Qi Spot

Now before we wonder how fetuses in mommies get depression, let me clarify that what is mentioned here is depression of the mother-to-be.

Two New Studies Show Acupuncture Can Relieve Pain and Depression

The first study we have already mentioned (Scientists Find How Acupuncture Deactivates Pain (well, one of the ways) ) so let’s go to the second one:

Meanwhile, a study that was included in the 30th annual meeting of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine in Chicago revealed that depression among pregnant women can be effectively treated with acupuncture.

Depression during pregnancy poses a tough dilemma for would-be mothers because anti-depression drugs can disrupt normal development of the fetus.

Experts at the acupuncture New York center suggest that the risk of miscarriage may increase upon intake of anti-depressants, especially Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs).

Mothers who take anti-depression medication during pregnancy are also prone to give birth prematurely to underweight and sickly infants.

“The results of our study show that the acupuncture protocol we tested could be a viable treatment option for depression during pregnancy,” Dr. Rosa Schyner, one of the authors of the study, said.

Previous studies providing scientific evidence validating the efficacy of acupuncture are plentiful.

Dr. Mike Cummings, Medical Director of the British Medical Acupuncture Society, pointed that decades of brain imaging data have already shown results like those of Dr. Asghar and Schyner’s studies.

He said that activity of primitive brain parts linked with pain and suffering decrease with acupuncture.

Dr. Cummings also said that acupuncture “appears to be particularly effective at treating pain and the suffering related to pain, but it may also have some effects on mood disorders, such as depression, through its general effects on the brain.”

Given that the qi sensations associated with REAL acupuncture are easily explained by stimulation of certain sensory fibers, and that all sensory stimuli pass through the hypothalamus, and that the hypothalamus is a collection of nuclei that affect everything from circadian rhythm to effecting the pituitary, I’m not surprised.

I still wish I could FIND the actual article and not just rely on the press release.  Google time.