Advanced Acupuncture in Pregnancy, Birth and Postpartum Care

Debra gradu­ated from the London College of Acupuncture in 1989. With a practice based in women’s health she commenced acupuncture courses for midwives in 1997. This led to publications on the use of acupuncture and acupressure in obstetric practice including the text book “The Essential Guide to Acupuncture in Pregnancy & Childbirth” in 2006, which has been translated into German and French. Debra completed her PhD on the use of acupuncture in threatened miscarriage in 2014 through the University of Western Sydney and is currently the Director of Postgraduate Programmes for an online Masters course through New Zealand School Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine. She is also a clinical supervisor at a hospital antenatal acupuncture clinic in New Zealand, and lectures internationally on the use of acupuncture in obstet­ric care. She currently resides with her husband and three children in Wellington, New Zealand.

Claudia Citkovitz, PhD, LAc., led the Acupuncture Service at NYU Lutheran from 2004 to 2021, supervising over 270 acupuncturists and students who provided inpatient care in labor and delivery, neurological and orthopedic rehabilitation, and pain management. Her book, ‘Acupressure and Acupuncture during Labor and Delivery’ was an Amazon bestseller suitable for acupuncturists, patients, and other birth professionals. Dr. Citkovitz studied Chinese language in Beijing and acupuncture at the Pacific and Tri-State colleges in New York. An internationally known lecturer on acupuncture practice and research methodology, she lectures regularly for the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine and the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, the University of Westminster in London and the British Acupuncture Council. Her PhD study on acupuncture during acute stroke rehabilitation was the first conducted in the United States, as was her 2006 study of acupuncture during labor and delivery. Dr. Citkovitz is a frequent peer reviewer and Editorial Board member on journals including Acupuncture in Medicine, BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, Explore, and Meridians. She is a board member of the Society for Acupuncture Research and sits on the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.

Dr Kate Levett has been working in health education, acupuncture practice and medical research for over 20 years. She is a specialist in acupuncture, research methods and education. She has qualifications in Education (B.Ed (HME) (Hons I) Univ.Sydney), a Masters degree in research (MPH (epidemiology) (with Merit) Univ. Sydney), an Advanced Diploma in Applied Science (Acupuncture) (AIAS), and bringing these skills together in her PhD from the NICM Research Institute at Western Sydney University. The subject of her PhD was in the development, delivery and evaluation of an antenatal education program, that used non-pharmacological pain relief methods to manage labour, such as acupressure, for the management of labour.

Since 1995, Zena Kocher has been a practicing traditional Asian medicine provider with clinical experience in women’s health. In 2006, she expanded her practice to also serve as an Integrative Medicine (IM) provider for MotherBaby Center at Abbott Northwestern hospital, which is a part of the Allina Healthcare system in Minnesota. As an IM inpatient provider, she uses acupuncture, massage, mind body techniques and aromatherapy to support women during their pregnancies, births and postpartum periods in the hospital. She has had the unique experience of working with high risk pregnancies in the antenatal unit, helping women to stay pregnant and happy longer. In the last few years, Zena has been enjoying training other acupuncturists to work in the MotherBaby Centers at other Allina Health hospitals and has created a MotherBaby collaborative to strengthen and inform our Integrative work. Zena’s introduction to natural medicine came at the heels of her Swiss grandmother, who would forage herbs and use them to treat her family. In 1995, she expanded upon this knowledge by studying directly under Dr. Duc Kieu, a Vietnamese Herbalist and Master Acupuncturist for three years. Then she went to receive her Master’s degree in Oriental Medicine from the Minnesota College of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine at Northwestern Health Sciences University and became NCCAOM certified in Acupuncture and Chinese Herbology. She utilizes various bodywork modalities, Shiatsu, Reiki, guided imagery, NLP, and hypnosis in her work. She enjoys teaching individuals, families, and groups of caring people and hopes to share this work internationally.