Licensed Acupuncturist & Chinese Herbalist
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Fertility & Acupuncture

Is the Diagnosis of Infertility 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. Women around the world are finding more natural

means to overcome their fertility barriers. It may take more motivation and perseverance than ever thought possible but giving birth is possible.

Factors Causing Infertility long-term poor nutrition elevated stress levels advanced maternal age

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.

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.

Learn more about The effectiveness of Chinese Medicine with modern medical procedures

Studies on the use of Chinese Medicine with IVF

Study: Acupuncture May Boost Pregnancy - 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.

Study suggests that acupuncture improves rates of pregnancy among women undergoing IVF

Current preliminary evidence suggests that acupuncture given with embryo transfer improves rates of pregnancy and live birth among women undergoing in vitro fertilisation.

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

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

Testimonials

I was told I had PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome). I had been on all the fertility drugs (like clomid) to treat this and still felt totally out of wack and I couldn’t get pregnant. The first time, after many years, I began to actually feel healthy again was when I was seeing Lorraine for a special type of acupuncture treatment and Chinese fertility herbs. I’m now the proud mom of two healthy boys!

Sally M.

You were the first person I told that I was pregnant because I couldn’t believe it. We had been through so many failed tries with western medicine (invitro fertilization), I wanted to be sure before telling anyone. I’m almost 40 and I thought I had run out of time. I needed to find a way to increase my fertility. I can’t believe it took only a few weeks of treatment.

Lily T.

It’s only been a few weeks and amazingly I’ve returned to my normal energized self and all the discomforts of my period have disappeared. I don’t know if it was your acupuncture or the Chinese herbs, but something did it.

Donna P.

I had all the routine tests come back negative but I was still feeling lousy. I was depressed, overweight, my periods were irregular and painful, I had bloating and a host of odd symptoms. All that was being offered to me were drugs and/or surgery. I didn’t want to go either route so I thought I’d try acupuncture. I now feel so much more balanced. I’m almost scared to ever stop treatments because I don’t want to go back to the way I felt before.

Judy P.

Other Studies and Fertility-Related Topics

Acupuncture and exercise can help relieve pelvic pain during pregnancy, Swedish researchers said on Friday.

From Stressed to Stressbuster. from the US News and World Report about a DC Acupuncturist specializing in fertility.

Medical articles that explain why acupuncture and Chinese medicine work to improve fertility rates.

Acupuncture Effective for Pelvic Pain in Pregnancy. One in three women suffer potentially severe and disabling pelvic girdle pain during pregnancy. Now a Swedish study has demonstrated that acupuncture is more effective than either standard or specialized exercises in relieving the pain.

Acupuncture is Used for Pregnancy Depression. Pharmaceutical medication is largely unsuitable for depression during pregnancy. Acupuncture is a safe and effective method for treating depression.

Fertility Resources

Fertility Enhancing Retreats in Asheville.
Asheville Fertility Retreats. All natural infertility retreat to support women's efforts to get pregnant and have healthy babies.

FertilityFriend.com. This is one of many websites that provides fertility information and free fertility and BBT (basal body temperature) charts and calendars. One can also do a fertility calculation with the information on this website.

BabyHopes.com -  Articles about how to trying to conceive and getting pregnant

The InterNational Council on Infertility Information Dissemination, Inc.

Your path to radiant health...
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Lorraine Harris's Asheville acupuncture clinic is conveniently located in South Asheville.  Ms. Harris is a licensed acupuncturist and Chinese herbalist and Nationally Board Certified Practitioner of Chinese Medicine. She is the only Mei Zen-trained cosmetic acupuncturist in Western North Carolina (WNC).

Oriental Medicine | Acupuncture | Chinese Herbal Medicine
Conditions Treated by Chinese Medicine | Fertility
Cosmetic Acupuncture & Facial Rejuvenation | Pain Management
Women's Health | Healthy Eating
About Lorraine H. Harris