Fertility
I support male and female fertility from pre-conception to pregnancy to post-partum by building up the body's
vital energy.
Pre-conception care is all about building towards the healthy development of egg and sperm as well as promoting the best uterine environment for the embryo to implant in. Acupuncture helps build our body's natural vital energy to promote not only gynaecological health but overall physical and mental wellbeing.
Whether support is required for egg quality, sperm count, motility or morphology, follicular or luteal phase problems, irregular menstruation, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), endometriosis, fibroids, low Anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH), recurrent miscarriage, acupuncture helps streamline our endocrine system by balancing our hormones to boost our gynaelogical health. Whether you are seeking support for natural fertility or assisted conception and undergoing IVF, IUI or ICSI, acupuncture is equally as important.
The British Acupuncture Council (BAcC) has collated research showing how acupuncture may benefit both female and male fertility. For more information, please go to www.acupuncture.org.
- Regulating fertility hormones. 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 shown to affect hormone levels by promoting the release of beta-endorphin in the brain, which affects the release of gonadotrophin releasing hormone by the hypothalamus, follicle stimulating hormone from the pituitary gland, and oestrogen and progesterone levels from the ovaries.
- Enhancing luteal function such as embryo implantation
- Regulating follicle stimulation hormone-receptor expression
- Normalising cortisol and prolactin levels on IVF medication days
- Reducing stress. Stress also stimulates the sympathetic nervous system, which causes constriction of ovarian arteries. Acupuncture inhibits this sympathetic activity, improving blood flow to the ovaries. enhancing the environment in which ovarian follicles develop.
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Increasing blood flow to the reproductive organs. Thereby improving the thickness of the endometrial lining and increasing the chances of
embryo implantation, increasing egg production and improving oocyte quality, promoting embryo implantation
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For assisted-conception, acupuncture has been shown to increase success rates by 42.5% if combined with embryo transfer for women undergoing IVF. Acupuncture also addresses the side effects of IVF drugs such as headaches, hot flushes, bloating, mood changes, night sweating and also alleviates the emotional stress of fertility treatment.
Pregnancy care focuses on supporting embryo and placenta development during the first trimester as well as conditions such as morning
sickness, fatigue, back pain, carpal tunnel and anxiety which may be experienced during pregnancy. At later stages in pregnancy, acupuncture may be used to alleviate musculo-skeletal pain as well
as prepare for birth. Acupuncture and moxa is used to help with babies in breech position.
Post-partum care is centred around supporting the mother's physical and mental wellbeing after birth to the next 12 months. Conditions such as
promoting the let-down of breast milk to anxiety, fatigue and post-natal depression may benefit from acupuncture. Post-natal depression occurs in 10 to 15 in every 100 women and may occur months
after birth.
Call now to have a chat about how I can help support your fertility and wellbeing today!