Many women who are pregnant and experiencing headaches, neck and back pain may be looking for relief and a way to avoid using pain medications. Drugs and surgery are absolutely needed at times, but when pregnant, serious consideration is needed for the safety of both mom and baby. For those who are seeking a natural and effective way of treating a spinal condition, chiropractic care may be right for you. As a chiropractor/acupuncturist serving the Oklahoma City area, I have had the honor of treating numerous expecting moms with great results.

Pregnant bodies need a flexible and balanced spine, hips, and pelvis; internal organs need to be free of postural stress, as well as, nerve stress. During pregnancy, may physiological changes occur within the body as it prepares for the growth and delivery of the baby. Such changes with the growth of the abdomen can include pelvic changes, increased curvature of the back, swelling, and inflammation of the joints. With these changes, a misalignment of a joint or the spine can likely occur. Misaligned joints of the body along with the increasing weight of the growing baby can put a tremendous amount of pressure on the spine and organs.

It has been observed that 50-70% of pregnant women suffer from lower back pain. It is also highly common for pregnant moms to experience headaches, neck pain, and shoulder tension. When it comes to chiropractic care for pregnant moms, there are no adverse effects, unlike those which come along with many medications. The benefits of chiropractic care during pregnancy include: a healthier pregnancy and baby, help in the control of nausea symptoms, an easier and safer delivery, and relief of back and neck pain. An adjustment can highly reduce spinal nerve stress, promote healing throughout the body, and increase proper positioning for the delivery. It is also important to remember to continue your chiropractic care regularly after childbirth to ensure good health for yourself as a busy mom and for your growing child.

It is important during pregnancy to seek out options that support your body's natural abilities to function and heal. Chiropractic care will help ensure that all the body's systems are functioning to there best capacity which will promote a easier pregnancy, a safer delivery, and a healthy newborn. Along with a better diet, exercise, and avoiding drugs, alcohol and cigarettes, chiropractic care should be an essential part of a pregnant woman’s healthcare regimen.

*Read this article written by Dr. Seyoung Kim for "BragBook Magazine"  in the Spring/Summer 2011 Issue

Acupuncture is the insertion of ultra-thin, sterile needles into specific acupuncture points on the body which reside on channels or meridians; these are pathways in both the exterior and interior of the body. These points, when needled, can regulate the way in which the body functions. Acupuncture helps by addressing problems that affect fertility such as an under-functioning thyroid (hypothyroidism) or over-functioning thyroid (hyperthyroidism).

Can Acupuncture Be Used To Treat Infertility?
Acupuncture, frequently combined with herbal medicine, has been used for centuries to treat some but not all causes of infertility. For example, acupuncture and herbs will not work to address tubal adhesions which can occur as a result of pelvic inflammatory disease or endometriosis. However, in this situation, an individual could still benefit from acupuncture and herbs because of the potential effect of improved ovarian and follicular function. Additionally, acupuncture can increase blood flow to the endometrium, helping to facilitate a thick, rich lining.

When Should Acupuncture Treatment Begin?
Acupuncture is similar to physical therapy in that it is a process-oriented method of medical intervention. It is better to do more than less. Patients are commonly treated for three to four months before progressing to insemination, in vitro fertilization (IVF), or donor-egg transfer. This pacing of treatment seems to have a therapeutic effect.

In a study by Stener-Victorin et al from the Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology Fertility Centre, Scandinavia and University of Gothenburg, women are encouraged to receive acupuncture treatments pre and post embryo transfer. Clinical observations from the Berkley Center for Reproductive Wellness suggest that the most effective fertility treatments involve a combination of acupuncture, herbal medicine, and traditional medicine. However, conception occasionally occurs when acupuncture and herbal medicines are used without traditional medical interventions.

Infertility And Acupuncture: When Should I Stop?
Typically most miscarriages occur within the first three months of pregnancy. Consequently, treatment of patients may often last through week twelve to help prevent miscarriage.


