Fertility Acupuncture
Research has shown that acupuncture may be holistic and integrative tool to help women conceive. As troubles conceiving seem to continue to become more prevalent, acupuncture is proving to be a powerful and holistic tool in helping couples grow into families. It doesn't hurt that it can also relieve stress and help you relax, which further increase your chances of success and a pleasant process.
Acupuncture works by stimulating nerve endings deep below the surface of the skin. By manipulating the needles, your nerves are activated, helping your body to manage cortisol (stress-hormone) levels and release positive hormones called endorphins. The outcome has a beneficial effect on relieving any stress or anxiety and helps to regulate/optimize your ovulation cycles through timed treatments and herbal supplements (if needed).
What should I expect?
Your initial visit should include an in-depth consultation. Questions may not immediately seem to be related to infertility but are important for the practitioner to determine the ideal therapy for you.
After the consultation, the acupuncturist will use a variety of points in an effort to enhance fertility or blood flow to certain organs. Pressure points on the head promote relaxation, while points around the stomach help open up the supply of fresh blood to the ovaries. Other points around the lower legs are used to promote blood flow to the reproductive organs, which starts at the feet.
Needles are left in for around 25-35 minutes while you relax in a room. Follow-up visits are shorter and usually don’t include a consultation.
Should you try acupuncture during pregnancy too?
Yes. Acupuncture, like massage, can be helpful when you’re pregnant [1]. Acupuncture seems to have the ability to alleviate some of the undesirable symptoms of pregnancy like morning sickness, fatigue, depression, heartburn, constipation, carpal tunnel syndrome, sciatica and more. It can also continue to provide further bloodflow and nourishment to the uterus / embryo / baby, for those who struggled to conceive.
Here are some of the pregnancy symptoms acupuncture can relieve that science has studied:
Morning sickness. Some studies have shown that traditional acupuncture that targets the wrist can reduce nausea and vomiting associated with morning sickness.
Lower back and pelvic pain. Research published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology reports acupuncture could reduce pain in the lower back along with pelvic pain. And a 2015 Cochrane Review for treating low back/pelvic pain in pregnancy found that acupuncture improved pelvic pain more than usual prenatal care.
Depression. Depression during pregnancy is common [2], affecting nearly one in four women — but a targeted type of acupuncture may help. An eight-week 2010 study published in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology followed clinically-depressed pregnant women who weren’t previously taking antidepressants and, as part of the study, now received general acupuncture, acupuncture specific for depression, or massage. The severity of depression symptoms decreased most among women who received depression-specific acupuncture - 63 percent of the women who received this treatment responded positively.
Headaches. Research has shown that acupuncture can reduce pregnancy-induced headaches [3]; women who received it also used less medication.
Sleep Problems. Getting to sleep and staying asleep is trickier than ever during pregnancy — but some research has shown that women who receive acupuncture sleep better during pregnancy, too.[4]