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Fertility, Pregnancy, Labor and Delivery
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Acupuncture, acupressure, and herbal therapies have been used for thousands of years to enhance fertility and support a healthy pregnancy. Chinese medicine is very successful in treating many gynecological disorders that contribute to fertility problems such as:
- irregular or absent menstruation
- endometriosis
- uterine fibroids
- failure to ovulate
- polycystic ovaries
- abnormal uterus
- unexplained infertility
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How can Chinese Medicine Help Me Get Pregnant?
Acupuncture, herbal and dietary treatment can normalize menstrual cycles, plus
- Lowers stress hormones contributing to infertility
- Boosts hormones like follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteininzing hormone (LH), gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), estradiol (E2), and progesterone
- Enhances the quality of follicles
- Increases the number of follicles
- Relaxes uterine muscles
- Increases blood flow to the uterus
- Thickens uterine lining
- Balances the immune system
- Decreases uterine contractions after embryo transfer
- Treats side effects of fertility medications like bloating, mood swings
- Improves semen quality & quantity
- Improves egg quality
- Prevents miscarriages
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So, what is the usual process?
The earlier you start treatment, the better. To achieve the best quality sperm, eggs, and uterine lining, patients are commonly treated for three to four months before you try to get pregnant naturally or via insemination, IVF or donor-egg transfer. Treatment can be continued through the first trimester to help prevent miscarriage and help you deal with morning sickness and fatigue.
As always in Chinese medicine, your specific treatment will depend upon your particular observable pattern of symptoms. For example, if you have highly irregular periods the goal is to first establish a regular monthly cycle. This will take at least 3 months with routine acupuncture, Chinese herbs, and dietary modifications. Your regimen for polycystic ovaries would be quite different than that for someone with uterine fibroids who has heavy bleeding or for a client with endometriosis, and may even be different than for someone else with polycystic ovaries.
You may receive 4 different weekly herbal and acupuncture point formulas for each phase of the menstrual cycle. During the period we try to stop bleeding if it is too heavy, or invigorate blood if your cycle is scanty. During the pre and postmenstrual phases, we aim to build blood, promote follicular development, induce ovulation, and nourish the corpus luteum.
Unfortunately, acupuncture and herbs cannot eliminate any tubal adhesions caused by pelvic inflammatory disease or endometriosis. Surgical intervention may be needed. But, you could still benefit from Chinese medicine because of improved ovarian function.
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What about acupuncture and IVF?
Acupuncture is a helpful adjunct to traditional assisted reproductive technology. A recent study published in Fertility and Sterility found that using acupuncture in conjunction with IVF achieved a 42% clinical pregnancy rate in the test group, compared to 26% in the control group that did not receive acupuncture. This study involved giving acupuncture for just one day, shortly before and after the transfer of embryos. Clinically, this rate increases to at least 60% with use of both Chinese herbs and acupuncture in preparation for and support throughout the IVF process.
I will be happy to come to your clinic to do acupuncture on site the day of your embryo transfer.
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What else can I do to enhance my fertility?
- Don’t drink caffeine. Women who drink only 1 cup of coffee a day have a 55% higher rate of infertility. That number jumps to 176% if you drink more than 3 cups/day!
- Lose weight. Being overweight increases insulin levels, causing the ovaries to overproduce male hormones and stop releasing eggs.
- Conversely, being underweight, with low body fat levels and excessive exercising (running more than 10 miles a week) also inhibit ovulation.
- Avoid animal fats, white flour, white rice, sugar, fried foods, and alcohol.
- Marijuana prevents ovulation, especially when combined with alcohol.
- De-stress. Stress causes irregular ovulation and fallopian tube spasm.
- Avoid chemicals like smoking, hair dyes, harsh cleansers, car exhaust, dry cleaning chemicals, paint fumes, and preservatives in foods.
- Avoid dairy. The hormones in milk products can decrease fertility. Try other calcium sources or use only guaranteed hormone free products.
- Stay away from pain relievers like Advil, Aleve, and aspirin. They can cause the follicles to fail to burst and release eggs.
- Eat a healthy, well-balanced organic diet. The pesticides found in most commercially raised foods alter hormone levels. Get at least 6 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Support your local farmers!
- At least 3 months before trying to become pregnant increase your intake of folic acid: Sources include whole wheat, brown rice, oats, cereals, oranges, spinach, beans, and peas. Folic acid reduces birth defects and enhances fertility.
- Get regular, moderate exercise. Try yoga or meditation for stress relief.
- Join a support group if your quest to have a baby is causing stress in your relationship.
- Being around babies actually helps! Some doctors suspect this is because of pheromones released.
- Some women use the cough medicine Robitussin to thin their cervical mucus.
