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Did you know that acupuncture may be an effective treatment for
depression in pregnancy as well as postpartum?

Depression in pregnancy might occur in as many as 15% of women. Ongoing research supports the relative safety of some antidepressants but is still inconclusive about how these medications might affect the fetus. Because of this uncertainty, some women prefer to try a non-pharmacologic approach to depression in pregnancy before beginning medication. In a recent study from Dr. Rachel Manber and her colleagues at Stanford University, the efficacy of acupuncture for depression in pregnancy is discussed.
In the study, 61 pregnant women with major depression underwent an 8-week treatment phase consisting of 12 sessions of either depression-specific acupuncture, control acupuncture or massage. Of the 20 were assigned to the depression-specific acupuncture group, 69% had a statistically significant beneficial response to the therapy. A significantly lower rate of postpartum depression was observed in the depression-specific acupuncture group as compared with the two other groups. While this study is limited by its sample size, it strongly suggests that acupuncture may be an effective treatment for women who suffer from depression in pregnancy.