Blood Support for Fertility, Pregnancy, and Postpartum Using Acupuncture from Ancient Medical Texts' Theory.

Conventional medicine suggests that adequate maternal blood is essential for a woman to become pregnant, maintain a healthy pregnancy to term, and recover postpartum. Adequate blood is recognized for successful embryo attachment and to provide fetal nourishment to support the fetus' continued growth and development. It is common for women desiring pregnancy to take folic acid and sometimes iron to support their blood. Energetic medicine, particularly phytotherapy, offers many therapeutic options to treat the blood, particularly in reproductive medicine. Acupuncture, however, is not as commonly considered on its own for building, preserving, and protecting the Blood, although this modality may be more utilized for treating Blood Stasis and pain conditions such as endometriosis. A synthesis of the ancient medical texts written 4000 bc to 1619 ad-as taught by Tran Viet Dzung, MD, and Nguyen Van Nghi, MD, scholars of the ancient medical texts-offers many clinically relevant acupuncture therapies to consider when treating the Blood to support fertility, pregnancy, and postpartum. This article offers advanced acupuncture techniques clinically used to build, preserve, and protect the Blood-derived from a synthesis of basic Energetic concepts mentioned throughout the ancient medical texts-that can be applied in clinics and research in reproductive medicine today. Acupuncture points with reasons for using them are reviewed with examples in application and treatment to support the infertile, pregnant, and postpartum patient. The acupuncture treatment methods offered in this article have been used throughout the world by medical acupuncturists trained by Drs. Viet Dzung and Van Nghi with positive clinical results. Further clinical observation and research is warranted to evaluate the full potential for acupuncture to build and preserve the Blood, an essential component for creating life in preparing for, preserving, and recovering from pregnancy. Copyright 2019, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.