Unfortunately, 25% of women who conceive experience a pregnancy loss. 

This can be a devastating event, particularly if it follows a long period of infertility and the sense of loss can be exacerbated by societal and cultural taboos surrounding miscarriage. 

The most common cause of miscarriage is a genetic abnormality, but other causes include abnormalities of the mother’s uterus or cervix, infections in the mother or baby, hormonal causes and immunological issues. 

For a very small percentage of women, pregnancy loss can become recurrent. This is typically diagnosed after a woman has experienced three consecutive losses. 

I would not claim that I can “prevent” a miscarriage. However, I do see many women following a pregnancy loss and use acupuncture to regulate their cycles and help them cope with the emotional shock. You might find it interesting to read this paper from 2012 on “Acupuncture as a therapeutic treatment option for threatened miscarriage” by Debra Betts, Caroline A Smith and Dahlen G Hannah, which discusses the beneficial role that Complementary and Alternative Medicine may have for women presenting with threatened miscarriage. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3342918/ 

I also have many patients who are trying to conceive following multiple pregnancy losses. In most cases women in this position have undergone a raft of biomedical tests to ascertain a cause for their recurrent pregnancy losses (if not, then I would certainly recommend that they do so). As a result, my treatment may complement any biomedical treatment that the patient is receiving, or, if there is no known cause of the recurrent pregnancy loss, Chinese Medicine may be the only modality that the patient accesses while trying to conceive. 

“I came to see Olivia at a point where I’d had three miscarriages. I had several conditions which made it difficult for me to get pregnant and carry a baby to term, including a uterine anomaly, adenomyosis and low ovarian reserve. 

At our first session, Olivia asked lots of questions about my fertility journey and took a detailed note. She also asked questions about my general health / medical history, diet and lifestyle. She recommended some supplements for me to take and began treating me with acupuncture once a week. 

At the point when I began seeing Olivia I had been suffering with terrible headaches for months. They had got increasingly worse and more frequent, to the point where I had a headache when I woke most mornings. After 2 or 3 sessions with Olivia, the headaches stopped. 

About 2 months after I began receiving treatment from Olivia, I fell pregnant. Of course I was pleased, but I knew the challenge for me wasn’t so much getting pregnant, but staying pregnant. Happily, however, this pregnancy worked out – I carried the baby to term and my daughter is now 6 months old. I have no doubt that the treatment I received from Olivia, both before and during my pregnancy, played a huge part in this. 

As well as providing treatment, Olivia was incredibly supportive and very knowledgeable about my conditions. Olivia has a very caring, calm manner and is extremely professional. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend her to anyone dealing with infertility or recurrent miscarriage.” Mrs P, Surbiton

 

Chinese Medicine can be used to treat a wide variety of conditions and is an appropriate treatment for all ages (I have treated people from the age of 7 to 90) for a variety of conditions.

• Back pain, osteoarthritis and sciatica;
• Management of autoimmune conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis, fibromylagia and polymyalgia rheumatica;
• Migraine and tension headaches;
• Stress;
• Skin conditions, such as eczema and dermatitis, psoriasis, acne and urticaria;
• Gastro-intestinal problems, such as irritable bowel syndrome and chronic constipation
• Emotional issues and anxiety;
• The sequelae of stroke, such as hemiplegia and altered motor and sensory skills; and
• Insomnia.

“After suffering a mild stroke a couple of years ago at the age of 48, Olivia treated me for the after effects of the episode. After only a small number of treatments, the acupuncture completely cured the slight numbness on my left side as well as helping reduce my high blood pressure.”  (Jonathan)

Chinese medicine is an ancient medical system that originated in China thousands of years ago and includes acupuncture and chinese herbal medicine.

The traditional theory

According to Chinese medicine, good health is dependent on the healthy functioning of the body’s organs and the unobstructed movement through the body of qi (energy or life force).

Qi flows through the body along a series of pathways which are often referred to as acupuncture meridians or channels.

