Acupuncture for Fertility and IVF Support in Hassocks
Traditional Chinese Medicine (acupuncture, herbs, diet & lifestyle advice) can be truly transformative when it comes to improving a couple’s chances of conceiving. Acupuncture can improve both male and female fertility, and regular acupuncture treatments over a few months will lead to pregnancy in the vast majority of cases. Whether you are undergoing IVF or IUI procedures or trying to conceive naturally, acupuncture can help.
Which fertility issues can Acupuncture Hassocks help with?
There are a range of potential fertility issues (which are often not identified prior to seeking help with acupuncture). Fortunately, acupuncture (and herbs) can help with all of the following:
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There are several key hormones that play a role in achieving and maintaining pregnancy.
These include Estrogen, Progesterone, Luteinising Hormone (LH), Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH), Prolactin & Testosterone. Blood tests on days 3 and 21 of the menstrual cycle can determine whether these hormones are within the normal range or not.
After a few months of regular acupuncture treatments, hormones which are out of range will usually come back to normal values.
More information on how acupuncture can help with hormonal imbalances can be found here.
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Unexplained Infertility is usually diagnosed after 12 months unsuccessfully trying to conceive and where ultrasounds or blood tests do not show anything abnormal. It can be a particularly frustrating “diagnosis” because it doesn’t point to a solution.
Fortunately, when viewed through the lens of Traditional Chinese Medicine (or TCM), we are able to find underlying imbalances (invisible to the Western medical eye) which are usually found to be the cause of the inability to conceive.
These imbalances are then treated and resolved with a course of acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine, allowing conception to occur in the vast majority of cases.
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PCOS is usually diagnosed if a woman has irregular or absent periods, elevated androgenic hormones (including testosterone) and ovaries which show on ultrasound to have multiple small follicles with a pearl-like appearance.
Due to the effects on ovulation that PCOS causes (ovulation is usually severely delayed or absent), fertility can be greatly impaired in women with PCOS.
Fortunately, Traditional Chinese Medicine offers a great deal of hope for PCOS sufferers who wish to become pregnant.
Regular acupuncture treatments together with Chinese Herbal Therapy can usually encourage the ovaries to begin ovulating at the appropriate time within a few of months of treatment.
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Endometriosis is a condition which results from the presence of endometrial tissue (i.e. the lining of the uterus) in locations outside of the uterus, particularly the ovaries, fallopian tubes & wall of the uterus.
Uterine fibroids, or Myomas are the benign tumours found in approximately 20% of women over 35.
Symptoms of both Endometriosis and Fibroids include heavy periods, painful periods, pelvic pain, irregular bleeding and diarrhoea.
Fertility can be severely impaired by Endometriosis or Fibroids, however regular treatments of both acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine can help reduce the inflammation and the symptoms associated with Endometriosis and Fibroids, as well as rebalance the hormones, allowing conception to occur.
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When the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle (the time between ovulation and the period) is shorter than twelve days, it is diagnosed as luteal phase defect. Typically, this will show up in Day 21 blood tests as low progesterone. Since progesterone is a key hormone for conception and maintaining pregnancy, women with this condition often experience difficulty conceiving. Acupuncture can help improve progesterone levels and lengthen the luteal phase.
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40% of fertility issues come from the male side and include low sperm count, poor sperm morphology, poor sperm motility, sperm liquifaction issues & varioceles.
Fortunately, acupuncture can significantly improve all aspects of male fertility, and regular treatments together with supplements or Chinese Herbal Medicine can have a dramatic effect in 2-3 months.
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The ovaries are the ‘nests’ that hold all of a woman’s eggs and allow them to ripen and release each month, however the ‘weather’ in which the eggs in the nest mature is a cascade of hormones which directly determines the health of the egg(s) released each month.
If a woman’s hormones are out of whack, which is a very common occurrence with prolonged stress for example, the quality and timing of ovulation can be greatly affected.
If the hormonal imbalance continues for many years, the ovaries themselves can become diseased, and Premature Ovarian Failure can result.
Fortunately, all is not lost, since Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine, together with dietary and lifestyle advice, have the capacity to rebalance the hormonal environment, which can result in ovulation being restored.
How does acupuncture treat Female Infertility?
TCM does not treat the symptom (or the western diagnosis), it treats the imbalances found within the whole person (mind & body). When viewed through the lens of TCM, underlying imbalances, particularly in the liver, kidney and spleen systems (not directly comparable to the western medical view of these organs) can be observed, understood and treated.
Basal Body Temperature (BBT) for Female Infertility
In addition to carrying out a thorough diagnosis from a Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective, I always ask my female fertility patients to start taking their Basal Body Temperature (or BBT). This involves a woman taking her temperature as soon as she wakes up, using a thermometer that measures temperature to 2 decimal places. She then records this temperature on an app called Fertility Friend.
