Fertility
We won’t tell you to RELAX.
One in eight couples have fertility issues (2006-2010 National Survey of Family Growth, CDC) and when you’re the “one”, there’s nothing relaxing about watching everyone around you have babies while you struggle to make your dreams come true. Over the course of six years, Dr. Lauren and her husband navigated several fertility clinics during their six rounds of intra-uterine insemination (IUI) and five rounds of in-vitro fertilization (IVF). Thanks to assisted fertility and acupuncture, Dr. Lauren and her husband now have two beautiful children, but the process was physically and emotionally grueling, and at times, downright devastating.
Acupuncture has been shown to be effective in helping to improve fertility for both men and women. For women, acupuncture can help balance hormones, improve cervical mucus, optimize ovarian function, enhance oocyte maturity, increase blood flow to the uterus and ovaries, and improve the thickness of the uterine wall lining required for successful embryo implantation and development. For men, acupuncture can help enhance sperm motility, improve morphology and increase overall sperm count.
For couples using assisted reproductive technologies (ART) like intra-uterine insemination or in-vitro fertilization, acupuncture helps to improve fertility rates and reduce the rate of miscarriage. More importantly, acupuncture helps reduce the mental stress associated trying to achieve pregnancy regardless of whether you are trying to get pregnant naturally or with IUI, IVF or donor eggs and/or sperm.
If you are planning to get pregnant, and especially if you will be using an ART procedure, acupuncture should be done at least twice per week for a minimum of three months prior. Because acupuncture increases blood flow to the uterus, acupuncture is recommended pre- and post-transfer if you are undergoing in-vitro fertilization. We recommend you have acupuncture weekly until discharged to your obstetrician at which time acupuncture is recommended once every two weeks through birth.
