Winton Terry
Acupuncture

MORNING SICKNESS

Morning sickness is a condition that is caused primarily by two pathologies in Traditional Chinese Medicine:

  1. Congested uterine blood flow
  2. Weak digestive system

Congested Uterine Blood flow is marked by painful periods that may be clotty.  There can be spotting of dark or brown blood before your period and often the period will continue to spot after day 5 for several days.  Cycles can be regular at 28 days but may also be irregular or consistently late ie. 35 – 40+ days.

Weakness of the Digestive System.  If you are typically a “stomachy” person, prone to loose stools, fatigue, nausea, vomiting and even bloating, the added pressures on your digestive system during pregnancy will often escalate signs of nausea/vomiting, largely due to the extra blood supply demands on your uterus.

Precursor conditions for morning sickness:  
Congested uterine blood flow:  Digestive weakness:
  • Endometriosis
  • PCOS
  • Fibroids
  • Period pain
  • Clotty periods
  • Irregular periods
  • Spotting

Response time: Quick
Signs: Strong abdominal pulse down midline
or just off midline, particularly above (up to
4 inches) and below belly button
  • Chronic diarrhea/loose stools
  • PCOS
  • Fatigue
  • Pale spotting during cycle/before period
  • Oedema (Non DVT related)
  • Low BP
  • Bloating

Response time: Slower
Signs: Pale swollen, maybe wet tongue,
often with teeth marks

Morning sickness commonly responds extremely well to acupuncture treatment with some women going from a state of nausea to hunger within 15 minutes of treatment being initiated.  This does however depend on the configuration of your clinical pattern and the given time example should not be used as a guide.

Typical treatment schedule is for 3+ treatments, with the first two being within 5 days of each other, the third being roughly a week later.

The speed of resolution of this condition is very dependent on the strength of your stomach.  The weaker the stomach, the longer the treatment schedule required.