Shiatsudo Blog

Debra Betts is an acupuncturist with a background in nursing. She specialises in pregnancy and women’s health care. Her book The Essential Guide to Acupuncture in Pregnancy and Childbirth is a great book for anyone involved in TCM who wants to gain an understanding of how acupuncture can be used throughout pregnancy, during labour and in postnatal care. Chapters are nicely divided; the first portion of each deals with the western medical information, while the second portion of each chapter deals with the Chinese medicine viewpoint, explaining the various TCM syndromes that might be present, with acupuncture point combinations that help each syndrome.

Most books on pregnancy are organised into chapters based on the trimesters. Betts’ book however is organised by western medical condition which makes it easy to use as a reference work – just look up a symptom and start reading.

My wife suffered from some symphysis pubis pain during the second and third trimester, and Debra Betts’ chapter on musculoskeletal conditions was very helpful in treating the pain. I also found the acupressure in labour chapter absolutely essential, and the point selection that Debra Betts suggests for pain relief during labour really helped my wife.

You can find a sample chapter of the book on Debra’s website. She also has a handout on acupressure in labour which is basically the same information that she presents in the book. This is a great reference to print out and put in your birth bag, or if you (I’m thinking mainly of the husbands/birth partners) just want a few handy techniques to help with pain relief during labour without reading the whole book.