OK, so most of the patients ARE women, but at Fertility Specialists Medical Group (FSMG) in San Diego, both men and women, are experiencing the benefits of fertility acupuncture, according to Pacific College of Oriental Medicine Alumnus Maring Allen LAc.
Allen works at Zen Fertility Clinic and with FSMG treating men and women fertility patients, some who are integrating acupuncture treatments with In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) and others who are trying to conceive naturally.
For women patients, here’s how fertility acupuncture works:
- Fertility acupuncture regulates the hormone system.
- Treatments help to direct blood flow to the reproductive organs.
- Acupuncture points are chosen based on the woman’s menstrual cycle (This is key for women trying to conceive naturally. Acupuncturists like to treat throughout the woman’s cycle.)
An important note to consider is this: it takes three months to build an egg, according to Allen. This means that patients should plan to schedule a minimum of three months of acupuncture treatments for optimum results.
Does it really work? Success speaks for itself. Allen talks about one couple that had been trying to conceive naturally for over a year. The husband had “1 percent morphology,” which meant IVF was the best option. They both came regularly to Allen receiving acupuncture, herbs and supplements…a week before their first IVF cycle was scheduled to begin the woman had a positive pregnancy test. Allen continued treating the woman up through her pregnancy of a healthy baby boy!
Stats Provided by Zen Fertility Clinic:
- In a review involving 1851 women, Chinese medicine achieved a 60 percent pregnancy rate over 4 months compared with 30 percent achieved with standard Western medical drug treatment or IVF over 12 months.
- In a study of 160 women, those who received acupuncture during IVF increased their success rate by 62 percent as compared to those who didn't use acupuncture
Along with acupuncture, Allen suggests other complementary therapies as well, including: Mayan Abdominal Massage (to help properly position a uterus that is out of alignment), hypnosis to help emotionally and mentally with improving fertility, and proper nutrition.
Zen Fertility Center offers a “Fertility Challenge” email newsletter, describing fertility exercises to try such as: daily meditation, yoga, qi gong, and more! To become part of the “Fertility Challenge” email: info@zenfertility.com.
