpartum period is a very important time to have support in place to heal after the birth of your baby. There are many physical recovery issues, as well as emotional challenges which can arise when learning to bond with your baby and becoming attuned to their needs. We offer acupuncture as a home visit to allow you and your baby to be in familiar and safe place. Acupuncture treatment can help with following issues during post-birth recovery:

What we treat

Anxiety, depression, mood and thinking changes, insomnia, birth trauma and PTSD
Processing mentally and emotionally the birth experience
Post-natal recovery - mother warming and energy building
Breast pain, mastitis and breast supply issues
C-section scar healing
Incontinence, uterine prolapse, haemorrhoids
Muscular pain

Acupuncture point SP6 — Acupuncture point *Sān Yīn Jiāo* (SP6) helps to calm mind and womb in preparation for labour, and supports the healing of uterus after childbirth

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Importance of postpartum care for mother and child

In Chinese culture and in many indigenous cultures the importance for mothers to be supported by others has been highly honored and this knowledge passed through the generations. The Chinese have the name the “Golden Month” for the first 40 days after childbirth in which recovery of the mother is highly supported, so she can heal and be nurtured, in order to nurture her baby.

“Women are the first environment. We are an embodiment of our Mother Earth. From the bodies of women flows the relationship of the generations both to society and the natural world. With our bodies we nourish, sustain and create connected relationships and interdependence. In this way the Earth is our mother, our ancestors said. In this way, we as women are earth.”

— Katsi Cook (Native American Mohawk Elder, educator and Midwife)

Humanity is also learning more from modern neuroscience about the importance of the first ~ 2 years of life of the infant. A babies sensitive body and nervous system is shaped by their life experiences and their environment they are cocooned in. This includes the formative in utero life and the deeply imprinting birth experience. In particular, in the first few years of life the baby’s social limbic system is being shaped by the experience of bonding and emotional attunement with the primary caregiver(s). Just like in many other mammals, in humans, this is a powerfully formative stage for regulating babies experience of self, others, feeling safe in the world around them, and their ability to form secure relationships of trust.