Acupuncture for Infertility
Acupuncture and Chinese medicine have been used for literally thousands of years to improve hormonal balance and promote natural fertility. In the last two decades scientific research has revealed the mechanisms by which this ancient form of medicine can be so helpful in the modern epidemic of infertility.
Have you and your partner decided to move forward with an In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF), Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET) or Intra Uterine Insemination (IUI) cycle, and want to do everything that you can to ensure success?
Acupuncture has been shown to improve outcomes, as well as to help you deal with stress and the side effects from the medications.
About Acupuncture and IVF Treatments
Acupuncture as a complementary approach is widely used in IVF procedures around the world, and, thanks to Dr. Ping, right here in Richardson, TX. It can help you prepare your body physically and mentally during and after the IVF procedure, and mitigate some of the difficult side effects caused by some of the medications as well as improve response to hormonal stimulation.
The initial phase of treatment involves regulating the menstrual cycle by clearing the congestion in the pelvic cavity, and nourishing the deeper vitality. The effects of acupuncture will be the normalization of your hormone levels, or the shrinking of your endometriosis, or the enlivening of your ovaries. Within this phase most women will become fertile and open for conception. It has been shown that the IVF success rate is greatly improved if acupuncture treatment is applied 3 to 6 months before IVF cycles and after IVF embryo transferring. Acupuncture helps to increase the uterine blood flow and make the lining of the uterus more receptive to receiving an embryo, and reduce the risk of a miscarriage.
In a recent study performed by the Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology Fertility Centre of the University of Gothenburg (Scandinavia), females receiving acupuncture treatment before and after the embryo implantation procedure takes place have a higher likelihood of success.
It has been suggested by the Berkley Center for Reproduction Wellness that, although conception occurs with only acupuncture treatment, the most effective treatment for infertility is acupuncture in combination with herbal remedies and traditional medicine.
Acupuncture and Egg Quality Improvement
Before you begin an IVF procedure, you should use any means possible to improve the quality of your eggs, rather than the number of eggs produced per cycle. Acupuncture maximizes the blood flow to the ovaries to ensure a constant and steady supply of hormones and nutrients needed for normal growth. Healthy blood flow can increase follicle and egg health and quantity. This is especially true for women who have a poor prognosis either because of age or previously failed cycles.
Acupuncture and Sperm Quality Improvement
It still takes a man and a woman to make a baby. Most men are better at hiding their feelings if they can’t father a child. Dr. Yin knows how important fertility can be to a man’s self-worth. Almost all aspects of male infertility can benefit from Dr. Yin’s acupuncture treatments in Frisco. Sperm count, sperm motility, and sperm morphology and quality can be increased, and even hormonal factors can be resolved by restoring balance to the entire body.
To enhance in vitro fertilization’s chances of success, acupuncture performed 24 hours before and after the procedure is becoming increasingly popular in the U.S. Acupuncture is the Chinese medical practice of having thin needles inserted into specific points along energy lines within your body, each point having a different effect. Although acupuncture is not a 100% guaranteed way of having an implantation succeed, it does improve the IVF’s potential of success.
Relaxation Benefits
Before the IVF takes place, acupuncture can serve as a way of decreasing the stress felt by the client both physically and mentally, creating a relaxed state of both mind and body, which aids in increasing the arterial blood flow to the uterus. If Acupuncture is done regularly for a prolonged period of time, ideally three months before the procedure takes place on both the male and female involved, it can have a positive effect on the health of the sperm for the male and also the endometrium (the tissue lining the uterus), hormone balance, and the menstrual cycle and ovulation of women.
Acupuncture, as a natural counterweight to IVF, has various general health benefits that relate specifically to the body’s ability to create an ideal environment for a baby’s development within the uterus. Although it cannot guarantee success, but by way of reducing the stress levels felt by clients and increasing the blood flow, it could significantly increase the chances of the embryo implanting, and therefore the success of the entire procedure.
Acupuncture cannot be used to treat all types of problems associated with infertility, though it can be used to help issues related to spasmed tubes (although it must be noted that acupuncture will not help with tubal obstruction). Traditionally this method has been used in combination with other treatments such as herbal remedies in order to increase chances of the implantation’s success; it helps in regulating the secretion of hormones by the anterior pituitary gland which aid in the formation of ova, therefore decreasing the instances of repeated miscarriages, and idiopathic infertility.
Is it Dangerous?
There is a small amount of risk when undergoing acupuncture for fertility treatment if you choose an unqualified acupuncturist. If the wrong acupuncture points are targeted after the implantation, there is an increased risk of miscarriage. There are 6 contraindicative abdominal-pelvic acupuncture points within the body which should be avoided after insemination has occurred, or in general, when there might be a chance of pregnancy as this could possibly lead to a miscarriage. The points that must be avoided at this time include the gallbladder, large intestine, stomach, spleen, bladder, and the lower abdomen.
There is also a chance of irritation and discomfort after the IVF takes place; in such cases, specific acupuncture points can be targeted to relieve clients of these sensations. The main positive effects after the procedure are increase in arterial uterine blood flow, which aids in the body’s attempt to successfully implant the fertilized embryo in the endometrium, and maximizes its development if acupuncture treatment is continued regularly after implantation.
As to how long should the treatment last after the IVF, the first 3 months of pregnancy are the most vital as most miscarriages occur within that time frame. When considering this fact, treatment should last until the 12th week after insemination in order to elevate the possible success rate substantially.
How Does Acupuncture Help With Infertility?
Acupuncture has been shown to be very effective in relieving stress, improving egg and sperm quality, regulating hormone balance, and reducing the risk of miscarriage. On its own, acupuncture can be seen as an alternative way of treating fertility problems. It is also often seen as a complementary therapy to Western fertility treatments (IVF, IUI, etc.). In fact, this ancient and natural approach is becoming more widely used during the treatment of infertility and IVF around the world. Over the past twenty years, Dr. Xie Yin has helped many infertility patients in Frisco successfully get pregnant with acupuncture alone as well as in conjunction with IUI and IVF.