Acupuncture treats infertility in women
Infertility is the inability to get pregnant after a year of regular intercourse without birth control. Infertility has become more common in the US in recent years, with approximately 10% of couples being affected. In the acupuncture clinic, we see more and more couples coming in for fertility support than ever before.
Acupuncture can be both a primary treatment for infertility or be used in conjunction with Western medical treatments. Most of the acupuncture research on infertility shows how powerful acupuncture can be to support IVF and IUI procedures when done concurrently.
Because acupuncture treats the whole person, not just the symptoms, we have a unique advantage to helping treat infertility. Acupuncture treats infertility by strengthening the overall constitution and balancing the body’s systems to allow for improved overall health. Acupuncture and herbs also help with physical blockages, like blocked fallopian tubes or fibroids.
What causes infertility in women?
There are four major categories of causes of infertility:
- Ovarian factors: poor egg quality, anovulation (no ovulation), irregular FSH levels
- Fallopian tube factors: Fallopian tube blockage
- Uterine factors: fibroids, endometriosis, poor quality endometrial lining
- Cervical factors: poor quality cervical mucus, anti-sperm antibodies
When recurrent miscarriages happen very early on in the pregnancy, we also consider immunological factors and sub-clinical blood clotting disorders as causes of infertility. This is one particular time in which an acupuncturist should be working closely with a reproductive immunologist or reproductive endocrinologist. Acupuncture and Western medicine together can help women become pregnant even after repeated miscarriage when an integrated approach is taken.
Acupuncture theory interprets these causes of infertility in different terms based on how the symptoms appear in the person. Because acupuncture treats every person as an individual, acupuncture treats infertility as different in each woman. When you come in for your appointment, we’ll be happy to talk to you about how Western medical diagnosis aligns with Chinese medicine diagnosis.
What about infertility in men (male factor infertility)?
In addition to treating infertility in women, we also treat male factor infertility. You can read more about infertility in men related to sperm abnormalities on the Men’s Health pages.
How is infertility treated by acupuncture?
Our first step in treating infertility with acupuncture is talking. We do a thorough interview to get to know you – we talk about your health overall, your periods, your diet, your sleep, everything we can – and build a picture of who you are as a person. We may ask you to do basal body temperature (BBT) charting so we can understand more about your menstrual cycle. We then take all of this information and look at it through the lens of Chinese medicine to make a diagnosis. We let the diagnosis inform how we treat infertility with acupuncture. Herbal medicine, diet and lifestyle changes can also help treat infertility.
To make an appointment at Jinhee Yoo Acupuncture, please go to the Appointments page. If you have further questions, feel free to ask us through the Contact page.