All smiles: Dawn Paddock with Shay, now aged five months
By
Louise Eccles
Last updated at 9:21 AM on 12th October 2010
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1319692/Acupuncture-ended-year-wait-baby.html
After three years of trying to have a baby, Dawn Paddock was desperate.
As a nurse in gynaecology, she had naturally relied on western medicine to help treat a blocked fallopian tube and other problems.
But, with no sign of motherhood looming, she and her husband Chris were about to embark on IVF when a friend came up with another idea - acupuncture.
All smiles: Dawn Paddock with Shay, now aged five months
And Mrs Paddock reckons the following three half-hour sessions of the ancient Chinese practice helped her conceive their long-awaited son, Shay.
The 31-year-old, who described the treatment as 'the best £60 I have ever spent', admitted: 'I was sceptical. As a nurse you rely heavily on western medicine, rather than alternative methods.
'But I thought if nothing else it would help me to relax and destress.'
Mrs Paddock, of Wrexham in North Wales, added: 'My husband and I just stared at Shay for what felt like hours after he was born.
'We couldn't believe he was really there. People are sceptical about treatments they cannot explain, but I think of the months we tried to conceive and nothing else worked.'
She said: 'We would love to have more children and I would try acupuncture again too. But, if I'm not lucky enough to get pregnant again, it won't be the end of the world now we have Shay.'
Mike Cummings, of the British Medical Acupuncture Society, said the needle treatment can stimulate nerves around the ovaries and uterus to increase blood flow.
Several celebrities have credited acupuncture with helping them conceive
including Celine Dion and Helena Bonham Carter.
Proud parents: Dawn Paddock and husband Chris are thrilled with their new arrival