Acupuncture for Infertility

Both men and women can use acupuncture for infertility. While we know that fertility is related to age, it's also strongly correlated with health. It stands to reason that if the body is in a state of poor health, then it may not have the resources to reproduce. Acupuncture improves fertility by balancing the energy in the meridians, which has an effect on physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health.

Each of these areas can affect the other and therefore pain in the body can affect one's emotions, while finding spiritual peace can often help calm the overactive mind. When looking to improve either male or female fertility, optimum health of the body, mind, emotions and spirit are paramount to a successful pregnancy and a healthy baby.

What is Acupuncture

Acupuncture is one component of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and is the most well known modality in the countries where TCM is a regulated practice. The United States, Australia, Canada, England, Germany, Italy, France and Sweden are just some of the western countries that license and regulate TCM. Of course in Asian countries such as China, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and Taiwan, acupuncturists and Chinese herbal shops are commonplace.

Acupuncture involves the use of small guage needles, sometimes called filaments because of their small girth, which are placed at various acupuncture points throughout the body. Many points used in acupuncture for infertility are on the calves, feet, forearms, hands and abdomen. Sometimes small needles are placed in various points in the ear. This is called auricular acupuncture and it can be helpful in treating the mind and the emotions, possibly because of the proximity to the brain.

How Does Acupuncture Work?

Acupuncture works by balancing the energetic systems of the body. In Chinese medicine, we call these energy systems meridians, which resemble nerve or artery pathways. Broadly speaking, there are 12 main meridians in the body. Each of them is named after an organ. For instance, the Kidney meridian runs from the bottom of the foot, up the inner leg, continuing through the genitals, reproductive organs and kidneys, up the abdomen and chest, and finishing just below the neck.

A meridian is a pathway in the body that carries energy or Qi throughout the body, much the way that nerves carry impulses or arteries carry blood. When these 12 meridians are balanced with adequate and smooth flowing Qi, a person experiences good health and well being. When using acupuncture to improve fertility, abundant, smooth flowing Qi in the meridians is our baseline goal. This helps men in the production of healthy sperm. Using acupuncture to help fertility in women results in balanced hormones, a regular menstrual cycle and better nourished follicles.

What is an Acupuncturist?

An acupuncturist is a person who practices acupuncture. Depending on the licensing laws and scope of practice guidelines for the particular country or state, acupuncturists may also practice, Chinese herbalism, dietary therapy, massage therapy, moxa, cupping, medical qigong, tai chi, feng shui and Chinese astrology.

An acupuncturist generally has completed an undergraduate program and holds a B.S. or B.A. upon entering a TCM school. Most programs outside of Asia offer Masters degrees, which involve 3 - 4 years of schooling and clinical practice. Recently, many schools have started offering Ph.D. programs to encourage more research and specialization in fields like infertility.

Using Acupuncture for Infertility

Acupuncturists use acupuncture for infertility to primariliy balance the Qi or energy. As mentioned earlier, when the Qi in the 12 meridians is abundant and flowing smoothly, the person experiences health and well being. Infertility or sub-fertility is a sign that the Qi is inadequate or isn't flowing smoothly. Using acupuncture for infertility tonifies deficient Qi and moves stagnant Qi.

In the case of people with stressful jobs, processed and erratic diets, moderate coffee and alcohol consumption, and bedtimes after 11:00 PM, the quality of Qi in the Liver, Kidney and Spleen meridians can be damaged. This is unfortunate, as these are the primary meridians involved in fertility. Using Chinese herbs, dietary therapy and acupuncture for infertility is a successful 3 prong approach to address the effects of stress, poor dietary choices, and lifestyle on fertility.

I find that the optimum schedule when using acupuncture for infertility is once a week for men. There have been many studies on the effectiveness of acupuncture on sperm counts, motility and morphology with acupuncture and Chinese herbs. I also utility diet and lifestyle counseling to maximize my results in the clinic. It takes about 79 days for new sperm to form, so it's common to see changes in sperm production after 2-3 months of regular treatment.

Ideally, women will also receive weekly acupuncture treatments with the appointments corresponding to the various phases of the menstrual cycle. Researchers have studied the effects of acupuncture and Chinese herbs on female reproductive health for many years. It's important for the herbal therapy to be personalized to the phases of the woman's menstrual cycle. Charting is necessary for tracking changes and improvement to the menstrual cycle. While a woman is born with all of her eggs, it takes 120 days for an egg to mature before it may be ovulated. Therefore, it may take 4-6 months to get pregnant when using acupuncture to improve fertility.

Acupuncture and IVF

Acupuncture and IVF have been in the press because of a number of studies done on the effectiveness of using acupuncture to improve fertility with an IVF procedure. I've summarized the results of the landmark German acupuncture study here. IVF is a procedure that came about in 1978 to address the problems of blocked fallopian tubes and low sperm counts by allowing the sperm to inseminate mature eggs in a petri dish and then introducing them directly to the uterus for implantation.

In IVF, many of the woman's natural hormonal impulses are shut down with medication, so that hormonal drugs can be used to stimulate the maximum number of follicles. This is a huge adjustment for the body and that's where acupuncture can help. Acupuncture excels at balancing the body in general and with IVF, it's important to relieve stress, calm the mind and enhance the growth of a healthy endometrium.

I find that the success rates of both IVF and IUIs increase when both the man and the woman receive regular acupuncture treatment for at least 3 months prior to their IVF or IUI cycle. Often during this 3-6 month period of weekly acupuncture, herbal medicine and a nourishing fertility diet, couples often find themselves pregnant naturally.