A new American study has shown acupuncture to be effective for depression in pregnancy. A total of 150 pregnant women who had already been diagnosed with major depression, were randomly allocated to one of three groups: acupuncture treatment specifically for depression, control acupuncture, or massage, all delivered over eight weeks.
Women who received specific acupuncture, experienced a more rapid decrease in symptom severity compared to those in the control groups. They also showed a significantly greater overall response rate (63%) compared to control acupuncture alone (37%). The authors conclude that the results achieved with acupuncture, are similar to those achieved with standard depression treatments of similar duration.
(Acupuncture for Depression during Pregnancy: A Randomised Controlled Trial. Obstet & Gynaecol. March 2010.)