Fertility

After pain, infertility is the second most common condition that a patient seeks out Acupuncture services for. 10% of Americans struggle with infertility. This begs the question what is normal fertility?  Each month that she tries, a healthy, fertile 30-year-old woman has a 20% chance of getting pregnant. That means that for every 100 fertile 30-year-old women trying to get pregnant in 1 cycle, 20 will be successful and the other 80 will have to try again.

Generally, reproductive potential decreases as women get older, and fertility can be expected to end 5 to 10 years before menopause.

Acupuncture and Chinese medicine can help balance a woman’s hormones, regulate her cycle, and bring increased blood flow to the reproductive organs thereby regulating their normal function.

In Chinese medicine it is seen as advantageous to regulate any menstrual abnormalities far before a girl or young women may consider getting pregnant.

What I can share  from my clinical practice is the biggest key to optimizing fertility is regulating menstrual symptoms. Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine has a fantastic track record at treating these. They may including starting a period if it’s ceased, irregular periods, heavy uterine bleeding, clotting, any cramps(caused by endometriosis or otherwise) hormonal headaches/ migraines, premenstrual mood swings, nausea, vomiting, bloating, constipation or diarrhea. As you can see there are many symptoms that we focus on treating in Chinese medicine and many of these are considered “normal” in our culture. 

Any well-trained experienced Acupuncturist is focusing on improving a woman’s overall health and hormone balance in order to improve fertility rates. Traditional Chinese medicine is a functional medicine not a drug. Therefore, research studies that focus on just IVF or another single marker cannot ever capture the full picture or the full benefits. I say ask women. Ask women who have had their extremely painful or disruptive menstrual symptoms drastically improved or completely eliminated by the use of acupuncture and Chinese medicine. And ask those same women who once those issues were resolved were able to move forward with healthy pregnancies.

• Acupuncture may improve sperm quality and counts in infertile men.

• Acupuncture may improve the lining of the endometrium, including increased the blood flow to the uterus.

• Acupuncture may help regulate hormone levels, specifically gonadotropin-releasing hormone, which in turn may improve ovulation rates.

• Acupuncture may help women with PCOS and anovulatory cycles.

• Acupuncture may help those with thyroid problems. (And problems with the thyroid can lead to problems with fertility.)

• Acupuncture may increase the number of follicles produced during an IVF treatment.. 

Feel free to reach out with any questions!

 The Infertility Cure by Dr. Randine Lewis. Required reading for my Infertility Patients and I refer to it often.

Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni-Weschler

Josie Bouchier creator of the Fertile Woman online course, Josie is an acupuncturist and her online program is the one I highly recommend.