A growing body of healthcare practitioners believe acupunture should be offered routinely for more conditions including pain in labour and cancer
Every woman needing pain relief while giving birth at University College London hospital (UCLH) is offered acupuncture,with around half of the hospital’s midwives specially trained to give the treatment. UCLH is far from typical in this respect, though: acupuncture is not standard throughout the UK and many health practitioners claim patients are often denied access to it through the NHS because of entrenched scepticism from sections of the medical establishment.
Dr David Carr is one of a number of clinicians who is determined to change that. A clinical lecturer in maternal foetal medicine at St George’s, or University of London,he is also an accredited acupuncturist working at the Royal London hospital for integrated medicine (RLHIM). In 2013 he established a flagship maternity acupuncture service at UCLH NHS trust, which has trained 120 of its midwives.
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Source: theguardian.com