A study that included 150 women who were 12-14 weeks pregnant with major depression concluded that acupuncture might provide relief from depression when these women were randomly assigned to undergo the procedure.
According to the National Centre for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, acupuncture is based on ancient Chinese medicine, and attempts to treat conditions by stimulating points on the body, most often with needles stuck in the skin and moved by hand or electrical stimulation.
This Stanford study published in the journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, assigned 52 of these women to undergo acupuncture specifically developed for depressive symptoms, 49 to undergo regular acupuncture and 49 to get a Swedish massage, which, like the traditional Chinese medicine, does not specifically target depression. Each woman received 12 sessions of 25 minutes each; those given acupuncture did not know which type they were getting. The study did not compare any of these treatments with antidepressants or psychotherapy.
The results of the study showed that nearly 66% of the women who faced depression-specific acupuncture revealed a reduction in at least 50 percent of their symptoms, contrasted with just under half of the women treated with either massage or regular acupuncture.
Depression during pregnancy has been linked to low-birth weight and delayed cognitive and emotional development in children. About 14 percent of pregnant women suffer from depression and this condition is less recognised in comparison to post partum depression. It is thought the extra hormones during pregnancy may play a role in causing the condition or women may feel overwhelmed by the major changes they are going through.
Lead author Dr Rachel Manber, professor of psychiatry and behavioural sciences, said: “This standardised acupuncture protocol could be a viable treatment option for depression during pregnancy. Because there is this concern about medication among pregnant women and their physicians, it’s important to find an alternative.”
Written by Snigdha Taduri