You can’t stop morning sickness or headaches with the flip of a switch. But you might be able to ease them with the beep of a machine.
Biofeedback — while not a treatment for pregnancy symptoms — is an alternative therapy that could potentially help make some uncomfortable symptoms easier to manage.
Here’s how this popular treatment works, why it may be a good choice to consider during pregnancy, and what you can expect to happen during your biofeedback session.
What is biofeedback?
Biofeedback is a technique you can use to control some of your body processes like your heartbeat, blood pressure or skin temperature. The idea is that by learning to recognize your body’s signals, you can work to alter them, which can potentially ease discomfort or relieve stress.[1]
Biofeedback can be performed by psychologists, physical therapists or primary care providers who are certified by the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback (AAPB), and it isn’t a pregnancy-specific therapy. But since it’s non-invasive, it’s considered safe for pregnant women to try. And biofeedback may help soothe some of the symptoms you might be dealing with these days, like headaches, nausea, incontinence, mood swings or anxiety.
Generally, biofeedback training starts with a therapist who acts as a coach. They will place wearable, electrical sensors on your fingers, around your chest or stomach, or on your scalp, among other possible places. You’ll see or hear real-time information about your body on monitoring equipment, like how fast your heart is beating or how quickly you’re breathing.[2]
Based on this feedback, your therapist will help you recognize your body’s signals — and change your body’s reaction accordingly — using various techniques. These include things like deep breathing, muscle relaxation, contraction exercises, mindfulness meditation and positive affirmations.
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For example, if you were trying biofeedback to manage lower back pain, your therapist might apply sensors to your body that provide feedback on factors such as muscle tension, respiration and skin temperature.
As the practitioner monitors the data these sensors provide, they suggest exercises that help you learn how to relax the area, reducing muscle tension and easing your pain. Over time, you learn which techniques work well to alter the condition that you want to treat.
After a few sessions, you should be able to control your body’s responses all by yourself using these techniques, without needing the visual and aural feedback that a biofeedback machine provides.
How does biofeedback for pregnancy work?
It’s no secret that pregnancy can come with a laundry list of not-so-fun symptoms. Biofeedback may be able to help with some of them, such as headaches and urinary incontinence, which is pretty common during pregnancy when there's a baby dancing on your bladder.[3]
Other pregnancy symptoms that may be alleviated by biofeedback include insomnia, morning sickness, depression, anxiety and stress.[4] An added bonus? You might be able to apply some of the biofeedback techniques you learn during pregnancy to cope with pain while you’re in labor, although the research is far from conclusive.[5]
The potential benefits mean that biofeedback can be a good option to explore during pregnancy when certain medications are more likely to be off the table. It’s noninvasive, and it doesn’t usually pose a risk of side effects. (That said, it may not be appropriate for people with certain heart or skin conditions, so still check with your doctor before giving it a try.)
How helpful is biofeedback when you’re pregnant?
It’s hard to say for sure. Biofeedback is not a cure-all and won’t necessarily treat pregnancy symptoms. And no matter how hard you try, you're not going to be able to control certain chronic physiological conditions completely.
But biofeedback can be useful when it comes to alleviating many not-so-serious pregnancy woes. Biofeedback is one of the most popular non-drug treatments for headaches, with the ability to ease headache intensity and frequency by as much as 60 percent. It’s also a good tool to have in your arsenal for nausea and vomiting, research suggests. And in general, this therapy might help you feel more in control of your health and mindful of body changes during a time when so much is out of your control.
How much does biofeedback cost?
A single biofeedback session typically runs between $35 and $85. Biofeedback might be covered by your insurance, but that’s not the case for every plan. So it’s worth checking with your provider or insurance company to find out how much of the bill, if any, they’ll help foot.
Can you do biofeedback at home?
Biofeedback is best done under the guidance of a provider who is certified by the AAPB at first (you can find a practitioner near you on the AAPB’s website). But after you’ve learned the techniques that work for you and how to apply them, you should be able to practice them on your own at home.
Biofeedback isn’t a panacea for pregnancy-related health problems. But it could help you cope with everyday ailments like stress, headaches or nausea. As with all alternative and complementary treatments, just get the green light from your doctor before giving it a try.
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