At Inspire Family Acupuncture we have personal experience with both the joy and the agony of trying to conceive (TTC). While some women are fortunate enough to conceive effortlessly, these days it’s very common that it takes longer than expected or requires more effort than expected to create a healthy embryo.
Acupuncture, herbal medicine, and other Chinese medical therapies are quite helpful in supporting conception. Whether you’re trying to conceive naturally, considering support like intrauterine insemination (IUI), using in vitro fertilization (IVF), or seeking to maximize the results of an egg retrieval process, acupuncture is helpful.
Here are the top four ways that acupuncture can support conception:
- Increasing blood flow to the uterus to improve egg quality. Acupuncture is shown to increase blood flow to the ovaries and uterus, thereby improving the number and quality of mature eggs that develop. This directly impacts fertility whether you’re TTC naturally or in an IVF context. Starting this process at least three months prior to the desired conception date is important because it takes eggs three months to mature before their release.
- Harmonizing hormonal imbalances and regulating menstrual cycles. For some women fertility is difficult because they have an irregular cycle – either unusually short or unusually long. Chinese medicine is shown to regularize menstrual cycles to get them to a more predictable 26-32ish day cycle length. At that point, the ovulation timing becomes more predictable and the luteal phase can become long enough to support pregnancy.
- Reducing fibroids. Did you know that acupuncture and herbal medicine can actually reduce the size of fibroids? In some cases, the size and location of the fibroids are impacting fertility. In those cases pursuing a treatment course of acupuncture and herbal medicine can be immensely helpful.
- Reducing stress. Not only does stress reduction make the fertility process easier, but also lowering stress positively impacts the release of sex hormones so that fertility is better supported. Using Chinese medicine as well as lifestyle adjustments we support our clients in lowering stress overall to enhance the fertility potential. (Of course, TTC can be an inherently stressful and anxiety inducing process – we support around this to the extent possible.)