- Monitor your ovulation with one of the many commercial kits available. The window of fertility is really only 6 days out of the month.
Helpful Supplements:
Chasteberry, 40mg day Chromium, 20 mcg daily
Manganese 5 mg a day Vitamin E, 400-800 IU daily
Iron, 18 mg Vitamin B6, 50 mg, 3 times a day
Selenium 70 mcg Vitamin B12
Green tea 200 mg Zinc, 75 mg daily
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Suggestions for the male partner:
It is estimated that men are responsible for up to 50% of infertility among couples. 1 out of 10 men has poor quality sperm or low counts. More men have become sterile over the last 50 years due to the rapid increase in environmental toxins. Men in agricultural occupations have 10 times the infertility of the general population! Exposure to lead, paints, X-rays, mercury, benzene, boron, silicon chip manufacturing, and dry cleaning solvents are also culprits. Your physician should check your sperm count as well as the shape and activity of the sperm.
Fortunately, acupuncture can significantly improve the quality and health of sperm. In a study published in Fertility and Sterility in 2005, men who underwent acupuncture had increased sperm motility and higher sperm counts with fewer structural defects.
What else should my husband do?
- Avoid MSG, found in Accent, flavored potato chips, Doritos, Cheetos, packaged soups, and meat seasonings. Avoid animal fats, sugar, fried foods, and processed foods. Just the stuff men love, right?
- Stop smoking. Tobacco use decreases the sperm count by 13-17%, and increases the number of deformed sperm.
- Avoid alcohol and anabolic steroids. They decrease testosterone production and inhibit sexual function.
- Wear boxers. Tight fitting underwear, hot tubs, saunas, and excessive exercise also decrease sperm production.
- Avoid cottonseed oil (found in canned sardines). It is used as a male contraceptive in many 3rd world countries, since it decreases sperm production.
- Keep that laptop off your lap! Laptop computers can raise the temperature of the testicles up to 4 degrees, frying your little swimmers.
- Eat a balanced diet, with plenty of organic fresh fruits, vegetables, and particularly the antioxidant foods like kiwi, cantaloupe, broccoli, asparagus, Brussels sprouts, yams, and spinach.
- Get daily moderate exercise, with stress relief activities like yoga or meditation mixed in.
- Take Vitamin C. 1000 mg per day increases the motility of sperm and prevents DNA damage.
- Increase the volume and amount of sperm by abstaining from sex for 3-6 days before your partner’s fertile time.
Helpful Supplements:
L-Arginine, 1000 mg/day (avoid if you have latent herpes, it can cause outbreaks)
Vitamin E, 400-800IU/day, increases fertility 19-29%
Zinc, 75 mg/day-aids in prostate gland function
Take a multi-vitamin/multi-mineral supplement containing Co-Q10, selenium, B6, B12, and folic acid.
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OK, all my hard work paid off, and now I’m pregnant! Can Chinese medicine still help me?
You bet. Acupuncture and herbs can be very effective for pregnancy related conditions including:
- nausea & vomiting (90%effective),
- aches & pains (e.g. back, carpal tunnel, sciatica),
- headaches & migraines
- fatigue
- heartburn
- anxiety/stress
- relieve pelvic girdle pain
- helps stop preterm labor, early contractions, and threatened miscarriage
We also have a 70% success rate in turning breech babies. Moxibustion involves burning an herb close near your little toe and other points known to stimulate the baby's movement. This therapy is most successful when used from 32 to 34 weeks, before the baby gets too large. I teach my clients to do this at home on their own, daily for 1 to 2 weeks. 75.4% of 130 fetuses in the group who used moxabustion were in the proper position for delivery vs. 62 (47.7%) of 130 fetuses in the control group who did not receive moxa.
Acupuncture is also very effective for inducing labor, particularly after due dates. Acupuncture can start labor immediately or for up to 60 hours after the session.
Why use acupuncture for labor and delivery?
Acupuncture improves cervical maturation if sessions are carried out at the beginning of the 9th month, with fewer post dates deliveries.
Acupuncture shortens the first stage of labor, reducing need for oxytocin. The women given acupuncture spent less time in active labor.
Acupuncture treatment during labor significantly reduces the need of epidural analgesia (12% vs. 22%). Mothers who received acupuncture reported a significantly better degree of relaxation compared with the control group.
Women in labor report significantly lower pain scores and significantly less need for painkillers for up to two hours after acupuncture and two hours after giving birth than those who received ‘fake’ acupuncture.
After childbirth, acupuncture can be used for:
- Postpartum depression and anxiety
- Postpartum fatigue
- Pain (backache or pain of the vaginal tissues)
- Insufficient lactation or excessive milk production
- Mastitis
- Bleeding
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