Licensed Acupuncturist & Chinese Herbalist
Asheville's Comprehensive Acupuncture Care & Specialist in Fertility, Women's Health and Rejuvenation

131 Meadow Lake Road, Asheville, NC  28801, PH: 828.215.8185

Chinese Medicine Enhances Fertility.

Ten Ways Chinese Medicine Enhances Fertility.

Acupuncture's benefit for a range of feritlity-related issues is consistently demonstrated in studies, including a 2002 landmark study in Fertility and Sterility, (American Society for Reproductive Medicine) where pregnancy rates were 43% with acupuncture and 26% without it.

Acupuncture can be used alone or as an adjunct to other fertility enhancement procedures and can be employed at any stage of the feritlity process, inclucing during an IVF cycle.

The Diagnosis of Infertility is a Myth

As long as the anatomical structures are present, a medical diagnosis of “infertility” is often a fallacy.

Many factors can cause a woman to have difficulty conceiving, but once these factors are overcome and a woman’s body is restored to health, conception can occur naturally.

Our reproductive systems are made up of organs and hormones that must work together seamlessly so conditions will be right for pregnancy to occur. When the health of the body is restored, a woman’s reproductive system will do what it was designed to do naturally: conceive and carry to term a healthy child.

To understand how TCM works see these pages: acupuncture, chinese herbal medicine, and oriental medicine.

Men can also benefit from acupuncture, as treatment often invigorates the sperm, enhancing both the count and motility.

In addition to being relatively painless, one of acupuncture's biggest advantages is that it produces no harmful side effects such as potentially risky multiple births or ectopic pregnancies.  And there are none of the side effects of fertility drugs.

Chinese Medicine Increases Effectiveness of Assisted Reproductive Technology

Acupuncture is obviously improving the success rates of high tech reproductive medicine. Just how acupuncture does this is evidenced by many studies:

• A woman's response to hormonal therapy can be dramatically improved by acupuncture because acupuncture can increase blood flow to the reproductive organs.
  
  
• Acupuncture has been shown to regulate hormone levels by moderating the release of beta-endorphin levels in the brain, which improves the release of gonadatrophin releasing hormone by the hypothalamus, follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) from the pituitary gland, and estrogen and progesterone levels from the ovary.
  
  
• Acupuncture reduces stress and a hyperactive sympathetic nervous system response.
  
  
• Acupuncture has been speculated to moderate cyclooxygenase and prostaglandin levels in the uterus, reducing uterine motility to improve implantation rates.

In 2002, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine reported that in a study of 114 women who were receiving in-vitro fertilization (IVF), half were given acupuncture before and after the embryo transfer while the other half received IVF only. The outcome was impressive; of the women who received IVF and acupuncture, 51 percent became pregnant as opposed to 36 percent of those who received IVF only. In addition, the miscarriage rate in the acupuncture group was only 8 percent as opposed to 20 percent in the control group.

Herbal Therapies 'Can Help Boost Fertility' Experts Cite Benefits of Alternative Treatments

Alternative therapies such as acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine can be crucial tools for childless couples, according to fertility experts who gathered last night for an event to mark the 30th anniversary of IVF.

Learn more about Chinese Medicine increases the effectiveness of assisted reproductive technology

Studies on the use of Chinese Medicine with IVF

Study suggests that acupuncture improves rates of pregnancy among women undergoing IVF - A scientific review suggests that acupuncture might improve the odds of conceiving if done right before or after embryos are placed in the womb. Some fertility specialists say they are hopeful that this relatively inexpensive and simple treatment might ultimately prove to be a useful add-on to traditional methods.

Acupuncture improves the reproductive outcome in infertile women.

Acupuncture affects outcome of in vitro fertilization and intracytoplasmic sperm injection.

Acupuncture as an Adjunct to IVF

Acupuncture for Fertility: Doctors say, 'Why not?'

Acupuncture Can Provide Long-lasting Beneficial Effects for Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

PCOS is the most common female endocrine disorder.  It is said to affect up to ten percent of women of reproductive age, and up to ninety percent of woman with irregular menstrual cycles.

Clinically, a patient usually presents with menstrual irregularities, infertility, and hirsutism. PCOS is associated with hyperandrogenism, ovulatory dysfunction and obesity.  If not treated properly, a patient is at risk for type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and hyperestrogen-related cancers. The hallmark endocrine disorders of this syndrome are hyperandrogenism and hyperinsulinemia. There also appears to be a defect in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in patients presenting with polycystic ovary syndrome. The syndrome is also associated with dyslipidemia and acanthosis nigricans, During the reproductive years, PCOS is associated with significant reproductive morbidity, including infertility, abnormal uterine bleeding, miscarriage, and other complications of pregnancy.

