Fertility & Pregnancy
Acupuncture can be an excellent tool for improving fertility and assisting in a healthy and happy pregnancy.
Fertility
Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine may improve your chances of getting and staying pregnant. We work with women in all stages of their fertility journey, including women who:
- Plan to conceive in the next 6 months
- Have been trying to conceive for the past 9-12 months unsuccessfully
- Have underlying reproductive health conditions that may complicate fertility, such as endometriosis, PCOS, thyroid imbalance, irregular menstrual cycles, pelvic inflammatory disease
- Are considering or are currently pursuing IUI, IVF, or donor egg cycles
- Have a history of fertility struggles or a history of miscarriage(s)
- Do not have regular periods
- Are anxious about getting pregnant
Acupuncture can improve fertility by:
- Regulating menstrual cycles
- Regulating the endocrine system and balancing reproductive hormone levels in the body
- Increasing blood flow to the reproductive organs to thicken the uterine lining and help with implantation
- Improving egg quality
- Reducing stress and anxiety
- Addressing underlying reproductive health conditions
Pregnancy
Acupuncture is safe when performed by a licensed professional during all stages of pregnancy.
Some common conditions we treat during pregnancy are:
- Nausea and “morning sickness”
- Fatigue
- Bloating, swelling, and water retention
- Varicose veins
- Low back pain, hip pain, pelvic pain
- Calf cramping
- Constipation
- Placenta previa, low-lying placenta
- Not optimal fetal positioning
- Anxiety and prenatal depression
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Delayed labor
- Labor and delivery preparation
Some common conditions we treat in the post-partum period are:
- Low milk supply
- Fatigue
- Pelvic pain
- Low back pain
- Constipation
- Upper back/neck/arm pain from holding and feeding your lovely baby!
- Anxiety and feelings of sadness
- C-section scars
- Night sweats
- Persistent vaginal bleeding
- Irregular periods
What to expect:
When pursuing treatment for fertility, we usually recommend clustering visits closer together initially (once per week), and then lengthening the amount of time between sessions after 1-2 menstrual cycles to about twice per cycle. Sometimes we may recommend treatment around certain days of your cycle, based on what we are trying to rectify with the acupuncture.
For those undergoing IUI and IVF, it is optimal to start treatment 2-3 months prior to starting Fertility Treatment. However, if you are already in the midst of your IUI or IVF cycle, that is ok, we can start acupuncture treatment now, too! We usually see patients weekly leading up to and during their IVF cycles, with additional treatments timed specifically around retrieval and transfer.
When it comes to pregnancy, your treatment plan will depend on what symptoms you are experiencing and the health or risk of the pregnancy. For a healthy, comfortable pregnancy, we usually recommend treatment once per week or every other week during the first trimester. Assuming you are feeling good, we don’t need to see you during the second trimester, although many women choose to come in about once per month for a tune-up and general support. We recommend starting weekly visits again around week 34, to prepare the body for labor and delivery.
If you are seeking treatment for a particular pregnancy-related ailment or symptom, we will discuss your specific treatment plan with you in more detail based on what you are experiencing. Treatment can be tailored to be safe for any stage of pregnancy.
Treatments for fertility and pregnancy may consist of acupuncture, cupping and gua sha manual therapy, moxibustion, as well as nutrition/activity/lifestyle recommendations. For fertility patients, we also often recommend Chinese Herbal Medicine.
We will work with you at your first visit to solidify a treatment plan based on your unique fertility journey and pregnancy experience!