What Are The Risks Of Using Acupuncture With Infertility?
There are minimal risks in using acupuncture for fertility treatment. The risk of miscarriage may increase if incorrect acupuncture points are used during pregnancy. This is one reason why those choosing to include acupuncture in their treatment regimen should only be treated by an acupuncturist who specializes in treating fertility disorders. Acupuncture is generally safe regardless of a person’s medical history.

Infertility And Acupuncture: Who Make Up Typical Patients?
Acupuncture can be used to treat any type of fertility disorder including spasmed tubes. Spasmed tubes are often de-spasmed with acupuncture, though blocked tubes will not respond to acupuncture. Acupuncture is often combined with herbal remedies to treat elevated follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), repeated pregnancy loss, unexplained (idiopathic) infertility, luteal phase defect, hyperprolactinemia (when not caused by a prolactinoma), polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) with annovulatory cycles, and male factor including men affected with sperm-DNA-fragmentation.

Resources:
-Article written by Dr. Mike Berkley on behalf of the APA. Dr. Berkley is an expert on acupuncture, herbal medicines and traditional medicine as means for treating infertility.
-http://americanpregnancy.org/infertility/acupuncture.htm

Chiropractic care isn't just for adults, children can benefit too! Many people think, "What could a child need an adjustment for?" However, there are many traumas that children go through that can cause spinal misalignment and result in larger problems.

How chiropractic can Benefit Children
The birth process is the first traumatic event children go through. During birth, the neck and spine of a baby can easily become misaligned due to the stretching and compression that takes place. As a child develops, new activities such as supporting the head, crawling, and learning to walk put additional stress on the spine. These misalignments can irritate nerves. Irritated nerves can reduce the function of muscles and major body systems, and cause a wide array of symptoms. 

Conditions Chiropractic Can Help in Infants and Toddlers
In infants, irritated nerves can contribute to the symptoms of colic. In toddlers, irritated nerves and spinal misalignments are often related to ear infections. In older children, irritated nerves can be related to asthma, irritable bowel syndrome, or can complicate sports injuries. Several studies have been conducted on the effectiveness of chiropractic for treating colic, ear infections, and asthma. Studies supporting the use of chiropractic care for the treatment of scoliosis and other common spinal problems is also readily available. 


Resource: http://www.brueggemanchiropractic.com/baby-chiropractor-treatments

More and more women are now waiting until later in life to have children. 
Unfortunately, the longer you wait, the more challenging it becomes to conceive. If you 
have tried every possible modern method to increase your fertility and you have not been 
able to conceive or to carry to term, do not give up. There is another option that you have 
probably never thought of. It is the ancient art of acupuncture. Dr. Seyoung Kim, D.C., a 
licensed chiropractor and acupuncturist in Oklahoma City, says that many couples are 
turning to this age-old Chinese treatment to increase fertility and their chances of 
conception. 

Acupuncture involves the strategic placement of tiny needles into patterns on the 
body. The needles are used to stimulate certain key energy points believed to regulate 
spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical balance. Without the proper balance, channels 
of life energy, called Qi (Chi), can be disrupted and can cause disease and ailments. “But 
the body has the power to heal itself,” Dr. Kim says. Placing acupuncture needles in 
certain areas of Qi normalizes the body and helps your body to promote self-healing. “A 
host of ailments can be fixed and the body is balanced,” he says. 

Stress, along with a host of environmental factors and internal factors, can 
unbalance the body, disrupt ovulation, adversely affect fertility, and decrease your 
chances of becoming pregnant. That’s where acupuncture comes in. Acupuncture helps 
balance the body for conception and encourages fertility by increasing and moving the 
flow of Qi from areas where there may be too much energy, to areas that are deficient. 
This helps to normalize the body, alleviate stressors, increase blood flow, and improve 
circulation to the reproductive organs. Then, the odds of conception are increased and the 
eggs have a better chance of being nourished and carried to full-term. 

