Acupuncture For Fertility
Up to 12% of women aged 16 – 44 years old in the United States have difficulty getting pregnant or carrying a pregnancy to term. It can be a challenge for women around the world dating back to China thousands of years ago. The treatment of infertility with acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine goes back that far. Acupuncture has been time-tested to improve fertility rates and to support a woman’s entire body to maximize the potential for conception, full term and healing after giving birth.
The American Pregnancy Association suggests that the most effective fertility treatments are a combination of Acupuncture, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and western medicine.
Sometimes, conception can happen without using western medical intervention by only using acupuncture and herbs only.
However, with the combination of both worlds: Western and Eastern, bio-science, imaging, blood work together with the ancient practice of acupuncture can produce an even higher chance of conception.
Acupuncture first helps by addressing the common problems of menstrual cycle issues, unexplained fertility, under-functioning thyroid (hypothyroidism) or over-functioning thyroid (Hyperthyroidism), and many more.
How does acupuncture work?
Acupuncture is the insertion of ultra-thin, sterile needles into specific acupuncture points on the body which reside on meridians. These meridians are pathways in both the exterior and interior of the human body. These points, when needled, can regulate in which the body functions. They are energy points in your body that can be used to help heal your body with your own energy.
How acupuncture can help?
- Increase blood flow to the uterus, to improve the chances of ovum implantation on the uterine wall.
- Reduce stress and anxiety. Stress hormones like cortisol secreted during stressful times can decrease fertility. Stress-induced levels of glucocorticoids have been shown to impair oocyte (an early egg cell) competence. Heat stress can also change the follicular fluid composition, altering the environment within an oocyte.
- Regulate hormone and endocrine systems that control ovulation. For women who have a polycystic ovarian syndrome, this helps to normalize their hormonal cycle.
- Positively affect the Hypothalamic – Pituitary – Ovarian (HPA) axis, which plays a key role in fertility.
Benefits of doing IVF with acupuncture
Studies and research published by the British Medical Journal concluded that acupuncture can be offered as a significant, clinically relevant adjunct to IVF. Acupuncture assists in relaxing the uterus and increasing blood flow for the successful implantation of an embryo within the uterine lining.
Our approach to fertility
According to theories of acupuncture, infertility is caused by an imbalance of the body’s energy flow, namely its energy flow, Qi and blood which affect the healthy functioning of one or more of the organs systems.
When the body’s energy and blood flow are circulating freely throughout the body, every cell, tissue and organ is properly nourished and can function well.
By balancing the flow of energy which directly affects women’s hormones, acupuncture combined with herbal medicine can raise fertility potential by improving quality, quantity of oocytes; improve blood flow and increase the chances of conception.
How safe is acupuncture for fertility
Acupuncture combined with herbal medicine can provide a safe, effective, and drug-free approach to treating fertility issues.
We do not just treat the signs and symptoms but activate the body’s natural healing potential by treating the root conditions that have led to the illness or imbalance in the first place.
Acupuncture sessions are completely natural, without the use of drugs.
The combination of acupuncture and custom herbal medicine can be used to strengthen, support, and balance the overall well-being up to conception, and increase the effectiveness of other procedures.
Research and References:
- Yan-Pu, Yu, et al (2008), Immediate effect of acupuncture at SP 6 and GB 39 on Uterine Arterial Blood Flow in Primary Dysmenorrhea
- Mo, X, et al (1993), Clinical Studies on the Mechanism of Acupuncture Stimulation of Ovulation
- Sparrow, K, et al (2014) Does Acupuncture Reduce Stress Over Time? A Clinical Heart Rate Variability Study in Hypertensive Patients
- Paulus, W., et al, (2002), Influence of acupuncture on the pregnancy rate in patients who undergo assisted reproduction therapy