Editing Acupuncture (section)

==== Children and pregnancy ====
Although acupuncture has been practiced for thousands of years in China, its use in [[pediatrics]] in the United States did not become common until the early 2000s. In 2007, the [[National Health Interview Survey]] (NHIS) conducted by the [[National Center for Health Statistics|National Center For Health Statistics]] (NCHS) estimated that approximately 150,000 children had received acupuncture treatment for a variety of conditions.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://nccih.nih.gov/sites/nccam.nih.gov/files/news/nhsr12.pdf |title = Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use Among Adults and Children: United States, 2007 |date = 10 December 2008 |website = National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health |publisher = NCHS |last = Barnes |first = Patricia M. |access-date = 5 February 2016 |archive-date = 16 March 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160316075748/https://nccih.nih.gov/sites/nccam.nih.gov/files/news/nhsr12.pdf |url-status = live }}</ref>

In 2008, a study determined that the use of acupuncture-needle treatment on children was "questionable" due to the possibility of adverse side-effects and the pain manifestation differences in children versus adults. The study also includes warnings against practicing acupuncture on infants, as well as on children who are over-fatigued, very weak, or have over-eaten.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Jindal V, Ge A, Mansky PJ | title = Safety and efficacy of acupuncture in children: a review of the evidence | journal = Journal of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology | volume = 30 | issue = 6 | pages = 431–42 | date = June 2008 | pmid = 18525459 | pmc = 2518962 | doi = 10.1097/MPH.0b013e318165b2cc }}</ref>

When used on children, acupuncture is considered safe when administered by well-trained, licensed practitioners using sterile needles; however, a 2011 review found there was limited research to draw definite conclusions about the overall safety of pediatric acupuncture.<ref name="Adams 2011"/> The same review found 279 adverse events, 25 of them serious.<ref name="Adams 2011"/> The adverse events were mostly mild in nature (e.g., bruising or bleeding).<ref name="Adams 2011"/> The prevalence of mild adverse events ranged from 10.1% to 13.5%, an estimated 168 incidences among 1,422 patients.<ref name="Adams 2011"/> On rare occasions adverse events were serious (e.g. [[cardiac rupture]] or [[hemoptysis]]); many might have been a result of substandard practice.<ref name="Adams 2011">{{cite journal | vauthors = Adams D, Cheng F, Jou H, Aung S, Yasui Y, Vohra S | s2cid = 46502395 | title = The safety of pediatric acupuncture: a systematic review | journal = Pediatrics | volume = 128 | issue = 6 | pages = e1575–87 | date = December 2011 | pmid = 22106073 | doi = 10.1542/peds.2011-1091 }}</ref> The incidence of serious adverse events was 5 per one million, which included children and adults.<ref name="Adams 2011"/>

When used during pregnancy, the majority of adverse events caused by acupuncture were mild and transient, with few serious adverse events.<ref name="Park-2014"/> The most frequent mild adverse event was needling or unspecified pain, followed by bleeding.<ref name="Park-2014"/> Although two deaths (one stillbirth and one neonatal death) were reported, there was a lack of acupuncture-associated maternal mortality.<ref name="Park-2014"/> Limiting the evidence as certain, probable or possible in the causality evaluation, the estimated incidence of adverse events following acupuncture in pregnant women was 131 per 10,000.<ref name="Park-2014">
{{cite journal | vauthors = Park J, Sohn Y, White AR, Lee H | title = The safety of acupuncture during pregnancy: a systematic review | journal = Acupuncture in Medicine | volume = 32 | issue = 3 | pages = 257–66 | date = June 2014 | pmid = 24554789 | pmc = 4112450 | doi = 10.1136/acupmed-2013-010480 | type = Systematic review }}
</ref>

Although acupuncture is not contraindicated in pregnant women, some specific acupuncture points are particularly sensitive to needle insertion; these spots, as well as the [[abdomen|abdominal region]], should be avoided during pregnancy.<ref name="Berman2010"/>