Acupuncture is well known for treating a wide range of disorders including neck and back pain. But what about acupuncture for fertility? Can you use these techniques to overcome infertility and help get pregnant? Research says yes.
Acupuncture has been a staple in Chinese medicine for centuries. Some anthropologists believe it may date back as far as 6,000 years BCE.
Researchers have found sharpened stones or bone fashioned into needles which may have been precursors of acupuncture tools. While no writings from that long ago describe acupuncture, some ancient texts describe the meridian system that modern acupuncture employs, suggesting these ancient peoples understood the underlying principles.
Practitioners of acupuncture have used its techniques successfully for centuries in treating stress and pain, particularly back and joint pain.
Modern Acupuncture Techniques
In modern times the field of acupuncture has expanded beyond the use of needles alone. Electro-acupuncture applies a small electric current down the needles into skin and muscle tissues. Laser acupuncture forgoes needles in favor of high-intensity laser light, which is entirely noninvasive. The laser isn’t in any way painful, but the light penetrates deep into tissues, stimulating nerves and muscles without physical contact.
Using Acupuncture For Fertility
Research shows that among other things, acupuncture can work to improve the likelihood of pregnancy by stimulating nerves leading to the brain that causes the brain to reduce the quantity of androgens produced by the ovaries. While using acupuncture for the treatment of infertility isn’t as well known as using it to treat pain, it can be quite effective.
Acupuncture And PCOS
In recent years, acupuncturists have applied these methods to treating polycystic ovary syndrome, more commonly known by its acronym PCOS. PCOS is common among women in their twenties, thirties, and mid-forties. This condition causes the ovaries to release higher levels of androgens, or male hormones. This can lead to irregular menstruation — or no menstrual periods at all. It can also cause excess body and facial hair, mood disorders, obesity — and difficulty becoming pregnant.
Nobody knows what causes PCOS. Even if you aren’t planning a pregnancy, get diagnosed early. Treatment coupled with weight loss may prevent heart disease and the onset of type-2 diabetes.
Researchers at the YinOva Center based in New York City have used acupuncture to treat women who run the gamut in terms of fertility. Some have been unable to conceive for years; others simply want to ensure that their bodies are in the best condition they can be for pregnancy.
Jill Blakeway, the center’s director and an acupuncture practitioner herself, has applied fertility acupuncture even to women who have even made several attempts at IVF, or in-vitro fertilization. Blakeway reports significant results in her practice.
Using Acupuncture To Get Pregnant: Is It Right For You?
There is really only one answer to this question: try it and see. Every woman’s body is unique, and applying acupuncture for fertility may work on one but not another. Even if you aren’t struggling to become pregnant, acupuncture may help adjust your endocrine system, helping to ensure you’re in the most favorable state for a pregnancy.
We offer acupuncture for fertility in our Hong Kong Central Integrative Clinic. If you’re looking at getting acupuncture elsewhere, before you begin any course of treatment, consult your doctor or medical practitioner. Determine whether there are abnormalities that may interfere with pregnancy. Also, have your partner tested as well. Pregnancy, like a waltz or tango, takes two.