Whether you struggle with infertility or just want to enhance your fertility naturally, fertility acupuncture can help you to conceive. In women, regular acupuncture treatments stimulate the production of follicles by the ovaries and improves cervical mucous. In men, acupuncture improves sperm quality, sperm motility, sperm morphology and sperm count.
Medical studies have shown that acupuncture treatments for fertility can improve the thickness of the uterine lining and facilitate embryo implantation. For this reason fertility acupuncture is recommended to women who have had a number of miscarriages or who are going through IVF or IUI treatments.
Acupuncture has been used in China for thousands of years to promote fertility and to cure infertility. It is successfully used to treat medical conditions that contribute to infertility such as endometriosis, PCOS, high FSH and luteal phase defect, as well as unexplained infertility.
Fertility Acupuncturist Monica Legatt LAC
Monica Legatt has extensive experience in the field of gynecology and fertility acupuncture. For over 17 years she has worked with thousands of women to overcome gynecological disorders and become pregnant. Her patient testimonials reflect Monica’s consistently positive outcomes when it comes to patients conceiving. She has specialized training in the treatment of infertility with acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine, as well as other areas of alternative medicine for infertility including herbal medicine, fertility massage, fertility yoga and naturopathic medicine. Some of Monica’s instructors include Klaus Wiemer PhD., Embryologist at The Northwest Center for Reproductive Sciences, Michael Opsahl, MS, Reproductive Endocrinologist at The Northwest Center for Reproductive Sciences, and Patricia Hunt PhD, professor and research biologist at Washington State University. Monica’s educational background with these specialists has prepared her to communicate with her fertility patients' Western-medicine doctors while they undergo treatments such as IVF or IUI.
How Acupuncture Cures Infertility
Acupuncture focuses on increasing the patient’s overall health and wellness, thus enhancing fertility as a result. During women’s fertility acupuncture treatments, the blood flow to the reproductive organs increases and ovarian function improves leading to healthy ovulation and conception. In men the stimulation of the acupuncture meridians that correlate with the reproductive organs are treated to increase sperm count, improve motility, improve morphology and improve sexual stamina. These points are found primarily on the legs of the patient and above and below the navel: not on or near the groin area.
Fertility Acupuncture Can Treat:
Women
- Advanced maternal age
- Amenorrhea
- Anovulation & ovulation disorders
- Depression
- Elevated FSH
- Endometriosis
- Immunologic factors
- Hormonal imbalance
- Luteal phase defect
- Partial tubal obstruction
- Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)
- Poor ovulatory cervical mucus
- Recurrent miscarriage
- Unexplained Infertility
- Uterine lining problems
Men
- Low sperm count
- Sperm motility
- Abnormal sperm morphology
- Erectile dysfunction & libido
The Benefits Of Fertility Acupuncture Include:
- Regulating the menstrual cycle
- Thickening the endometrial lining
- Enhancing cervical mucus
- Encouraging ovulation
- Reducing stress level
- Enhancing libido
- Preventing miscarriages
- Strengthening of the immune system
- Decreasing elevated levels of FSH
- Clearing Blocked Fallopian Tubes
- Improving mobility, quality and quantity of sperm
Fertility Acupuncture and Maternal Age
Even if it is not possible to reverse your chronological aging, nonetheless you can definitely influence the progress of your biological aging and improve egg quality with acupuncture. Practicing a healthy lifestyle in addition to regular acupuncture treatments can have a positive impact on slowing down the natural aging process and keep your eggs healthy. Chinese herbal medicine in conjunction with fertility acupuncture treatments is usually recommended to improve egg quality for a woman who is 37 or older.Studies have reported that there is a strong correlation between the age of the mother and her ability to conceive. However, it is important to remember that the eggs of some women in their forties can be kept in excellent quality due to slow biological aging. Fertility acupuncture can assist the body in doing just this.
Fertility Acupuncture and Hormones
Regular acupuncture treatments can be very helpful in regulating hormonal imbalances. Acupuncture influences the hormonal regulation centers in the brain, the autonomic nervous system, and the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis.
This is done over a period of months and with regular treatments. Acupuncture can help decrease high levels of FSH, which is related to the number of quality eggs a woman produces. High FSH is connected with poor quality of eggs. This value can fluctuate and can be brought down to acceptable levels when too high in order to help a woman who plans to undergo IVF treatments. Read our patient fertility acupuncture testimonials for several success stories from women who conceived after having acupuncture for high FSH.
Fertility Acupuncture and Fertility Charting
Tracking your basal body temperature is extremely valuable in determining your diagnosis in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Your menstrual cycle charts will help your fertility acupuncturist choose exactly what acupuncture treatment is appropriate for you during each week of your cycle, even if your cycles are irregular.
Keeping track of the basal body temperature is an excellent way for you to assess your progress with acupuncture by monitoring how your hormone fluctuation pattern is changing. Over a period of time, while getting acupuncture treatments, you will notice that you tend to ovulate closer and closer to day 14 and that your luteal phase is around 14-15 days in length. Your periods will flow easily, with less clots and cramps and less PMS. All of these improvements are signs that you are gaining better hormonal and reproductive health. Your fertility acupuncturist will give you precise instructions on how to accurately track and chart your basal body temperature.
Fertility Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine
Acupuncture for fertility is often combined with herbal medicine in order for the patient to achieve the best possible outcome. In the field of gynecology and fertility, herbal treatment is considered very important in most cases. Typically your fertility acupuncturist will give you different prescriptions to take during your follicular and luteal phases. If you are undergoing IVF or taking a medication such as Clomid or Femara, an experienced fertility acupuncturist will not prescribe any herbs that are contraindicated in combination with the medication you are taking from your reproductive endocrinologist or gynecologist.
The Timing of Acupuncture for Fertility
An experienced fertility acupuncturist who is treating you to assist in conception will choose acupuncture points for your post-ovulation treatments that are safe and appropriate in the event that you have become pregnant that cycle. Fertility acupuncture treatments post-ovulation always take into account the possibility that a fertilized follicle is implanting.
You can schedule your first acupuncture treatment for fertility at any time during your cycle except during your menstrual period. Your treatments will be determined by your acupuncturist based upon what phase of your cycle you are at, to better help your body at that time of your cycle. For example, a specific protocol may be used before ovulation to help with follicle development and cervical mucous quality, and after ovulation the treatment will focus on supporting implantation of a fertilized follicle. An experienced fertility acupuncturist should be able to give you a rough estimate on how many menstrual cycles you may need treatment, although this is something impossible to accurately know or predict. Some women conceive in the first month of treatment, and others need consistent uninterrupted treatment for 9 to 12 months or more to achieve all of the constitutional and gynecological changes necessary for conception. Some of our most compelling and inspiring fertility testimonials were written by patients who received treatment for a year or more.
IVF and Fertility Acupuncture
Fertility Acupuncture and Stress Reduction
Relaxation through acupuncture treatment regulates the parasympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system which is important for maintenance of proper regulation of our internal function including reproductive organs. This means that normally human beings should be relaxed, happy, looking for food and engaging in reproductive activity, just like our ancestors, millions of years ago.