During this procedure, approximately ten acupuncture needles are placed in 
strategic areas of the body specifically for stress and fertility points. Dr. Kim says that 
women should receive three of these treatments a week for a month or until conception. 
Acupuncture is also beneficial in conjunction with modern fertility treatments. Studies 
show that acupuncture enhances the success rate of in vitro fertilization. Women 
receiving fertility treatments such as in vitro fertilization are treated with acupuncture for 
several months beforehand, as well as post embryo transfer. 

Whether trying acupuncture in conjunction with other fertility treatments or alone, 
more and more women are looking to the ancient treatment to increase their chances of a 
successful pregnancy. Dr. Kim says that within the last year, four women have received 
acupuncture treatments from him to increase their fertility. Two of the women conceived 
and had successful, healthy pregnancies. One of these four women, Christi Koehn of 
Oklahoma City, gave birth to a baby boy, Jude Campbell Koehn, in May. 

Christi says that she did not have a problem conceiving, but she had difficulty 
carrying to full-term. She had conceived and then miscarried three times in the twelve 
months prior to trying acupuncture treatments. She says that her progesterone levels were 
dropping early in each pregnancy, causing her to miscarry. Two of the three times Christi 
became pregnant, she took oral progesterone beginning at the time of ovulation, but she 
still miscarried. 

Finally, Christi discovered information about how acupuncture could help her and 
she gave Dr. Kim a call. Christi says that she expected the acupuncture treatments to help 
her feel better, and they did. “Acupuncture, for me, helped relieve stress tremendously,” 
she says. “Each visit I would leave feeling so relaxed. That is a wonderful reason in and 
of itself to try it.” Christi says that even the needles that sometimes pinch just a bit are 
ultimately relaxing. Relieving stress is extremely vital to a healthy and successful 
pregnancy. 

Christi says that after a year of miscarriages her body was out of tune. She feels 
that acupuncture restored balance to her body and brought her body’s flow of energy to a 
normal level. “There was a blockage of energy and acupuncture released it,” Christi 
explains. “The energy could get to where it needed to go again.” 

While receiving acupuncture treatments, Christi was also seeing a reproductive 
endocrinologist. “I was put through rigorous testing to determine if there was a reason for 
all the miscarriages only to be told I was perfectly, painfully healthy.” Her reproductive 
endocrinologist was supportive of Christi’s choice to receive acupuncture treatments and 
prescribed a vaginal progesterone suppository, which she used from the date of 
ovulation. “We conceived the first month of trying, which also coincided with my 
acupuncture treatments,” Christi says. She had been receiving acupuncture for about a 
month and a half prior to conception. Following Dr. Kim’s recommendation, she stopped 
receiving the acupuncture treatments after she became pregnant. She continued using the 
progesterone supplement until thirteen weeks gestation. 

Christi fully believes that the acupuncture treatments enabled her body to break 
the cycle of miscarriage. “There is no way to know if it was exclusively the acupuncture 
or the vaginal progesterone suppositories, but considering I had taken oral progesterone 
before to no avail, I feel it was a combination of the two,” she says. 

Once Christi had conceived, she and her husband were understandably 
apprehensive because they had already conceived and miscarried three times in the year 
prior to trying acupuncture. However, Christi says that once they had passed the eight-
week mark, they knew that they were going to be successful. “And now we have a 
beautiful one-month-old son,” she says. 

While she and her husband do not plan on having any more children, if they ever 
changed their minds, she says she would definitely use acupuncture therapy again. “I will 
probably use it again for unrelated reasons, as well.” Christi also recommends 
acupuncture to other women trying to conceive. Christi says, “It's worth it for the stress 
relief alone, and if it can't hurt, then it's worth a try.” 

Brooke Rivera of Oklahoma City also became pregnant while receiving 
acupuncture treatments at Dr. Kim’s clinic. Brooke and her husband Danny had been 
trying to conceive for a year and four months when they learned how acupuncture could 
help them. Brooke’s husband, Danny, had been visiting Dr. Kim for chiropractic care and 
they discussed how acupuncture could increase fertility. Brook had also been doing a lot 
of research at the time and discovered that acupuncture had helped a number of couples 
with infertility problems. 

