Fertility Enhancement & Chinese Medicine
How many of us know someone who has had a hard time getting pregnant? How many of us have been at the side of a friend who has just had a miscarriage, perhaps not her first one? Maybe this person has been you. It seems rare these days that we not know someone who has struggled with this stressful issue. There are many Western Medical treatments for fertility issues; most of these are aimed at the manipulation of hormones in the body. Although they can be effective (and sometimes not), they are often costly, both monetarily and emotionally. What many don’t know is that Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), including acupuncture, herbal medicine, and shiatsu bodywork, can help.
Simplicity in Traditional Chinese Medicine
TCM sees the underlying cause of infertility (and most diseases) to be rather simple. Overwork (this includes stress!), excess physical work, excessive sexual activity, constitutional weakness, and poor or irregular diet are at the root of infertility (Maciocia, 1998, p. 691). These are the basic causes; upon taking a detailed medical history, your practitioner will come to a more specific diagnosis by looking at your whole body, its patterns and habits. In TCM, we look at patterns of symptoms, not just the fact that you have been diagnosed with “infertility”. Your practitioner will ask you about your digestive patterns, the quality of your sleep, your emotional landscape, and will go over your menstrual patterns extensively. Then they will feel your pulse and look at your tongue to form and reinforce their diagnosis. With all of this in mind, your practitioner will be able to diagnose what lies at the root of the imbalance, and will then prescribe acupuncture and herbal medicine. The strength of TCM lies in its ability to make an extremely individualized diagnosis and treatment plan. The treatments will improve your overall wellness, and from that, enhancement of fertility tends to follow naturally.
Chinese medicine offers you the opportunity to choose wellness for your own body and that of your child. Instead of manipulating hormones and forcing your body to do something it might not be ready to do, it works by nourishing the essential substances in your body. It “reminds” your body back into a state of balance. This may take some time: fertility enhancement does not always happen overnight. Chances are the patterns that have led up to difficult conception have been in the works for a while, and will take some time to re-balance. Each person is different, but an absolute minimum course of treatment would last a month, although in most cases three months to a year is ideal, depending on the person. This may sound like a long time when you just want to be pregnant; however, keep in mind that you will be setting yourself up for optimum wellness during your pregnancy, as well as for the health and overall wellbeing of your future child. And, a few months of acupuncture and herbs are much less costly, on your body and your pocketbook, than many of the conventional treatments available. Some couples pay tens of thousands of dollars on IVF and associated medications, while a course of acupuncture and herbal treatment is under $1000.
Traditional Chinese Medicine as Complementary Care
This article is not written to sway you to abandon conventional medical treatments, but to inform you about other options you may want to explore. In fact, acupuncture is often used in conjunction with Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ARTs), like IUI (Intrauterine Insemination), ICSI (Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection), and IVF (In-Vitro Fertilization). Studies have shown that acupuncture done on the day of embryo transfer increased the success of IVF. In one particular study, a group of women received acupuncture on the day of embryo transfer and another group only had the embryo transfer, no acupuncture. Of the group who had acupuncture, 39% became pregnant, compared with 26% becoming pregnant with no acupuncture. 36% of the women in the acupuncture group maintained pregnancy, while just 22% of the women in the non-acupuncture group remained pregnant (Westergaard et al., 2006, pp 1342-45). Another study showed the effect of acupuncture in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle (the second half of the menstrual cycle). One group received acupuncture, while another received fake, or “sham” acupuncture. Both groups were undergoing IVF or ICSI as well. In the group that received acupuncture, 33.6% of the women became pregnant, compared with 15.6% in the sham acupuncture group. The on-going pregnancy rate was 28.4% for the acupuncture group, compared with 13.8% in the sham group (Dieterle, Ying, Hatzmann, Neuer, 2006, p. 1348).
These two studies demonstrate the positive impact acupuncture has, when used in conjunction with ARTs. For many women, using acupuncture and ARTs gives the best of both worlds and a greater chance of success with fertility. What is most important in trying to get pregnant is to make sure you set the stage for your own wellness first, as the wellness of your baby is sure to follow if you are able to take care of yourself, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Your practitioner is available to support you and give you accurate information about all options, so that you can make informed decisions about your reproductive health and overall wellbeing.
Sources for this Article
Dieterle, S., Ying, G., Hatzmann, W., and Neuer, A.. (2006, May). Effect of Acupuncture on the Outcome of In Vitro Fertilization and Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection: A Randomized, Prospective, Controlled Clinical Study. Fertility and Sterility, 85(5), 1347-1351.
Maciocia, G. (1998). Obstetrics & Gynecology in Chinese Medicine. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone.
Westergaard, L., Mao, Q. Krogslund, M., Sandrini, S., Lenz, S., Grinsted, J. (2006, May). Acupuncture on the Day of Embryo Transfer Significantly Improves the Reproductive Outcome in Infertile Women: A Prospective, Randomized Trial. Fertility and Sterility, 85(5), p. 1341-1346.