In the same way that water in a river can become blocked or the river can dry up, the qi in the meridians of the body can become obstructed or depleted by various factors, including overwork, our emotions, poor nutrition and physical trauma.

The aim of Chinese medicine is to allow the qi to flow smoothly through the body so that health is restored.

Chinese medicine is increasingly being accepted by conventional medicine and there is a growing body of research on its effectiveness, particularly for pain relief.

One theory is that acupuncture needles stimulate pain-sensing nerves, which trigger the brain to release endorphins thereby relieving pain and inducing a feeling of relaxation.

Other research suggests that acupuncture needles cause minor tissue damage, leading to the release of adenosine which acts as a local pain reliever.

Another theory is that acupuncture works through the placebo effect, in which the patient’s thinking and beliefs about treatment lead to the release of endorphins.

Lifestyle and dietary advice are in integral part of the practice of Chinese medicine and often have a great influence on the outcome of treatment. Although ‘lifestyle’ is a relatively modern concept, Chinese medicine has had plenty to say over the centuries on the subject of  “Yangsheng” (nourishing life).

Many of these recommendations are very simple and easy to implement, such as ensuring that you are getting enough sleep, eating regular meals, not eating too late and eating the right foods for your particular constitution, state of health and the time of year. For example, this article from Top Sante magazine, to which I contributed, offers some dietary and lifestyle advice for the autumn season.

In an acupuncture treatment extremely fine, sterilised needles are inserted into specific points on the body.

There are around 500 acupuncture points and some of the points selected during a treatment may not be close to the part of the body where the problem is experienced. For example, although you may suffer from headaches, needles may be inserted in your foot or hand as the meridians that are located around the site of the headache flow from the head to other parts of the body.

I know that some people can be of nervous of needles, but I use a gentle needling technique and high quality, fine needles to ensure your comfort during the treatment.

“Olivia is a first class practitioner – especially in overcoming my initial nervousness and squeamishness about having acupuncture.” (Jon, London)

Contact Olivia Shaw to find out more about acupuncture in Surrey (Surbiton)

Chinese medicine (encompassing acupuncture and herbal medicine) is a sophisticated medical system, which originated in China thousands of years ago and is continuously evolving and developing.

The traditional theory

There are many different schools and discrete theories within Chinese medicine, but, at their core all of these approaches share the single belief that good health is dependent on the healthy functioning of the body’s organs, which in turn is dependent on the unobstructed movement through the body of Qi (energy or life force).

Qi flows through the body along a series of pathways which are often referred to as acupuncture meridians or channels and is derived from a number of sources. There is the Qi we are born with, which is a finite limited resource that determines our underlying constitutional strength and there is also the Qi we inhale from the air when breathing deeply and in a relaxed manner and the Qi we extract from the food and fluids that we consume.

In the same way that water in a river can become blocked or the river can dry up, Qi can become obstructed or depleted by various factors, including overwork, our emotions, poor nutrition and physical trauma.

At a very simple level, the aim of Chinese medicine is to enable Qi to flow smoothly through the body so that health is restored, either by finding and clearing any blockages or boosting the body’s ability to produce and utilise Qi from our environment e.g. from food and breathing, rather than having to constantly dip into our finite constitutional Qi.

Modern perspectives

Chinese medicine is increasingly being accepted by conventional medicine and there is a growing body of research exploring its effectiveness for a variety of conditions. Much of the research initially explored the evidence for acupuncture as a treatment for pain-related conditions and this continues to be an extremely important area of research, particularly as we become more aware of the potential risk of opioid addiction.

While I do try and keep up with the latest research, particularly papers that relate to my particular areas of practice, I am not a scientist. Luckily there are lots of people, particularly those at Evidence Based Acupuncture and the Acupuncture Research Council, who have devoted many hours to analysing the evidence and research relating to acupuncture treatment. If you are interested in finding out more information about research you might find the following websites interesting:

Evidence Based Acupuncture https://www.evidencebasedacupuncture.org

Acupuncture Research Resource Centre https://www.acupunctureresearch.org.uk