Brooke says that before she tried acupuncture, she first had a hysterosalpingogram 
(HSG), which tests the integrity of the uterine cavity and the fallopian tubes. That is how 
she and Danny discovered that she had blockage in her fallopian tubes. They then 
decided to have a procedure called laparoscopy done. “From there I was on Clomid for 
four months, taking a higher dose each month in hopes that our dream of becoming 
pregnant would come true,” Brooke says. “When it didn’t, we stopped taking the Clomid 
and planned on starting our first cycle of IVF in January of 2012.” 

Fortunately for Brooke and Danny, they tried acupuncture treatments first and 
were able to cancel that scheduled cycle of in vitro fertilization (IVF). In fact, Brooke did 
not receive any other fertility treatments while she was receiving her acupuncture 
treatments. Then, after approximately three acupuncture treatments, she became pregnant 
with her and her husband’s first child. “Words cannot describe how happy and overjoyed 
we were when we found out we were expecting,” Brooke exclaims. “It was the happiest 
day ever!” 

Brooke and Danny will welcome their baby boy this September. They credit this 
happy news to the acupuncture treatments Brooke received. “We feel that with Dr. Kim’s 
help, the acupuncture played a major role in our successful pregnancy.” Brooke was 
admittedly a little intimidated and skeptical of the treatments at first. “But, with Dr. 
Kim’s experience and professionalism, he made the entire experience with acupuncture 
enjoyable and beneficial,” she says. Now, Brooke recommends acupuncture to other 
women and couples trying to conceive. “I am a firm believer in acupuncture!” When 
Brooke and Danny are ready to have more children, Brooke says that she will definitely 
try acupuncture treatments with Dr. Kim again. 

Before you try acupuncture to enhance your own chances of a successful 
pregnancy, it is a good idea to see your gynecologist or fertility doctor. Your doctor can 
find out if a medical condition or structural defect is preventing you from getting 
pregnant. If you do not have a medical condition, you are an excellent candidate for 
acupuncture to increase fertility. Unfortunately, acupuncture cannot help you become 
pregnant if you have structural problems such as blocked fallopian tubes or a fibroid 
tumor. 

However, there are still benefits to acupuncture and zero risks to your health if 
your acupuncturist has been properly trained. The acupuncture needles used at reputable 
clinics are also completely safe. They are disposable and thrown out after one use. The 
needles may cause slight discomfort the first time you try acupuncture, but Dr. Kim says 
that most women do not even feel them. 

Not only are acupuncture needles virtually painless, acupuncture needles are often 
relied on to relieve and manage pain. That is because acupuncture can help your body 
release its own natural pain relievers. Therefore, acupuncture is often used to relieve 
headaches, back pain, and even labor pain. Women who do not wish to be medicated 
when they give birth can instead receive acupuncture during labor to reduce their pain 
naturally. The Bastyr Center for Natural Health says that in studies comparing 
acupuncture with conventional care, women receiving acupuncture requested 
significantly fewer pain-relieving interventions and felt less pain during labor. 

Whether you desire to manage your pain naturally, melt away stress, restore a 
healthy balance to your body, or increase your fertility, there is a host of helpful 
acupuncture treatments that can improve your health and wellbeing. Whichever reason 
you have to give acupuncture a try, Dr. Kim says that you have nothing to lose. He says 
that acupuncture treatments can only help, not hurt, by relieving stress, restoring proper 
energy flow, and balancing the body for a healthier, happier you. 

Dr. Seyoung Kim is a licensed chiropractor and acupuncturist who has been practicing 
in the Oklahoma City area for eighteen years. He is an undergraduate of the University 
of Oklahoma and a 92' graduate of Parker College of Chiropractic in Dallas, Texas. 

Dr. Seyoung Kim Chiropractic & Acupuncture Clinic 
5583 N.W. Expressway Oklahoma City, OK 73132 
(405) 773-3131 

Article as written by Lauren Downs for BragBook Magazine; Issue 7: Summer/Fall 2012