Fertility
Fertility treatment mainly tends to focus upon producing the perfect egg or ‘good quality’ embryos as with IVF. Traditional Chinese medicine believes this to be part of a bigger picture. Strong focus is placed upon your body as much as the egg for it is your body that plays host to the egg for 9 months. Many people settle upon a health plan after they become pregnant; however good health takes time to cultivate.
Traditional acupuncture believes that the health of both parents at the time of conception helps determine the health of the child. Focus is placed upon raising your general health levels and any problems you may have with a view to helping produce healthy pregnancies and healthy babies.
Research increasingly shows that stress or anxiety does have an impact upon both our health and fertility, and trying to conceive can place a great deal of emotional stress on both partners month to month.
Identifying an exact cause for a lack of conception can sometimes be difficult as many factors can contribute. Patients can find this frustrating as some wish to ‘understand’ their condition more deeply and this large “?” can affect couples on several levels both emotionally and physically.
Nutritional, physical and emotional preparation for any planned conception not only helps you to cope with the journey it is a good investment in your health and the health of your baby. With every passing month you are providing a better environment for a healthy conception. It can be better to take a few months longer and ensure a healthy pregnancy and baby with a positive attitude towards improving your health and emotional wellbeing.
The people who come to see us for help with fertility:
- Haven’t started trying to conceive yet and would like to optimise their body before beginning.
- Have been trying for a while with no success and have been diagnosed with “unexplained infertility.”
- Have PCOS
- Are about to undertake IVF and have read the research showing that acupuncture improves successful outcomes.
- Are the husbands or partners of women trying to conceive who want to improve their own reproductive health.
- Whatever your reasons for seeking fertility enhancing treatment, we are here to help.
Your treatment plan
Health Point Clinic believes in an integrated approach to managing infertility, there is a growing body of evidence suggesting that some complimentary therapies can improve outcome when used in conjunction with conventional medicine. After a thorough medical history and examination procedure treatment needs to address the underlying causes and any exacerbating factors.
Our approach is to support couples in making adjustments to their life that are most likely to be contributing to their condition. Sometimes making changes to our life can result in the easing or even curing of symptoms, often more active forms of treatment are required.
Please visit your GP if you have been trying for a year and not conceived and/or over 30 and have not conceived. Although it might be perfectly normal it is always worth making sure that medically things are ok. Visit your GP if you experience changes in your menstrual cycle.
Acupuncture
Certain acupuncture points have been shown to affect areas of the brain that are known to reduce sensitivity to pain and stress, as well as promoting relaxation and deactivating the ‘analytical’ brain, which is responsible for anxiety (1).
Massage
A combination of bodywork such as tui na, acupressure, massage, reflexology, relaxation, breathing and mindful awareness exercises are also a core strategy that has proven helpful for many people.
Other Lifestyle factors - Creating restful sleep patterns, making sure you have the right diet, nutrients and nourishing eating habits are also key, as well as addressing any emotional issues that may be involved.
British Acupuncture Research Fact Sheets - For further information please take a look at the related issues section on the right hand-side of the screen.
- Wu MT et al. Central nervous pathway for acupuncture stimulation: localization of processing with functional MR imaging of the brain-- preliminary experience. Radiology 1999; 212: 133-41.