Improving Fertility with Acupuncture
Acupuncture is a practice that can supplement fertility treatment and increase your chances of becoming pregnant. It involves inserting ultra-thin needles through the skin at specific points on your body. This is believed to increase blood flow and trigger the body's natural painkillers by stimulating muscles, nerves, and connective tissue. During a consultation at Dr. Sonja Kristiansen's Houston Fertility Center in Houston, TX, we can determine if acupuncture for fertility can benefit you.
How Acupuncture Can Benefit Fertility
Historically, acupuncture has been used in conjunction with other alternative treatments, such as herbal medicine, to treat many causes of infertility. Still prevalent today, women often elect to undergo acupuncture approximately three to four months before undergoing IVF, insemination, or donor egg transfer. Increased blood flow can help to foster a healthy egg and increase its chances of being carried to term. This effect can also result in a thicker, richer uterine lining. Meanwhile, the calming effects of acupuncture can also help to reduce stress, which can also benefit your fertility significantly.
It must be noted that acupuncture cannot address conditions such as endometriosis or pelvic inflammatory disease. However, acupuncture is still a beneficial treatment for women with these conditions because of the calming effects and resulting increased blood flow to the reproductive organs.
What to Expect during Treatment
When you arrive for your first visit with us, we will review your health history with you in detail and discuss your goals. Based on this information, we can recommend a course of fertility treatment and determine if acupuncture would be a beneficial supplemental treatment.
When meeting with the acupuncturist, he or she will check your pulse and inspect your tongue. Acupuncturists use the appearance of the tongue to determine the location of any imbalances. Each section of the tongue corresponds a part of the body. During the tongue inspection, the practitioner will assess the color, texture, creases, and coating. Once this is complete, he or she will then map specific acupuncture points.
We can recommend you to an acupuncturist who has the experience and credentials necessary to safely administer this treatment in a way that can benefit your reproductive health.
Following insemination or transfer, acupuncture should not be performed in the abdominal or pelvic areas. If you are pregnant, or you think you might be, points on the lower abdomen as well as points near the gallbladder, stomach, large intestine, spleen, and bladder will be avoided.
A Low-Risk Treatment
Acupuncture is generally considered safe for most hopeful mothers, regardless of medical history. However, it is extremely important that you undergo treatment by an acupuncturist who is experienced in addressing fertility issues. If incorrect acupuncture points are used during pregnancy, the risk of miscarriage could increase. As a patient of Houston Fertility Center, you can expect that we will only recommend you to an acupuncturist who has the experience and credentials necessary to safely administer this treatment in a way that can benefit your reproductive health.
Learn More about Acupuncture
If you are interested in learning more about acupuncture as part of your fertility treatment, schedule a visit with Dr. Kristiansen. During your consultation, she can help determine if this treatment could be beneficial to you. To schedule a visit, please call our office, or contact us online anytime.
