It’s estimated that after a year of trying to conceive, 10 percent of American couples are unable to get pregnant on their own. The vast majority of them turn to traditional fertility treatments for help, but a growing number are also trying alternative therapies. Acupuncture and fertility is not a new phenomenon, but this 2000 year old traditional treatment is growing in popularity.
More and more women are delaying childbirth into their late 30s and early 40s than ever before. In fact, according to the U.S. Census Report on Fertility in America, about 20 percent of women ages 35-39 are childless in 2002. In 1976, only 10 percent of women in that age category had never given birth. This is where acupuncture and fertility can be very effective.
Because a woman’s fertility declines as she ages, more and more women are having trouble getting pregnant. Traditionally treatment methods for infertility depend on the underlying cause, whether it’s a male factor (such as a low sperm count), or it’s a matter of egg quality in the woman, or whether the woman has blocked Fallopian tubes or trouble ovulating. Chinese medicine looks at fertility very differently. Can a body sustain child birth? Is a man’s sperm “strong” enough energetically to be able to initiate pregnancy? Are some of the questions answered when we look at acupuncture and fertility.
Some of the common things that acupuncture can help when we are talking about infertility are:
- Stress Reduction & Relaxation
- It has a hormone regulating effect – better quality eggs
- Improvement in ovarian function – more follicles, better egg production
- Better ovarian blood flow, increasing ovarian response
- Increased strength of the immune system
- Better blood flow to the uterus, improving the endometrial lining
- Improvement of the sperm count, motility, morphology
- Lessens side effects from hormonal treatments
- Decreases uterine contractility at implantation
- Decreases the chance of miscarriage
Among other topics discussed when we are talking about acupuncture and fertility, once the patient is pregnant we will also be able to help with pre-natal and post birth recovery.
