ACUPUNCTURE
CHILDBIRTH
TEAM (ACT)

Brighton & Sussex

Practitioners’ Protocols and Guidelines

Aims of ACT Brighton & Sussex

  • To assist clients in achieving conception, healthy pregnancy, safe labour and best possible recovery after childbirth.
  • To provide a service, which can be offered alongside and in collaboration with the medical maternity provision of the county.
  • To respect and support the wishes of the mother in the context of appropriate and safe practice.
  • To provide the ACT membership with continuing professional development (CPD) opportunities in the safe and effective use of acupuncture for fertility, pregnancy and childbirth
  • To provide the ACT membership with education about allopathic medical interventions and other complementary therapies in the fields of fertility, pregnancy and childbirth.

Membership requirements for ACT Brighton & Sussex

  • Membership of ACT is open to all acupuncturists with at least 2 years post graduate experience who are graduates of an accredited college of Traditional Acupuncture and members of the British Acupuncture Council (BAcC) or the Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine (ATCM). They must hold up to date professional indemnity cover. They must also be available to provide acupuncture treatment for patients in the Sussex area.
  • ACT members must have undergone a minimum of 2 days (14 hours) of postgraduate training in acupuncture for pregnancy, fertility and/or childbirth.
  • ACT members must attend a minimum of 1 of the 2 yearly educational meetings.
  • ACT members must pay the current annual membership fee no later than the 31st of January.
  • ACT members wishing to attend labours, should have attended at least one labour, or have given birth themselves, to be included in a labour rota.
  • Non-attendance to the educational/shared experience meetings and/or non-payment of the membership fees by the set date will result in the member being removed from the ACT membership list and website.
  • Practitioners should have a willingness to work together with midwives, doctors and other practitioners when supporting a woman in pregnancy or labour.
  • It is acceptable for individuals to hold their own views, but if these views cause them to diverge from the aforementioned ideals, then they should clearly state that these views are not representative of ACT as a whole.

Benefits of ACT membership

Each fully paid up member will have a personal page on the ACT Brighton & Sussex website with details of their …

  • name and qualifications
  • practice address(es)
  • days of the week and hours of availability in each practice
  • contact telephone number(s)
  • email address (link)
  • web address (link)
  • availability
    • for home visits
    • to attend labours
    • to attend IVF transfers
  • a short biography
  • a photograph

Each member will also benefit from:

  • option to mention the team membership on their business cards and literature
  • 2 CPD sessions per year
  • ACT website with information on acupuncture for fertility, pregnancy and childbirth
  • the overall publicity, promotion and exposure of the Team
  • a support network of colleagues sharing professional interests

Practitioners’ Guidelines

Choice of treatment

  • The choice of treatment is at the discretion of the practitioner, but should be in line with current professional opinion of good practice (of Traditional Acupuncture in pregnancy and childbirth).
  • For this reason practising ACT members should be prepared to keep up to date with acupuncture treatment approaches in pregnancy and childbirth by participation in the ACT educational programme.
  • All treatments should be thoroughly documented, including the choice of treatments during labour. This is important for maintaining professional standards and accountability.
  • ACT members should be prepared to give feedback to the group at educational meetings about experience in recent labours.
  • Each practitioner is responsible for their own decisions within these guidelines, and as such also individually liable in the event of any litigation arising as a result of treatment.

Pricing

  • It is at the discretion of each ACT member as to the price of their treatment sessions, labour attendance and home visits. Minimum guide prices are outlined on the ACT website.
  • If a patient is referred between ACT practitioners it must be clearly explained to the patient that there may be a variance of fees.
  • As a courtesy to the client, consider when agreeing to a labour rota coverage that you may be willing to commit to the same fee schedule as the booking practitioner.

Research

  • ACT practitioners should be willing to keep records of their treatment outcomes and contribute to audits of the team’s work.
  • It is at the discretion of each practitioner whether they choose to become involved in any research work in the subjects of acupuncture for obstetrics or fertility that ACT may become involved in.