There is little known about the causes of PCOS.  It is associated with factors that influence the sympathetic nervous system.  Many women with PCOS require prolonged treatment.  Pharmaceutical drugs can be effective but have adverse side effects.

Clinical Studies
Studies done in Europe in the 1990s on anovulatory women with PCOS showed that electro-acupuncture restored ovulation in one-third of the test subjects. Acupuncture also reduced the endocrine indicators of PCOS, including LH/FSH ratios, mean testosterone concentrations and beta-endorphin concentrations. Researchers theorized that this improvement was due to an inhibition of hyperactivity in the sympathetic nervous system. For more information, see Chapter 11 of The Infertility Cure.

A Swedish/Italian study in 2000 described in the Biology of Reproduction Journal validated this theory. This study involved using injections of estradiol valerate, a kind of estrogen, to induce a state of polycystic ovaries in rats. Increased activity of the sympathetic nervous system resulted, followed by increased concentrations of nerve growth factor in the rats’ ovaries and the adrenal glands. Within sixty days, the rats developed polycystic ovaries. The rodent subjects were separated into two groups. The control group received no therapy and maintained features of PCOS. In contrast, those treated with acupuncture showed a reduction in the hyperactivity of the ovarian sympathetic nerve fibers, reduction of the increased nerve growth factor concentrations within the ovaries to normal and reduction the weight of the polycystic ovaries. These are all indicators of a reduction in the “stress” reaction within the nerve and blood supply of polycystic ovaries. Acupuncture treatments were effective at resolving this condition because they reduced the level of hypersympathetic nervous system response, relaxing the whole neuroendocrine system.

A Major Cause of Infertility – Endometriosis - Can be Overcome by TCM

According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, endometriosis affects approximately 5 to 7 million American women. Researchers believe that endometriosis is directly related to infertility for 30-50% of all infertile women. Endometriosis has been labeled by some doctors as “the career woman’s disease” because of its high correlation with increased stress levels.

Symptoms of endometriosis include dysmenorrhea, pelvic pain, low backache radiating to the thigh, heavy menses, infertility or higher rate of miscarriage, irregular bleeding or spotting, pain on defecation, tender and enlarged ovaries, bloating or fatigue, painful intercourse, heavy menses with clots, menstrual diarrhea, pain 5-7 days before menses, during menses or with ovulation, no symptoms at all—30-35% of women with endometriosis do not suffer any pain or discomfort.

Learn more about Endometriosis and treatment options

TCM Practitioners Have Experience in Shrinking Fibroids, Some of Which can Cause Infertility.

One in 5 women will be diagnosed with uterine fibroids (myomas).  Onset is in the woman's 30's-40's with 25-50% of women of childbearing age.  Some types of fibroids can adversely affect fertility.

Symptoms from fibroids are related to their size and location.  Many women with uterine fibroids have no symptoms.  Approximately one-third of women will experience abnormal uterine bleeding, pain, or pressure in the lower abdomen.  Some women will notice a mass which can occasionally be as large as a full-term pregnancy.

Learn more about Uterine Fibroids and treatment options

Stress is One of the Most Under Diagnosed Contributing Factors to Unexplained Infertility

Stress is often a key factor in the fertility of both men and women. When people are under stress, the brain's neurochecmical balance is altered, thus changing hormone levels that affect the reproductive cycle.

Acupuncture counters the effects of stress and cortisol by releasing endorphins in the brain, which exert a calming effect.

• Chronic stress produces toxic chemicals.

• Often individuals are unaware of being under stress, yet when tested their cortisol levels are elevated 200-300%. 

  Long term exposure to cortosol: compromises immune response, changes body
  composition, causes depression and sleep impairment, increases risk of heath attack
  and other health problems, causes reproductive dysfunction and altered eating
  patterns.

• Historically, chronic, low-grade stress was seen during famine.

• Our hormonal response to stress is actually antagonistic to our fertility.

  Adrenaline is released by the adrenal glands during conditions of stress.  This inhibits
  our ability to utilize progesterone.

  In times of stress the pituitary gland emits higher levels of prolactin.  Prolactin also
  inhibits a woman’s fertility.

  When we’re under stress, the sympathetic nervous system can become
  hyperstimulated.  A hyperstimulated nervous system sends less blood to the uterus
  and ovaries, thereby impairing their optimal functioning.

   

Learn more about The effects of stress on fertility and how to manage it

Your path to radiant health...
from motherhood to menopause.

Lorraine H. Harris, Licensed Acupuncturist & Chinese Herbalist Specialist in fertility, women's health and rejuvenation located in the Western North Carolina (WNC) and Asheville area.

Oriental Medicine | Acupuncture | Chinese Herbal Medicine
Conditions Treated by Chinese Medicine | Fertility
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