Acupuncture for Female Low fertility and Infertility

Fertility Acupuncture Brisbane.

Can acupuncture increase someones chances of falling pregnant?

Yes, our Brisbane acupuncture clinics provide treatment for women with all types of pregnancy and fertility issues including female low fertility and infertility.

Acupuncture has been shown to improve a range of gynecological disorders which affect a woman’s fertility, and thus her ability to conceive (1). Our clients range from 20 years old all the way through to menopause. Our practitioners have worked with thousands of people and seen positive results both via natural conception and in-conjunction with IVF and IUI procedures.

What causes female infertility?

Infertility or low fertility is defined as a couple who have been trying to fall pregnant for 12 cycles (1 year) with no success. It can be caused by any gynecological condition such as heavy, light or absent periods, painful periods, irregular periods, endometriosis, polycystic ovarian disorder, recurrent thrush, structural problems to the shape of the uterus or fallopian tubes, fibroids, imbalances of sex hormones or high levels of stress hormones.

How can acupuncture help?

Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine with dietary and lifestyle changes have been shown to be effective at regulating hormone levels, ovulation and improving menstrual cycles (2),  improving egg quality (3) and thickening the endometrial lining in preparation for embryo implantation (4).  

Should you be using medication to regulate the hormone levels, acupuncture is helpful at reducing some of the unwanted side effects such as mood changes, bloating, breast tenderness, nausea, dizziness, headaches, sweating during the night, hot flushes and difficulty getting to sleep or falling asleep (5, 6).

The study listed below showed that women receiving acupuncture in addition to lifestyle modifications, conceived in half the time of those following lifestyle modifications alone (4).

When should I see an acupuncturist?

We recommend that acupuncture be performed weekly as your cycle goes through four phases, each lasting approximately 6-7 days. These phases include phase one –  menstruation, phase two – growing a new lining (endometrium), phase three – ovulation and finally phase four-  the rise and fall of progesterone levels ready to re-enter phase one – menstruation.

For fertility issues, we suggest you make an appointment and your practitioner can discuss each phase with you in-depth and how it relates to your state of fertility.

You do not have to wait until you have seen your doctor or fertility specialist before starting acupuncture and no medical referral is required.  We often work alongside gynecologists, obstetricians and fertility specialists as studies have shown this has a positive effect on medical treatments (7, 8). For more information on combined treatments with your doctors please see IVF Support and IUI support.

Which practitioner should I book with?

TLC Acupuncture Clinic has a range of practitioners with a special interest in fertility.  

Currently, all our female practitioners have advanced training and experience with these treatments and you will find one or more in each location.

Clinical research trials for acupuncture as an effective treatment for infertility

There are studies that show that acupuncture enhances outcomes for women undergoing medical
treatment for infertility (9); listed below are a number of other studies which agree that acupuncture is
helpful for problems with infertility, as well as IVF support.

1 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1136/aim.24.4.157
2 https://europepmc.org/abstract/med/29231358
3 LI Jing; CUI Wei, SUN Wei, WEN Ji World Journal of Acupuncture-Moxibustion (WJAM), Vol. 24,
No.3, 30th Sep.2014. Effect of electroacupuncture on egg quality and tumor necrosis factor -0 of
patients with polycystic ovarian syndrome.
4 https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2016/3587569/abs/
5 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780323401968000607
6 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4874921/
8 https://www.e-jar.org/journal/view.php?number=2422
9 Effects of acupuncture on rates of pregnancy and live birth among women undergoing in vitro
fertilisation: systematic review and meta-analysis by E Manheimer, G Zhang L Udoff, A Haramati, P
Langenberg, B Berman, L Bouter conducted in 2008 concluded Current preliminary evidence
suggests that acupuncture given with embryo transfer improves rates of pregnancy by 65% and live
birth among women undergoing in vitro fertilisation. Fertility acupuncture Brisbane.
BMJ 2008;336:545

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