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Moxibustion, to correct a breech presentation of the fetus
International interest

Moxibustion is an integral part of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and is widely practised in China.

As in China, acupuncture and moxibustion are also common in all the countries of the Indo- Chinese peninsula, in particular in Vietnam, Japan and all across Asia.

Starting in the East, the practise has spread in modern times to Europe and throughout the entire American continent. The method is also known In many Latin American countries even if it is not all that common.

In Europe there has been a constant growth of interest in non-conventional or alternative therapies. The search for a more natural approach to birth without the use of invasive therapies is today part of a new and widespread health culture. In many European countries, in particular in France and Germany, moxibustion and acupuncture in general are treatment practices that have been fully integrated into the respective national health systems.

The World Health Organisation supports the use of moxibustion in cases of breech presentation of the fetus: “various methods of acupuncture, such as pressure at ear points (auricolotherapy) and moxibustion at zhìy_n (BL67) or zúlínqí (GB41), have been used to correct abnormal fetal position during the last three months of pregnancy. The success rates in groups treated with these methods were much higher than the occurrence of spontaneous version or in groups treated with knee-chest position or moxibustion at non-classical points” (Acupuncture: Review and analysis of reports on controlled clinical trials WHO Geneva, 2002).

Furthermore, WHO also lists breech presentation (Malposition of fetus, correction of) as one of the pathologies, symptoms or conditions for which the effectiveness of acupuncture (moxibustion) has been proven by controlled clinical studies.