A new Stanford University study suggested that acupuncture may grant some relief during pregnancy, although it has not been discovered to be an effective treatment against depression in general.

The study included 150 women who were 12 to 30 weeks pregnant with major depression, and randomly assigned 52 to undergo acupuncture specifically developed for depressive symptoms, 49 to regular acupuncture and 49 to Swedish massage, which, like the traditional Chinese medicine, does not specifically target depression.

Each woman received 12 sessions of 25 minutes each; those given acupuncture did not know which type they were getting.

After eight weeks, nearly 66% of the women who faced depression-specific acupuncture revealed a reduction in at least 50 percent of their symptoms, contrasted with just under half of the women treated with either massage or regular acupuncture.

Still, the results were striking, she said, adding, “It’s quite remarkable, especially since the prevalence of depression is highest in the third trimester of pregnancy, so it goes against the course of how you would expect depression to go”.