Female Infertility
Female infertility accounts for approximately 40% of couples' inability to conceive. Male factor is now 40%, and 20% is of unknown cause.
Natural Fertility
A woman's menstrual cycle is a complex balance of hormones. Many menstrual disorders can cause difficulties in conception, both natural and assisted.
Problems such as long and short cycles can cause problems with ovulation and implantation. Painful and heavy periods can also cause problems with implantation or you may suffer from endometriosis or PCOS.
Many of these menstrual disorders will affect your ability to conceive. Acupuncture can reduce these conditions, regulate your cycle, help with pain along with improving your fertility.
In clinic we will take an in depth look at your menstrual cycle. This will provide us with information on the areas of your cycle we need to focus on in order to balance your hormones to support fertility, even if the cause is unknown. The treatment will then be based around your menstrual cycle and previous medical tests. We may also encourage the use of basal body temperature (BBT) charting, again this allows us to gain a greater understanding of your menstrual cycle. We will also suggest individualised dietary and lifestyle advice. These things together will improve your fertility.
How many treatments will I need?
Treatment is generally advised every week to two weeks for a minimum of 3 months. Weekly treatments are encouraged as this allows us to work with each phase of your menstrual cycle.
Grimsby Acupuncture is a member of the Acupuncture Fertility Network. The Acupuncture Fertility Network is a specialist intrest group of acupuncturists dedicated to helping individuals with fertility issues across the UK.
More about acupuncture for Fertility
Acupuncture treatment decreases stress, regulates hormones by balancing oestrogen and progesterone to support your fertility.
It takes approximately 100 days for an egg to mature (this is why we suggest a minimum of 3 months treatment). During this time the eggs need the right nutrients, hormones and blood supply to optimise egg quality. Acupuncture can improve circulation to the ovaries and improve nutrition to the developing oocytes, increasing egg quality and the chances of a viable embryo. In one recent study, patients who received acupuncture treatment had significantly more mature eggs than patients who received sham acupuncture (Kusuma et al., 2019).
A successful conception needs to implant into a healthy uterus. Several research studies have found that one of the benefits of acupuncture is that it increases blood flow to the uterus and ovaries. this blood flow improves the thickness of the endometrium thus increasing the chances of embryo implantation. Acupuncture can increase embryo implantation rates. One study found that acupuncture significantly improved clinical pregnancy rates in patients with a history of two or more failed IVF cycles.
If you would like to know more about how acupuncture can help you I would love to hear from you. If you are looking for more information about how acupuncture can help you through your IVF journey why not check out this page.