Fertility
Fertility is a subject close to my heart (you can read why here) and I am a Fertility Support Trained Acupuncturist, which means I have received the highest level of training in Acupuncture for Fertility. This allows me to combine eastern and western perspectives, so that I can draw upon Chinese medicine’s traditional wisdom and incorporate it with modern medicine (ie hormone testing, semen analysis, full blood count, microbiome testing etc). As such, I’m just as likely to talk about biomedicine as I am to discuss Chinese Medicine terms. I believe that there is a middle ground between the two modalities and that by drawing upon both we can maximise your chance of success.
Fertility journeys are hard, and often lonely places, particularly if you have been trying for a while with no answers, or have experienced failed IVF cycles or pregnancy loss. I aim to help you navigate the process, providing support and a place to come and calm your nervous system, ensuring that you have the tools and resources to help you on your path to parenthood. Whilst I cannot always guarantee the outcome, I will walk the journey with you and aim to provide the very best support, so you can look back and know that you left no stone unturned.
I have successfully worked with clients who are:
– at the start of their journey and wanting to maximise fertility
– struggling to understand why it’s not happening, or wanting to delve deeper into an ‘unexplained infertility’ diagnosis
– trying again after pregnancy loss, or a history or miscarriage
– looking into male factor issues, such as low sperm parameters, or DNA fragmentation
– experiencing hormonal or uterine issues, such as PCOS, low AMH, high FSH, Endometriosis, Adenomyosis, Cysts or Fibroids
– unsure where to turn to, or what to do next, feeling overwhelmed, and / or considering an ART or IVF cycles
– exploring donor options or egg freezing
I work with both male and female clients (see details on male factor below) and I support my clients to have a natural conception whenever possible. When, and only when, it doesn’t look like that is possible, I support them in working towards achieving the best possible IVF or ART cycle they can, by working on egg quality and maturation, sperm health, endometrial lining, stress factors, diet and lifestyle.
Acupuncture for Fertility: the evidence
Whatever your situation, whether trying to conceive naturally or going through the process of IVF / IUI to get pregnant, fertility acupuncture aims to boost reproductive health and improve your chances of conceiving.
Acupuncture may help to boost reproductive health and improve chances of conceiving by:
- Increasing egg production (Jin, 2009) and improving oocyte quality (Chen, 2009), which could increase the chance of fertilisation
- Increasing blood flow to the reproductive organs (Ho, 2009; Anderson, 2007), which can improve the thickness of the endometrial lining, therefore increasing chance embryo implantation and promoting embryo implantation (Liu, 2008)
- Enhancing luteal function (Huang, 2009)
- Regulating fertility hormones, as stress and other factors can disrupt the function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis (HPOA), causing hormonal imbalances that can negatively impact fertility. Acupuncture has been found to reduce the effect of stress hormones on the body, thereby helping the normal balance of fertility hormones (Anderson, 2007)
Male Factor
Sperm health is declining in the Western world, with sperm counts having dropped around 50% in the last 40 years. With 1 in 7 couples experiencing infertility, and 30% of those being solely due to issues with male factor (and another 30% a combination of both male and female factor), male factor is now the primary reason for couples seeking IVF treatment.
What are the common issues men face with fertility?
- Suboptimal semen analysis (motility, morphology, count etc)
- Varicocele (a pooling of the blood around the testicles, which can lead to DNA fragmentation)
- Azoospermia
- Hormone imbalance
- Infection
- DNA fragmentation
- Oxidative stress
- Testicular trauma
- History of illness or undescended testicles
Male fertility acupuncture has been shown to increase sperm count and motility as well as significantly increasing the morphology (percentage of normal form sperm), and influencing quality (Pei et al, 2005). Working with a practitioner can also help in terms of knowledge and roadmapping of testing and available options or referrals, looking at diet and lifestyle, which can have a huge impact on sperm health, plus emotional support and stress management.
