pREGNANCY & POSTNATAL CARE
How to Work with Kerry
Whether you are seeking targeted relief for a specific symptom or looking for ongoing preventative care, acupuncture supports your body to adapt with resilience, balance, and ease.
You are welcome to book a one-off session whenever you need immediate support or follow Kerry’s trimester guide below for structured care throughout your pregnancy.
Collaborative Obstetric Care
Long before establishing her practice here on the Peninsula, Kerry was working at the forefront of obstetric acupuncture in the UK. In 2006, she became a founding member of ACT London (The Acupuncture for Conception to Childbirth Team) a pioneering network established to standardise safe, advanced acupuncture standards and collaborate directly with midwives and obstetricians.
Her clinical focus has always been rooted in integrative medicine, bringing together the time-tested frameworks of traditional practice with a deep respect for modern obstetric care.
Acupuncture & Doula Care
With 20 years of clinical experience and a background as a trained doula, Kerry views your pregnancy through both a clinical and holistic lens, combining a deep understanding of the physiology behind cervical ripening, hormonal balance, and pelvic alignment with a true respect for the raw, real, and emotional journey of the birthing space.
She works collaboratively alongside your midwife, GP, or obstetrician to ensure you feel strong, centred, and completely supported from preconception to motherhood.
Nurturing the Journey: Acupuncture Support Through the Trimesters
Pregnancy is a profound period of physical and emotional transformation. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), these 40 weeks are viewed as a series of energetic shifts. Her role as an acupuncturist is to support you through your pregnancy care, helping your body adapt to these changes with resilience and ease.
The First Trimester: Setting the Foundation
The first 12 weeks are a time of consolidation. While the embryo and placenta are developing, your body is working overtime to build a healthy foundation.
The Treatment Focus: Supporting the Qi (vital energy) and Blood to ensure a grounded start.
The Recommendation: Kerry generally recommends weekly or fortnightly sessions during this window. These treatments focus on calming the nervous system and helping you navigate the significant hormonal shifts that occur in the early days, addressing any symptoms as they arise.
The Second & Third Trimesters: Restoring & Conserving
Once the foundation is set, the middle and later stages of pregnancy are about maintenance and preparation. If you are feeling well and balanced, treatments shift to a monthly tune-up rhythm.
The Treatment Focus: This is the ideal time to replenish any energy used during the first trimester. Kerry focuses on nourishing your reserves and ensuring that your Qi is flowing smoothly as your baby grows.
Building Strength: These sessions are designed to help you conserve your strength for the final weeks of pregnancy and for the birth itself.
Addressing Symptoms: We use this time to manage any recurring symptoms or discomforts, such as lower back strain or pelvic pressure that may arise as your body changes.
The Final Stretch: Birth Preparation (From 36 Weeks)
As you approach your due date, the focus of our treatments shifts toward ripening, opening, and letting go. This is where my background as a Doula truly informs our sessions.
The Treatment Focus: Encouraging a downward movement of energy and gently preparing the mind and body for the transition to labour. If your baby is currently in a breech presentation, we ideally begin targeted, supportive care slightly earlier, around 34–35 weeks).
The Recommendation: We move to weekly sessions from 36 weeks (or earlier if a medical induction is planned).
The ‘Spiralling Inward’: Beyond the physical preparation, these sessions allow space to process any anxiety and connect with your baby, allowing for the mindful focus needed for the birthing space.
The Postnatal Period: Restoration & Rebuilding (The Fourth Trimester)
The journey doesn’t end at birth. Once your baby arrives, the focus shifts from growing a life to nourishing the mother. The postpartum period is a vital time for healing, resting, and replenishing.
The Treatment Focus: Rebuilding your reserves of Qi and Blood after childbirth, supporting physical recovery, and calming the nervous system as you navigate early motherhood.
The Recommendation: A traditional ‘mother-warming’ session with Moxibustion can be applied within the first few weeks, followed by gentle, supportive treatments to restore your vitality and flow into motherhood.
“Even if you are doing well and prefer staying at home in those early weeks, I highly recommend a 6-week postpartum check-in. We can use this time for a supportive birth debrief and a nourishing acupuncture treatment whenever you feel ready to venture out.”
tHE RESEARCH on acupuncture for pregnancy care
Pre-Birth Acupuncture (Labour Preparation)
Research tracking 169 expecting mums showed that weekly acupuncture from 36 weeks resulted in a 35% reduction in medical inductions (43% for first-time mums) and a 31% reduction in epidural requests.
Acupuncture for Threatened Miscarriage
A clinical trial evaluating how early acupuncture care supports emotional well-being, stress reduction, and physical safety for women experiencing threatened miscarriage. (Betts, Smith & Dahlen, 2016)
Acupuncture for Turning Breech Babies
An analysis of clinical protocols utilizing moxibustion (heat therapy) on specific acupuncture points to safely and effectively encourage breech babies to turn head-down. (Smith & Betts, 2014)
Pain Relief in Labour (Acupressure)
Landmark research showing that teaching partners targeted acupressure points for labour significantly reduced epidural rates and emergency caesareans. (The Complementary Therapies for Labour and Birth Study)
First Trimester Support, Nausea, & Hyperemesis
Systematic reviews note that acupuncture is highly effective for managing early pregnancy complaints. Studies on Hyperemesis Gravidarum and morning sickness show that stimulating specific points significantly reduces the severity of nausea and vomiting, offering a safe, non-pharmacological intervention during the first 12 weeks.