At a recent annual meeting of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, The Pregnancy Meeting, presenters revealed the findings that show 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.

Even though depression in pregnant women occurs on the same level as it does among women of the same age who aren’t pregnant and women during the postpartum (after birth) period, fewer treatment studies have been conducted on pregnant depressed women.

Anti-depressant during pregnancy affects the mother and the developing baby.

In the study, 150 participants who were diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder were randomly placed in 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 .

The women received 12 sessions during a two month period. Junior acupuncturists masked to treatment assignment needled participants at points prescribed by senior acupuncturists. The mother’s symptoms of depression were rated at the beginning, and after four and eight weeks of treatment.

The women in the acupuncture specific treatment experienced much greater decrease in the severity of their symptoms compared to both control groups or the non-specific acupuncture group alone. They also had a higher response rate thant the combined controls or the control acupuncture alone. The reduction of symptoms and response rates did not differ greatly between the two control groups.

Mild and temporary side effects were reported in 43 of the 150 participants (20 in the depression specific group, 19 in the non-specific group and 4 in the massage group). Notably fewer participants reported side effects in the massage group than in the two acupuncture groups.

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

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Suffering from panic attacks can be a truly terrifying experience. The fact is a panic attack can strike anywhere and anytime. Anxiety attacks can occur in seemingly tame and safe environments which can be the most devastating. In this article I’ll be covering symptoms and effective panic disorder treatment.

Have you ever been so afraid of having an anxiety attack that you trigger an panic attack? Sometimes the fear of having a panic attack is as bad as the panic attack itself. One common scenario is a social event that you’ve been looking forward to going. Only thing is that as the event approaches your anxiety goes through the roof!

Conflicting emotions can be confusing. We’ve been looking forward to a social event with mild trepidation. There will be so many people there that we’d like to see such as family, friends, or a hot date. As the time draws near, we begin to feel the first sensations of a panic attack.

As the day has gotten closer, anxiety has heightened to the point where you feel like you can barely breathe. You’re ready to go to your social event but you can’t feel your hands and you’re sweating excessively. You tell yourself that “it’s all in your head” but your heart won’t stop pounding. Sadly, you give up and never make it to your social event. Panic disorder is REAL!

Panic attack sufferers can relate to the following symptoms all to well. Anxiety attacks can include; feeling faint, nausea, dizziness, blurry vision, pounding heart, sweaty palms, and fatigue. You may also feel paranoid or intense fear for no logical reason.

So is there an effective panic disorder treatment? The answer is a resounding YES! The effective options for panic disorder treatment are; drug therapy, psychotherapy, and self help programs. Each has distinct pros and cons with self help programs being one of the top choices.

Drug therapy can be very effective in alleviating anxiety if you’re lucky enough to stumble upon a drug that works for you. Sadly, many people waste many years and countless dollars trying to find a drug that doesn’t cause severe side effects. Also, drug therapy must be continued indefinitely is expensive.

Psychotherapy can be expensive but can be effective in treating panic disorder if you happen to find a therapist that you can connect with. Finding a therapist that you can trust and relate to can be time consuming and costly. A good psychotherapist can run from $100 to over $300 per hour (session). Group therapy is a more cost effective option if you don’t mind airing your dirty laundry publicly.

Finally, the optimal blend of price and effectiveness are self help treatment programs. The great thing about these programs is you can go through the material at your own pace in the comfort and security of your own home. No anxiety provoking group sessions to attend here. If you’re determined to rid yourself of anxiety and panic attacks forever than self help programs may be perfect for you.

Now that you’re ready to end panic and anxiety attacks forever and find your healthy self then you have to check out this effective panic disorder treatment. Take a look at this interesting article on three simple panic attack cures.