Our approach to fertility addresses the underlying causes of infertility
Female Infertility
That’s a completely different perspective from traditional Western medicine, which treats reproductive issues in isolation. There’s never just one culprit that prevents you from pregnancy.
This system is the guiding principle for our signature program and treatment protocols, and each acupuncturist on our team is certified as a Practically Fertile® Practitioner.
FIRST STEP
As a first step in creating your treatment plan, we’ll discuss a number of factors, including but not limited to your:
– Personal health history from infancy to adulthood
– Past and present family health history to learn if genetics may be playing a role in your condition
– Diet and digestion
– Daily habits
– Social behaviors
– Sleep patterns
– Energy level
– Emotional well-being
Male Infertility
Your treatment plan may include the following:
– Detailed health history intake
– Regular acupuncture treatment
– Chinese herbal medicine prescription
– Diet and lifestyle counseling
IUI/IVF Preparation
When used in conjunction with IUI/IVF procedures, acupuncture reduces the side effects of fertility medications, improves blood flow to the ovaries to enhance follicle growth and egg quality, and improves blood flow to the uterus, which helps to thicken the uterine lining.
Additionally, acupuncture helps to reduce uterine contraction after the insemination procedure and embryo transfer, and reduces the anxiety and stress commonly associated with preparing for assisted reproductive
Our treatment protocols have been perfected over the past ten years. One of them, our research-based Embryo Transfer Day Protocol increases the odds of conception by 40 percent.
The customized treatment protocol for you typically includes the following components:
acupuncture treatment
– Customized treatment based on each of your personal patterns.
– Special protocol for each phase (prep, stim, retrieval, transfer) of the IUI/IVF process
– Use of research-based protocols before and after embryo transfer or insemination procedure.
– Customized treatment post-procedure to increase chances of implantation.
herbal treatment
– Chinese herbal formulas may be prescribed prior to the start of fertility medications.
– Herbal formulas will be stopped once you begin your fertility medications. This is to minimize any interactions between them because there is little research about the effects of using herbal medicine with fertility medications.
diet & lifestyle
– We work with you to ensure that your diet is in alignment with your treatment plan, as diet impacts your fertility and your overall health.
While not necessary, it is best to start a treatment program 2-3 months prior to beginning the ART procedure. If your IUI/IVF procedure is less than a month away, we can still help because even a single treatment can be effective.
If you are undergoing or considering IUI/IVF, or want to learn more about how we can help you, please feel free to contact us.
High FSH /
Low Ovarian Reserve
If you’ve been told that you have high FSH, diminished ovarian reserve, and that conception is not possible with your own eggs, our treatments can help to stimulate the ovaries to lower the FSH level and help to maximize your reserve.
FSH is one of the many hormones needed to produce healthy eggs. The FSH level measures the responsiveness of the ovaries when they are stimulated either by medications or by naturally-produced hormones. The more receptive the ovaries are, the lower the FSH number. A high FSH level often indicates that the ovaries are not responding to the signals coming from the brain.
Elevated FSH is a result of hormone fluctuation caused by the lack of communication between the brain, the pituitary gland, and the ovaries. Many factors interfere with the balance of the HPO (Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Ovarian) Axis, including diet, lifestyle, stress, and age.
Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine can successfully increase blood flow to the entire pelvic region, including the ovaries. Better circulation improves the functions of any organ, and the same is true for the ovaries. Egg quality can improve, even in women with low ovarian reserve, and we frequently see a decrease in FSH levels with consistent treatments.
Environmental factors have been shown to dramatically influence egg quality regardless of age, so diet and lifestyle counseling is part of our treatment protocol in addition to acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine.
It typically takes three months to see results, whether it’s pregnancy or lowered FSH and higher AMH levels. If you have been diagnosed with diminished ovarian reserve, elevated FSH, or if you have had to cancel an IVF cycle due to poor response to stimulation, find out how acupuncture can make a difference for you.
Pregnancy Wellness
strengthen the mother, it also helps to produce a healthier baby.
Our treatments focus on:
MORNING SICKNESS
Acupuncture and Chinese medicine have a long history of treating morning sickness, nausea and other pregnancy-related ailments. A recent research study found that in addition to lessening nausea and dry retching, patients receiving traditional acupuncture reported improvement in five aspects of their general health status: vitality, social function, physical function, mental health, and emotional role function.
MISCARRIAGE PREVENTION
Miscarriage during the first trimester is common: about one in five pregnancies will end in a loss. The causes of miscarriages are not always understood, but chromosome abnormality is a common reason. Acupuncture and Chinese medicine is safe and effective treatments to help strengthen the body and correct the underlying imbalances that could cause a miscarriage.
LABOR INDUCTION
Acupuncture is a great natural alternative to induce labor. Often, when a woman undergoes 1-3 treatments of induction acupuncture therapy, she will go into labor naturally before her scheduled induction date.