By recording a woman’s temperature daily we begin to see how it changes throughout the monthly cycle. This then gives me further information on where the imbalances are within the four different phases of the menstrual cycle (e.g. during the period, between the period and ovulation, post ovulation and pre-menstrual phase). I can then target my acupuncture treatments and herbal formulae to correct imbalances within each phase. With each acupuncture treatment, the hormones start to regulate and this can be readily seen in changes in the BBT chart month on month.
Once we see the BBT chart has improved sufficiently, and assuming there are no structural impediments to conception, or unresolved male fertility issues, then pregnancy will occur.
Read more about Acupuncture and BBT here.
How often will I need to come for acupuncture treatments?
Typically I see patients weekly for fertility. This ensures that imbalances within the body that are impeding conception are resolved as quickly as possible, which is usually very important to my fertility patients.
Where in the body will the acupuncture needles be placed?
Acupuncture for fertility typically targets specific points along the body's meridians (energy pathways) to improve the body's hormonal balance, reduce stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline and increase blood flow to reproductive organs. The placement of acupuncture needles can vary based on individual needs and the fertility challenges being addressed, but some common areas include:
Lower Abdomen: Points on the lower abdomen, near the uterus and ovaries, are often used to promote blood flow to these areas and improve reproductive health.
Legs: Acupuncture points along the lower legs stimulate points on the Liver, Spleen and Kidney meridians (amongst others), which can be stimulated to calm the central nervous system, regulate hormones and improve overall reproductive function.
Feet and ankles: Several acupuncture points on the feet are related to fertility.
Does Acupuncture improve natural fertility?
Absolutely, yes! This is because acupuncture works to resolve imbalances in the body which create issues such as:
poor blood flow to the reproductive organs, which reduces egg and sperm quality
hormonal imbalances which impede ovulation and uterine lining, for example
the temperature of the female being too low or too high for conception to occur
to reduce stress hormones such as cortisol, which can prevent conception from occurring.
Does Chinese Herbal Medicine help with fertility issues?
Herbs are extremely beneficial for most causes of infertility, both male and female. They work alongside acupuncture to warm or cool the body as required, to improve the quality of the blood (this is fundamental in both egg quality and uterine lining health), to rebalance hormones (this will happen much more quickly with the use of both acupuncture and herbs, rather than acupuncture alone) and to strengthen the energy in the reproductive organs as well as within the body as a whole.
There are areas within fertility which can only be addressed with herbs and in my clinical experience pregnancy will occur more quickly with the use of herbs than with acupuncture alone.
Do Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine improve IVF outcome?
How quickly will I see results after starting acupuncture treatments?
After starting regular acupuncture treatments (the frequency of treatments depends on the condition being treated and the speed at which couples wish to see results) most women will start to notice changes in their bodies and their cycles within the first month. These changes will include the easing or resolving of PMS symptoms such as sore breasts, low mood, bloating, fatigue and headaches as well as pain around ovulation. They will also start to notice reduced pain and improved blood flow with their period (red blood with no clots). Once these symptoms have resolved or reduced significantly, most couples then fall pregnant naturally within 2-6 months after starting acupuncture and/or herbs. For some couples where the sub-fertility is solely on the female side, all it takes is a couple of well timed treatments for pregnancy to occur.
In general for men, regular treatments plus supplements (and often herbs) can yield significant improvements in sperm quality (sperm count, motility, morphology, oxidative stress) within 2-3 months.
How does acupuncture treat Male Infertility?
Male infertility is less complicated than female infertility, however it responds equally well to treatment with acupuncture and herbs. Underlying imbalances are usually found in the Kidneys or the Spleen. With regular acupuncture treatments over 2-3 months, sperm count, sperm morphology, sperm motility and oxidative stress levels usually improve.
Read more about how acupuncture can improve sperm quality here.
Acupuncture for IVF or IUI
In the same way that women who have no structural impairment to pregnancy can conceive once their body and their cycles have been tuned up, women who do need to undergo IVF or IUI (perhaps because they have damaged fallopian tubes, or their partner has low sperm morphology, or because they are using a sperm donor, for example) can also significantly improve the outcome of their IVF/IUI cycles by balancing their bodies, cycles and hormones prior to starting and during the process of IVF/IUI. Ideally, acupuncture should start at least 3 months prior to starting IVF treatment, since it takes 100 days for a primordial follicle to mature, and the hormonal environment within which it matures greatly affects its quality.
Find out how acupuncture can improve the outcome of IVF or IUI by clicking here.
How can I find out more about how Acupuncture Hassocks can help with Fertility or IVF Support?
To find out more about how Katie at Acupuncture Hassocks can help with fertility or IVF call or text Katie on 07854 987806, email acupuncturehassocks@gmail.com or fill in the contact form.
All treatments are carried out at Acupuncture Hassocks Clinic based in Hassocks, West Sussex. The clinic address is 27 Ockenden Way, Hassocks, BN6 8HS and is near to Hassocks train station, so is easily reachable from Brighton, Burgess Hill or Haywards Heath. If you are travelling by car from Hurstpierpoint, Ditchling or surrounding areas, there is free on road parking.
