I was fighting secondary infertility for over a year, even had a surgery with very little success. At this point our fertility specialist recommended acupuncture with Rachel. Within only 3 months of treatment and a little diet adjustment we were pregnant again! Because it was still a high risk pregnancy and the probability of miscarriage was pretty high, I kept taking acupuncture treatment well into my second trimester, and incredibly enough, I carried my beautiful healthy baby girl into the full term. It is hard to express how thankful to Rachel we are for our little miracle baby. -ML-

In-Vitro Fertilization

How often do I need to come in for treatment if I am preparing for an in-vitro procedure?

Pregnant Belly @istockphoto.com/andipantz

If you are coming in for in-vitro preparation, one study recommends treatment twice a week for four weeks up to the day of the transfer, in order to increase the flow of blood to the uterus.

Another study showed that for patients who received acupuncture treatment immediately before and after the in-vitro procedure, clinical pregnancies were documented in 42.5% of the patients in the acupuncture group, whereas pregnancy rate was only 26.3% in the control group.

How can acupuncture & herbs can help throughout the IVF cycle?

Before (3 months prior to cycle) -- in women, improve egg quality and regulate hormones; in men, improve semen quality & quantity
During -- increase the number of follicles & improve the quality of the uterine environment by relaxing uterine muscles & thickening uterine lining
After (once pregnant) -- prevent miscarriages and minimize symptoms common in the first trimester

Chinese medicine is very successful in treating many gynecological disorders that accompany and contribute to infertility, such as:

irregular menstruation
amenorrhea
endometriosis
uterine fibroids
metrorrhagia due to anovulation
PCOS
abnormal uterus
unexplained infertility

Source: "Acupuncture & IVF", Lifang Liang, O.MD., Ph.D., L.Ac.

Acupuncture has the following potential fertility-boosting benefits:

Increase blood flow to the uterus and therefore uterine wall thickness, an important factor for fertility
Increase endorphin production, which, in turn, promotes the release of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) to regulate reproduction
Lower stress hormones responsible for infertility
Normalize plasma levels of the fertility hormones: follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteininzing hormone (LH), estradiol (E2), and progesterone
Normalize the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis, a key process in fertility
Combats polycystic ovarian syndrome

Source: "Role of acupuncture in the treatment of female infertility." By Dr. Raymond Chang, Dr. Pak Chung, and Dr. Zev Rosenwaks. Fertility and Sterility. 2002 Dec;78(6):1149-53.