Moxabustion

Moxibustion – an acupuncture technique using the herb moxa (Artemisia vulgaris, also known as mugwort).  The moxa has been processed and formed into a cigar-shaped stick which burns very slowly and gives off gentle penetrating warmth.

Most babies settle into a vertical head-down position by the eighth month of pregnancy. This allows them to be born head-first vaginally, which is best for both mother and baby. However, about 4 in 100 babies are still in a bottom-down or breech position when labor begins.

There is one point near the end of the little toe on either foot that has been used empirically for turning breech babies for thousands of years.  Between the 32nd and 40th week of pregnancy we burn moxa sticks near that point on your toes to encourage a breech baby to turn around into the proper pre-birth position.  Each session lasts 15 to 30 minutes.  We also teach you how to apply the moxa yourself and send you home with plenty of sticks.  You then get someone to burn the moxa near the points a couple of times a day between appointments.

Below is an abstract from the Journal of the American Medical Assosication (JAMA) of a randomized controlled study regarding the safety and effectiveness of moxibustion for correction of breech presentation.

Moxibustion for Correction of Breech Presentation

A Randomized Controlled Trial

Francesco Cardini, MD; Huang Weixin, MD

JAMA. 1998;280:1580-1584.

ABSTRACT

Context.— Traditional Chinese medicine uses moxibustion(burning herbs to stimulate acupuncture points) of acupointBL 67 (Zhiyin, located beside the outer corner of the fifthtoenail), to promote version of fetuses in breech presentation.Its effect may be through increasing fetal activity. However,no randomized controlled trial has evaluated the efficacy ofthis therapy.

Objective.— To evaluate the efficacy and safety of moxibustionon acupoint BL 67 to increase fetal activity and correct breechpresentation.

Design.— Randomized, controlled, open clinical trial.

Setting.— Outpatient departments of the Women's Hospitalof Jiangxi Province, Nanchang, and Jiujiang Women's and Children'sHospital in the People's Republic of China.

Patients.— Primigravidas in the 33rd week of gestationwith normal pregnancy and an ultrasound diagnosis of breechpresentation.

Interventions.— The 130 subjects randomized to the interventiongroup received stimulation of acupoint BL 67 by moxa (Japaneseterm for Artemisia vulgaris) rolls for 7 days, with treatmentfor an additional 7 days if the fetus persisted in the breechpresentation. The 130 subjects randomized to the control groupreceived routine care but no interventions for breech presentation.Subjects with persistent breech presentation after 2 weeks oftreatment could undergo external cephalic version anytime between35 weeks' gestation and delivery.

Main Outcome Measures.— Fetal movements counted by themother during 1 hour each day for 1 week; number of cephalicpresentations during the 35th week and at delivery.

Results.— The intervention group experienced a mean of48.45 fetal movements vs 35.35 in the control group (P<.001;95% confidence interval [CI] for difference, 10.56-15.60). Duringthe 35th week of gestation, 98 (75.4%) of 130 fetuses in theintervention group were cephalic vs 62 (47.7%) of 130 fetusesin the control group (P<.001; relative risk [RR], 1.58; 95%CI, 1.29-1.94). Despite the fact that 24 subjects in the controlgroup and 1 subject in the intervention group underwent externalcephalic version, 98 (75.4%) of the 130 fetuses in the interventiongroup were cephalic at birth vs 81 (62.3%) of the 130 fetusesin the control group (P=.02; RR, 1.21; 95% CI, 1.02-1.43).

Conclusion.— Among primigravidas with breech presentationduring the 33rd week of gestation, moxibustion for 1 to 2 weeksincreased fetal activity during the treatment period and cephalicpresentation after the treatment period and at delivery.