Presenters at the recent Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine’s (SMFM) annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting , held in Chicago, IL, unveiled findings that show that acupuncture may be an effective treatment for depression during pregnancy.

“Depression during pregnancy is an issue of concern because it has negative effects on the mother and the baby as well as the rest of the family,” said Dr. Schnyer, one of the study’s authors.

While the pregnant women share similar depression rates, compared to similarly aged non pregnant women and mothers during the postpartum (after birth), her are fewer treatment studies of depression during pregnancy.

Anti-depressant treatment during pregnancy can affect the developing baby and mothers as well.

150 participants with Major Depressive Disorder were randomly placed in a either a group that received acupuncture specific treatment for depression, or one of two active controls: control acupuncture (they didn’t receive acupuncture specific treatment, but another form of acupuncture) or massage.

During 2 months, the women received 12 sessions. Junior acupuncturists unaware of the treatment group assignment needled the participants at point prescribed by senior acupuncturists. The mother’s depression symptoms were evaluated at the beginning, after four and eight weeks of treatment.

The women receiving acupuncture specific treatment for depression experienced a significantly greater decline in the severity of depression compared to both control groups or the non-specific acupuncture group alone. They also had a higher response rate (63%) than the combined controls or control acupuncture alone. The reduction of symptoms and response rates between the control groups did not differ significantly.

Forty three of the 150 participants reported mild and brief side effects (20 in the depression specific acupuncture group, 19 in the non-specific acupuncture group and 4 in the massage group). Notably fewer participants reported side effects in the massage group than in the two acupuncture groups.

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

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