Acupuncture for fertility and women's health
Care for fertility, painful periods, menopause and the aches and nausea of pregnancy.
Acupuncture can help with a wide range of women’s health concerns. These include infertility, menopause, painful periods (dysmenorrhea) and general hormonal imbalance. It can also help with menstrual cycle problems, menstrual cramps and hot flashes.
Infertility can have many causes, most notably hormonal imbalance and lack of ovulation. From the Chinese medicine point of view, it most often reflects an underlying deficiency of the Kidney and Liver. By nourishing the energy (Qi) of the Liver and Kidneys, acupuncture and herbal medicine aim to restore hormonal balance and regulate ovulation. Robert has supported many patients who were trying to conceive, usually over a series of 10 to 15 sessions.
Menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, mood swings, lower desire and dryness come with falling levels of estrogen and progesterone. Chinese medicine sees menopause as a Liver and Kidney Yin deficiency pattern, often with signs of excess Yang and heat. This “empty heat” can affect the Heart and agitate the spirit. Robert’s treatment nourishes the Liver and Kidney Yin and clears excess heat, and many women find it eases their symptoms.
Pregnancy
Acupuncture is a gentle option for many common complaints of pregnancy. Robert has treated many patients for morning sickness in the first trimester and for acid reflux, which is more common in the third. He also treats low back and hip pain and the many other aches of pregnancy.
Robert also uses acupuncture and moxibustion for breech presentation, to encourage the baby to turn into the proper position, and acupuncture to help encourage a timely labor. Care during pregnancy should be coordinated with your midwife or doctor.
Research on fertility
Several studies have looked at acupuncture for women going through assisted reproduction, such as IVF and embryo transfer:
- Influence of acupuncture on the pregnancy rate in patients who undergo assisted reproduction therapy
- Effect of acupuncture on the outcome of in vitro fertilization and intracytoplasmic sperm injection: a randomized, prospective, controlled clinical study
- Influence of acupuncture stimulation on pregnancy rates for women undergoing embryo transfer
For men’s fertility, see men’s health.
Questions? Ask Robert.
He’ll tell you plainly whether acupuncture is likely to help. Sees patients Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, by appointment.