So many women are looking to acupuncture these days in the treatment of infertility, or perhaps more accurately, to promote fertility. "Infertility" is a loaded word these days and it's not always the correct word to use.
Most of the women I see in my clinic are not truly "infertile." They are just in need of support and balancing. The key to optimizing a woman's fertility and increasing her chance of pregnancy is to start by regulating the period. This is pretty easy to do using acupuncture. For women in their 20's or 30's, I usually ask them to give it 3 months. We do treatments 2-4 times per month at weekly or bimonthly intervals. The reason it can take 3 months is that each menstrual cycle is a chance for the body to move and build on the process we've set in motion with acupuncture treatment.
A woman's body is prone to a condition known as "Blood Stasis" in Chinese medicine. Blood stasis is a condition of blood not moving as well as it should. Because women, unlike men, have to move blood every month with the period, any blockage builds up quickly. Then, a little blockage leads to more blockage, just like water building up behind a dam. In the simplest terms, acupuncture stimulates the body's ability to move the blood and clear the blockage. When treating for fertility, we make an extra effort to concentrate the effect in the pelvic region by including points that target this area, as well as those that move blood in general.
In the first month or two of treatment, a woman may find that her period is heavier than usual, which is a reflection of the body moving the stuck blood out. Within 3 cycles she usually finds that the length of the cycle has regulated to 28 days, that the period itself flows smoothly and with little to no pain, and that any PMS symptoms have reduced or disappeared as well. At that point, it is usually not long before pregnancy is achieved.
This also applies for women over 40. However, by this age the hormones are already changing and the ability to become pregnant is diminishing. So it can take longer -- more months of treatment and attempts at pregnancy -- to achieve success. At this age I find it becomes advisable to add herbal medicine to the program to increase the effect of the treatment and improve chances for pregnancy. We truly are "fighting the clock" at this point; but even so, I have worked with women up to age 47 who have become pregnant naturally. Many women by this time are choosing artificial reproductive technology procedures such as IUI or IVF. Acupuncture enhances their ability to get pregnant with or without these procedures and herbs can be used in either case; they do not interfere in any way with the medical treatment. I am confident of this because quite a few IVF clinics have brought acupuncturists into the clinic and are giving herbs to their clients as part of the treatment.
Of course, the male factor is always a potential source of fertility problems, and one that is often overlooked. If the male sperm is not in good shape -- suffering from a deficit in terms of count, mobility, motility or morphology -- then no matter what a woman does, she may have difficulty conceiving. By this time, most doctors will ensure that the male partner is checked for his fertility in the process of working with their female patients. Men can also improve their fertility using acupuncture. Why? Because acupuncture has the effect of improving and optimizing the body's natural ability to heal itself and to be healthy. It can improve the quality of sperm in men.
If you're dealing with fertility challenges, or know someone who is, try acupuncture for the easiest, most cost-effective way of promoting fertility and achieving pregnancy.
