Acupuncture in gynecology and obstetrics

My approach to acupuncture and in general to traditional Chinese medicine has always been cautious and initially dictated by skepticism, that often characterizes “western” doctors.

Until a few years ago I did not have a particular inclination for non-conventional medicine, and had I never resorted personally to this kind of care. However, by following some conventions and evaluating unexpected results on some of my patients in Florence who were followed by acupuncturists, I realized that acupuncture had interesting applications in gynecology and obstetrics, especially in the context of fertility and with some dysfunctional diseases: hence my decision to embrace a path of studies in Traditional Chinese Medicine, which resulted in daily practice and in my teaching activities dedicated to doctors and health workers colleagues.

My study career as medical acupuncturist in Florence

The study of acupuncture and Chinese medicine is extremely fascinating and leads us to reflect on how this kind of discipline in ancient times had already reached extremely modern concepts and positions.

An indispensable concept for Oriental medicine, which the Western world has passed into the background, is prevention: just think that the Chinese doctor received a wage exclusively to keep his patient in good health, while in case of illness and need of treatments he would have not received any wage.

Chinese medicine is not only acupuncture, while in my opinion the instances of dietary and exercise are very interesting: they lay down the rules for a healthy life style very different from ours, which is so affected by stress, poor quality diet and misuse of drugs.

To date my position is that of integration between the two medicines (with a focus on medical prevention): it is essential for a doctor to use all available diagnostic tools and to apply the therapeutic tools that best suit the patient’s situation.

Fields of application of acupuncture in gynecology

The integration of Western medicine with acupuncture finds a good field of application in gynecology and obstetrics as proved by important achievements in infertility, menstrual disorders, recurrent fetal loss, menopause and, last but not least in the midwifery practice, in pregnancy.

There is also well-established scientific evidence about it, that is accepted even by Western medicine, in particular acupuncture is employed to improve the results of IVF and ICSI cycles, to improve the spermiogram values ​​and in the treatment of gynecological disorders such as functional dysmenorrhea, menstrual irregularities, etc.

On some of these topics I published a book in collaboration with Franco Cracolici (Infertility in couples and assisted reproduction, acupuncture and Chinese medicine techniques); also as a medical acupuncturist registered in the Italian Federation of Acupuncture Societies (F.I.S.A.) I hold acupuncture and integrated medicine courses at the School of Traditional Acupuncture of Florence.

The important role of acupuncture, even more important than that of Western medicine, in the treatment of low back pain and headache must be taken into consideration. Other fields of interest where acupuncture achieves good results are detoxification from alcohol and smoke, the control of vomiting and nausea during both in case of pregnancy that of chemotherapy, the control of overweight and obesity and many others.

Many patients ask me the duration of the acupuncture treatments and the number of sessions required to complete the therapy with needles: the premise is that the modality always vary from person to person, but I generally believe sufficient 1 session per week for a period of at least 4-5 weeks.