Use of complementary approaches in pregnant women with a history of miscarriage

Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Threatened Miscarriage: Advantages and Risks

“…[229], thus there is a need to find ways to mitigate psychological distress in order to prevent miscarriage. CAM approaches may help women to regulate their emotions during the current pregnancy or after a miscarriage, which can be beneficial for the offspring, and it is reported that approximately 40% of women with a history of miscarriage have used a CAM approach [8]. Psychological interventions or supportive care can help women who have had a miscarriage to overcome their grief and can promote psychosocial well-being, and in a cross-sectional survey distributed to pregnant women residing in the USA, the most frequently reported complementary approaches used by pregnant women with a history of miscarriage were prayer (22.3%), yoga (15%), massage (14.5%), chiropractic treatment (13%), and meditation (11.4%) [8,230].…”

“…It affects up to 20% of confirmed pregnancies, and approximately 50% of cases end in pregnancy loss [1][2][3]. Even if the miscarriage is avoided, women who suffer from threatened miscarriage remain at high risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes such as premature birth, antepartum hemorrhage, low birth weight, and neonatal death, as well as psychological anomalies [4][5][6][7][8], and thus threatened miscarriage is a physically and psychologically traumatic experience for women and their families. Many factors cause threatened miscarriage, including chromosomal defects, immunological dysfunction, maternal thrombophilic disorders, endocrine abnormalities, and uterine structural anomalies.…”

“…e use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) for promoting health and treating ailments is an increasing trend worldwide. Studies have reported that women use CAM more than men, and over 80% of women in the UK, 50% of women in Australia, 90% of women in Canada, nearly 25% of women in Denmark, and nearly 50% of women in the USA are users of CAM [8,[14][15][16][17]. Pregnant women use CAM at similar rates to those of nonpregnant women, and health professionals are increasingly recommending that pregnant women use CAM [18][19][20].…”

“…In line with this, a series of studies have been performed regarding the safety of CAM for pregnant women [17,[21][22][23]. To date, several studies have reported on women who have had successful pregnancies after threatened miscarriage when being treated with CAM, mainly including Chinese herbal medicine (CHM), acupuncture, nutritional supplements, and psychological interventions [8,10,11,24]. is review briefly summarizes the current progress in preventing and treating threatened miscarriage with diverse forms of CAM and discusses the potential risks of such treatments.…”

The Role of Massage in Bereavement: A Scoping Review

“…The most common supportive tool that bereaved individuals seek is psychological support such as counselling, psychology or support groups [7]. There is emerging research on other modalities that provide support such as exercise and complementary medicine [8][9][10][11].…”