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I am asked many times,” How do we become pregnant” or “How do I become pregnant” with fertility acupuncture ? The following information regarding fertility acupuncture treatment should help to explain how acupuncture for infertility works:
Acupuncture allows practitioners to tap in to the energy system that enlivens the body. Based on archaeological evidence, it is believed that the earliest precedents of acupuncture dated as far back as 1000 BC. Acupuncture has been used for healing by the Chinese for thousands of years. The basis of it’s theories lie in simple, natural laws that govern our health and well being within a balanced environment. The Chinese believe that if this balance is lost, illness and disease follow.
Infertility Acupuncture takes the form of inserting very fine needles into the body’s energy lines, or meridians. There are 14 major meridians in the human body, 12 of which are dominated by the major organs. Each of these links energy points across the whole body, which are all related.
The needles are inserted at special points on the meridians, where the energy can be regulated. It may be helpful to think of this in terms of the electricity supply to a room. The meridians are the wiring, the acupuncture points are the light switches, dimmers and fuses, and the organs are the electrical appliances. Acupuncture practitioners will choose a combination of points to achieve the desired effect in treating Infertility. The choice is guided by long-standing formulae, modified to suit each individual and problem.
Needles come in different lengths, which are chosen according to where they go and what they are treating. They are always sterilised and often disposable, and so perfectly safe. The practitioner may use from five to 15 needles, leaving them in place for just a few minutes or for up to half-an-hour. When the needles are inserted correctly, they cause a sensation known as ‘de qi’, which is a slight tingling, heaviness or numbness at or around the needles. This is a sign that the needle is working on the energy channel and that the organ is being properly stimulated. Acupuncture should not be painful, however. Indeed, the experience can produce a deep sense of relaxation that promotes a general feeling of wellbeing.
Acupuncture for infertility is complex as the diagnosed condition may involve more than one organ system. This means that infertility acupuncture points relating to different organ systems will need to be carefully chosen collectively to address the imbalances of energy flow in these systems. Generally speaking however, there are a set of points which relate to the reproductive system as a whole. In addition, there exists a good number of points that are known to be effective for infertility and tonifying of specific organ systems. Based on diagnosis made on an individual basis, a group of points will be carefully chosen to target the condition found in the patient. As the patient improves, so does his/her condition. The infertility acupuncture points chosen may therefore need to vary accordingly to achieve the optimal effect at any one time.
Conception and successful birth rely on a healthy uterus, strong ovaries, and an abundant sperm count. Physical imbalances can effect the physiology of fertility, as well as cause menstrual abnormalities. If you’re having trouble getting pregnant, the imbalances in your body that are inhibiting your fertility have probably been building for a long time. Fortunately, Chinese medicine is very effective for resolving the root-causes of these imbalances. My style of acupuncture can help your body return to optimal functioning. As a result, your ability to conceive and maintain a healthy pregnancy increases dramatically.
Acupuncture is often used alongside western treatment, including injectables such as IUI, ICSI and IVF. Research has shown that acupuncture dramatically increases the success rate of allopathic infertility treatments by up to 40%. Modern research has found that acupuncture can enhance the chances of IVF and increase blood flow in uterus.
Acupuncture is an ancient Chinese method used for the treatment and prevention of disease. These systems are as ancient and effective as any other medical techniques used in the world today. They have been practiced consistently for the past five thousand years in the Orient. Seventy percent of one quarter of the world’s population uses acupuncture as their main form of health care.
Advantages
Although acupuncture has been used in England, France, and Germany for several hundred years, only in the past two decades have acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) been recognized in the United States. The benefits of acupuncture and TCM in treatment for the infertile couple can be found in early Chinese medical literature dating back to the 11AD.
Not only do these techniques assist in regulating the menstrual cycle and invigorating the sperm, but they also serve to enhance the function of the whole body. This “whole body” health approach, in turn, provides a key to unlock unlimited potential in healing. This is especially appropriate for the over 40 couple as it stimulates overall health to effect reproductive health and a reduction of biological age.
PMS, amenorrhoea, endometriosis, blocked fallopian tubes, immune system incongruities, and infertility related hormonal problems yield to many of these old world (traditional) procedures. Furthermore, acupuncture that tonifies the kidney energy (renal and adrenal function), and kidney essence (jing) are especially beneficial in raising sperm count and motility. The highly technical and expensive methods used in Western Medicine are supported by the complimentary set of procedures and techniques of acupuncture.
There are several advantages to using acupuncture as an approach to heightening a couple’s fertility:
- Acupuncture sees the person as an integral mind/body organism, thereby does not treat just symptoms/diseases. Acupuncture ventures to stimulate the bodies natural healing potential by treating root causes rather than just symptoms.
- Acupuncture used in the treatment of infertility, minimizes undesired side effects and accumulated toxicity from invasive procedures and drug therapies, known and unknown.
- Traditional Chinese medicine may be used to strengthen and balance one’s general health so that IVF, GIFT, ZIFT, ICSI, AHT and TET procedures are more effective. The acupuncture patient derives general health benefits and endocrine system balancing from specific acupuncture and herbal regimes. Pregnancy becomes easier to achieve and postpartum recuperation happens faster. Medical studies have been done in China to verify this type of whole body health enhancement.
- The widespread use of acupuncture suggests that it is a complete traditional medical health care system and can be used with or without the integration of Western medical techniques. The integration of Western medicine, as we know it in America, began in the Orient less than a century ago. It is called INTEGRAL CHINESE MEDICINE (ITCM). Ancient medical techniques of acupuncture utilized with modern procedures, seem to work best.