Acupuncture Relieves Depression in Pregnant Women
At a recent annual meeting of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, The Pregnancy Meeting, presenters revealed the findings that show acupuncture may be an effective treatment for depression during pregnancy.
“Depression during pregnancy is an issue of concern because it has negative effects on the mother and the baby as well as the rest of the family,” said Dr. Schnyer, one of the study’s authors.
While the rates of depression in pregnant women are comparable to rates seen among similarly aged non-pregnant women and among women during the postpartum period, there are fewer treatment studies of depression during pregnancy than during the postpartum period.
Anti-depressant treatment during pregnancy can affect the developing baby and mothers as well.
In the study, 150 participants who were diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder were randomly placed in either a group that received acupuncture specific treatment for depression , or one of two active controls: control acupuncture (they didn’t receive acupuncture specific treatment, but another form of acupuncture) or massage .
During 2 months, the women received 12 sessions. Junior acupuncturists unaware of the treatment group assignment needled the participants at point prescribed by senior acupuncturists. The mother’s depression symptoms were evaluated at the beginning, after four and eight weeks of treatment.
The women in the acupuncture specific treatment experienced much greater decrease in the severity of their symptoms compared to both control groups or the non-specific acupuncture group alone. They also had a higher response rate thant the combined controls or the control acupuncture alone. The reduction of symptoms and response rates did not differ greatly between the two control groups.
Forty three of the 150 participants reported mild and brief side effects (20 in the depression specific acupuncture group, 19 in the non-specific acupuncture group and 4 in the massage group). Notably fewer participants reported side effects in the massage group than in the two acupuncture groups.
“The results of our study show that the acupuncture protocol we tested could be a viable treatment option for depression during pregnancy” said Dr. Schnyer.
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