A new Stanford University School of Medicine study shows that acupuncture may help lessen depression symptoms during pregnancy.

" We hope the results will raise awareness of the problem of depression during pregnancy and provide patients and physicians an alternative to antidepressants," said Rachel Manber, PhD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and leading study author.

The study authors wrote in a paper that will appear in the March issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology," This standardized acupuncture protocol could be a viable treatment option for depression during pregnancy."

Deirdre Lyell, MD, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology and co-author of the study said," Pregnancy just by its nature can bring out some underlying psychiatric and emotional issues."

Lyell further said," Treatment of depression during pregnancy is critically important so that a woman can maintain her sense of well-being and take good care of herself, her fetus and, someday, her child."

150 women whose pregnancies were between 12 and 30 weeks gestation were recruited by the researchers to reach the conclusion.

One of three treatments: acupuncture specific for depression; control acupuncture, during which needles were inserted in points not known to help alleviate depressive symptoms; or massage was randomly given to all women. All of the women received eight weeks of therapy and were assessed for depression at the four- and eight-week marks by an interviewer who was unaware of the treatment each woman received.

A bigger reduction in depression symptoms was found by the researchers in women who received the depression-specific acupuncture than the women in the other groups. The response rate was 63 percent for the women receiving depression-specific acupuncture, compared with 44 percent for the women in the other two treatment groups combined. The response rate is defined as having a 50 percent or greater reduction in symptoms. (With Input from Agencies)