A modality of traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture pregnancy can be used to manage and treat fertility issues in some women and couples. There currently aren’t any conclusive studies to support the idea that acupuncture does or does not support fertility, but some patients have experienced positive results as a consequence of having acupuncture for pregnancy. Acupuncture may benefit couples who are trying to conceive for a few different reasons. At Super Health Chatswood Medical Centre we are committed to providing a holistic and supportive healthcare framework for all patients.
Acupuncture And Fertility: What’s The Relationship?
As mentioned, while there isn’t any conclusive evidence to suggest that acupuncture has a direct benefit to fertility, this traditional practice could offer benefits to women who would like to fall pregnant.
These benefits include
- Boosting blood flow to the internal and reproductive organs
- Stabilising and balancing the hormones
- Managing and relieving stress
At Super Health Chatswood Medical Centre we believe that a holistic approach to your health can help you to address fertility problems.
Our acupuncturist will chat to you about your fertility issues and any treatments you may already have tried. She will also discuss lifestyle factors and stressors, to see if there are any deep-seated issues to bring to the fore.
If a mother is very stressed out, she will carry this stress in her body. Regular acupuncture treatments can help patients to manage their stress more effectively. Sometimes the inability to conceive causes stress within itself, and it becomes a self-circulating process that can hinder the mother from conceiving.
Sometimes some advice into weight loss, nutrition or even relationship issues can help a mother to feel better and improve her chances of conceiving.
Acupuncture and IVF
If you are going to be trying an IVF cycle, you may want to try acupuncture to see if it can assist with hormone regulation and stress relief.
Some practitioners recommend having fertility acupuncture just before the embryo transfer – in the hope that it will relax the mother’s uterus enough for implantation to occur.
There has been some promise shown with regard to acupuncture benefitting the side effects of IVF treatment. Women on IVF cycles typically find that the nausea and bloating they experience with the IVF treatment can be managed through acupuncture therapy.
Using Acupuncture Without IVF
Women who are not undergoing IVF may want to try acupuncture pregnancy on its own. Women who want to conceive naturally are advised to try a 12 week cycle of acupuncture. If your life is very stressed, if you are holding onto any issues that could prevent you from conceiving, our experienced acupuncturist will try to release these issues during your acupuncture sessions.
Not all fertility problems rest with one partner and your acupuncturist may recommend that you both try a few acupuncture sessions. Male fertility may also benefit from dietary changes, lifestyle modifications and weight loss.
Acupuncture during pregnancy is usually focused at improving blood flow to and around the reproductive organs. For women this means improving blood flow to the uterus and thickening the uterine lining. In men, researchers suggest there may be some promise in improving the motility and quality of sperm cells.
Safety first
In the same way that studies haven’t proved a straight line between acupuncture and conception, it hasn’t be proved that acupuncture is harmful to fertility either. In the event that you have exhausted all other avenues for IVF and lifestyle changes, acupuncture may open your eyes to changes you may not have been aware of.
It is important that you only seek treatment from a registered acupuncturist and that you feel completely comfortable with your practitioner.
While the latest studies do indicate that the biggest acupuncture benefit to conception may be relaxation, we realise that that has value, too. If relaxation will help our patients in conceiving, we are more than happy to facilitate this.
To chat about acupuncture pregnancy in more detail or to find out more about your personal case, it’s always best to speak to a professional. Please contact us for the closest available appointment: (02) 9159 6903.