Infertility impacts more than 15% of North American couples. Secondary infertility is also increasingly more prevalent, where women who have conceived one or more children suddenly can’t get pregnant again. Recent data also suggests that infertility affects one in 25 American men, with male issues contributing to at least 50% of infertility cases. More specifically, approximately 20% of cases of infertility are due entirely to male factors, with an additional 30% to 40% of cases involving both male and female factors. These are trends that are increasing steadily and affecting more and more couples.
It can be a difficult experience for those couples who find themselves in this predicament, and people often spend thousands of dollars looking for solutions to overcome this problem. Not only does it cost financially, but the emotional burden is even larger. However, every challenge comes with its fair share of solutions – and infertility is no exception. Among many natural therapies that assist numerous couples in their wish to start a family, Traditional Chinese Medicine ranks among the top.
Many research studies have shown that when used either alone or integrated with IVF regimes, Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture is proven to dramatically improve a couples chances of a successful outcome in their attempts to conceive. Because of its proven effectiveness, acupuncture has been embraced throughout the world, and is gaining in popularity in America as a powerful complement to western medicine in fertility treatment.
How does Acupuncture and TCM assist with Fertility treatment?
Traditional Chinese medicine dates back thousands of years. It attempts to treat illness within the context of an individual’s total physical and psychological being and environment, with the remedies balanced to a patient’s entire state of being. Acupuncture is one of the two major strands of Traditional Chinese medicine with the other being herbal medicine. They can be used alone or together.
In treating infertility, acupuncture treatments facilitate and improve blood circulation throughout the body, and help to stimulate and balance the body’s hormones. Research has demonstrated that acupuncture has the ability to regulate blood flow to the ovaries and uterus and lower cortisol levels (one of the stress hormones that inhibit the reproductive system). Stress can effect the regulation of ovulation and menstruation, and consequently it is detrimental to conception. More generally, in women, acupuncture assists in improving fertility by:
- Regulating your menstrual cycle via correcting hormonal imbalances
- Enhancing follicular development in order to improve egg quality & stimulating ovulation
- Thickening the lining of the uterus so that the uterus is more receptive to embryo implantation
- Improving sperm health in males
- Increasing chances of IVF success
Regulating your menstrual cycle
Acupuncture is very useful in improving your body’s overall energy level, so not only will you benefit from having some more ‘pep in your step’, you’ll also benefit from increased energy and vitality of the reproductive organs.
Studies have found that acupuncture performed at certain acupuncture points is able to increase blood supply to the uterus and ovaries. This leads to healthy ovulation and menstruation, and when pregnancy does occur, acupuncture points that increase blood flow to the uterus are used to help prepare your body for an efficient and trouble free birth.
Enhancing follicular development
Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine can improve your body’s ability to generate healthy egg follicles. Although your eggs themselves are present from birth, they ripen and mature in your reproductive years. Traditional Chinese Medicine facilitates increased blood flow to the area thereby encouraging healthy egg and follicle formation. By it’s impact on hormonal regulation, increased blood flow to the area and direct ovarian stimulation it also stimulates regular ovulation to occur, which is the most problematic area in most cases of sub-optimal fertility.
Making your uterus more receptive to embryo implantation
Despite all the remarkable scientific advances made with IVF in the last decade, modern western medicine is still unable to influence implantation of the embryo after fertilisation. The good news for women using acupuncture in combination with IVF is that acupuncture can increase blood flow to the uterus, encourage thickening of the endometrial lining and thereby improve chances of successful implantation of the early embryo. A warm and inviting uterus with a thick and rich lining is the perfect receptacle for implantation, and the primary goal of acupuncture and TCM herbal treatment post ovulation.
Improving your well-being and general health
Acupuncture is very successful in relieving stress, anxiety and fatigue – all of which are common culprits in cases of sub-optimal fertility. Stress, anxiety and fatigue can also be an unfortunate side effect of trying desperately to conceive and handling repeated disappointment which then has a catch 22 compounding effect of being further detrimental to your well-being and fertile health. Acupuncture really does assist with relaxation – your treatment is very important to me and so I take extra measures to make sure when you leave you are feeling at peace with yourself, and at peace and relaxed with the whole process of trying for your baby.
Wellness and fertility are interlinked. Traditional Chinese Medicine treats an individual’s total physical and psychological being and environment, with the remedies balanced to a patient’s entire state of being. In contrast to the dominant western view of fertility, Traditional Chinese Medicine does not attempt to affect a woman’s reproductive system in isolation. The TCM approach to fertility takes as axiomatic that the female reproductive system is integrally connected to all of the other vital systems of the body. According to this view, an imbalance, or a malfunction in some seemingly unrelated area of the body could create serious implications for the reproductive system and the state of the body’s fertility is a reflection of a woman’s overall health.
This is not to say that women who have fertility issues are intrinsically unhealthy. You may have difficulty in the area of fertility, but consider yourself to be a healthy person overall. What this does mean is that fertility problems indicate some underlying disharmony or malfunction in the body. This may be hormonal, it may be physiological, and it could even have its root in the emotions. All of these factors can lead to subtle imbalances, which in turn can affect fertility.T he value of using Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture to enhance fertility is that it has a particular genius for identifying and differentiating the various types of interference that inhibit the ability to become pregnant.
