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2 March 2010

Acupuncture may help to alleviate depression in pregnancy

Acupuncture reduces the symptoms of depression during pregnancy, new research suggests.

Researchers from Stanford University Department of Psychiatry looked at 150 pregnant women who had clinical depression. The women were between 12 and 30 weeks pregnant and were not having any other treatment for depression.

Women were randomly assigned to have either acupuncture that was specifically designed to treat depression, or to one of two control treatment groups - acupuncture that was not specific for depression or massage. Depression-specific acupuncture was tailored to treat each individual woman's symptoms. Those who had acupuncture were not told which of the two types they were having.

The women had treatment twice a week for four weeks and once a week for four weeks after that. Each treatment lasted around 25 minutes.

Women were rated on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (a questionnaire that measures the severity of depression) at the beginning of the study, after four weeks and again at the end of the eight-week study.

If you are depressed and pregnant, by all means have a massage or acupuncture if it makes you feel better. But don't say you're doing it because of this piece of research.

Dr Annabel Bentley, Assistant Medical Director, Bupa.

The researchers report that all three treatments reduced the symptoms of depression. Women having depression-specific acupuncture had a significantly greater reduction in Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression scores than women in the two control groups combined. However, there was not a significant difference between those having depression-specific acupuncture and those having massage.

The researchers concluded that acupuncture could be a useful treatment for pregnant women with depression, as they are often reluctant to take antidepressant medicines because of the risk they may pose to their unborn baby.

Commenting on the research, Dr Annabel Bentley, Assistant Medical Director for Bupa, said:
"Almost one in three of the participants in this tiny study dropped out. This means there is not enough data to be meaningful. If you are depressed and pregnant, by all means have a massage or acupuncture if it makes you feel better. But don't say you're doing it because of this piece of research."

Key facts
  • Depression is a condition in which you may have low mood, a loss of interest in everyday activities, feelings of low self-worth, a lack of energy and poor concentration, all of which last for a long time.
  • Around one in four women and one in 10 men have depression that is serious enough to need treatment at some point in their lives.
  • A number of treatments are available for depression. The two main approaches are talking (psychological) therapies, such as counselling, and treatment with antidepressant medicines. Your treatment will depend on how severe your depression is.
  • Acupuncture is a complementary therapy that typically involves puncturing the skin with needles at defined points to relieve pain and reduce the symptoms of certain conditions.

Related information

Read the study

Manber, Rachel, Schnyer, Rosa, Lyell, Deirdre et al. Acupuncture for Depression During Pregnancy: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Obstet Gynecol 2010; 115 (3):511-20 doi: 10.1097/AOG.0b013e3181cc0816

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