In working with you, I take account of your general health and look for factors which may contribute to infertility. My approach to fertility treatment hinges on the assumption that there are interfering factors obstructing or inhibiting pregnancy and I carry out a full Traditional Chinese Medical assessment and put together a treatment plan to remove this interference.
I will explain my TCM diagnosis and treatment plan to you in full. Many of my patients find this helpful, particularly as there is not a wide understanding of the intricacies and depth of knowledge and treatment available through Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Acupuncture & TCM Increases your chances of IVF Success
There are several studies published in the journal Fertility and Sterility that demonstrate that acupuncture treatments, when combined with IVF, can result in pregnancy rates of between 12 and 50% higher than for those who did not receive acupuncture. The effect is significant enough for the World Health Organisation (WHO) to recognize the effectiveness of acupuncture in treating, among other ailments, menstrual and infertility challenges.
I prefer to start seeing patients regularly for a few months in the lead up to an IVF cycle. This ensures that you are in the best possible physical and mental health going in. This allows time for detoxification if necessary, for lifestyle and dietary changes to be made and for herbal treatment and acupuncture treatments to prepare your body. In the time leading up to your IVF treatments, I will use TCM herbal and acupuncture treatments for enriching the endometrial lining, work on increasing your whole body energy and work on ensuring you are sleeping well and feeling as stress free as possible.
In an ideal scenario you would come for treatment and pre-IVF preparation at least 3 months prior to your planned cycle. In reality anytime you come will still have advantages.
Once your IVF cycle commences, my recommended treatment regime is as follows:
- 1st treatment around day 8 to support follicle growth
- 2nd treatment the day before or the morning of the egg collection
- Optional treatment the day after if you are in discomfort or feeling anxious
- 3rd treatment before the Embryo Transfer
- Optional treatment after the embryo transfer (often before and after treatments are done on the same day)
- 4th treatment 3 days post transfer to assist implantation
- Optional treatment(s) in the following week to help keep energy levels up and stress and anxiety down.
Treatment Plan’s are individually tailored and may differ from the above, with more or less treatment recommended. We will plan out your treatment prior to your IVF Cycle starting so you know what to expect, and I will be available at all times to support you.
Acupuncture & TCM treatments for male infertility
Acupuncture is also able to help men overcome infertility issues. Approximately 1 in 25 North American men are affected by infertility. This figure is slowly increasing and is thought to be a result of changing environmental conditions, and the increasing age of men who are trying with their partners to conceive. Male fertility also decreases with age. A man aged 35 years has only half the chance of conceiving compared to a 25-year-old man. add to this that around 35-40% of fertility and conception problems can be traced to male factors – a percentage which is slowly increasing year by year. The treatment of male factors is often an important component of the overall fertility outcome. If you and your partner are attempting to conceive, it is important to make sure that male factors are fully accounted for.
At the current time there is no treatment in modern western medicine and IVF practice for improving sperm quality, only in selecting the best sperm. Sperm Volume, Motility and Morphology (the number, how they swim and how they look) all have a significant impact on chances of successful conception. These issues can all occur for a wide range of reasons. Western medicine treatments include fertility drugs to boost sperm production (these have a low success rate – less than 20%). To improve sperm quality, changes in lifestyle and diet are usually required along with a course of treatment using acupuncture and herbs. It is common to see dramatic improvements in sperm quality if these changes are made and the treatment plan followed.
Specifically, acupuncture and traditional chinese medicine is able to address these concerns as well as improving sperm count, motility and abnormality, leading to an enhanced quality of sperm. A 2005 Study (Acupuncture Today, October 2005, Volume 06, Issue 10) showed evidence that acupuncture can increase sperm motility levels by up to 50% and also achieved significant improvements in sperm structure and quality. Both acupuncture and herbal treatments may be used.
Many male-factor issues can also see large improvements with simple adjustments to diet. One very recent study shows that 30-80% of male fertility cases can be attributed to poor diet and more specifically to “the damaging effects of oxidative stress on sperm relating to a diet low in natural anti-oxidants”. Oxidative stress can be from normal metabolic activity, inflammation or environmental stress in the form of chemicals and heat. An accumulation of oxidative stress can damage and affect the size, shape and numbers of sperm, reduce sperm motility, interfere with the sperm’s ability to bind and fuse with the egg, and damage the DNA.
A combination of Acupuncture, Herbal Treatments and dietary changes can often result in significant improvements in male fertility issues.
Acupuncture, Traditional Chinese Medicine and a Healthy Pregnancy
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Ovulation Disorders
Thankyou for reading about Fertility, Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine
We hope that you and your family will choose a holistic approach to your healthcare, and work with us to return the whole of your system to optimal functioning as an avenue to improved fertility. Thank you for reading about Fertility, Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine.
About the author
Bernadette is an Ontario Registered Acupuncturist and Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner who has completed a rigorous and lengthy advanced training program. As well as working in her own practice, Bernadette lectures in Chinese Herbal Medicine to students at the Toronto School of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Should you wish to arrange a consultation with Bernadette, please call 416-722-8813 – if she is not available, please leaves a message with your name and phone number and she’ll call you back so soon as she’s free.
