Fertility Acupuncture
Acupuncture has been successfully used throughout Asia for thousands of years to boost fertility in both men and women. Fertility acupuncture’s key to success is that it effectively addresses and rebalances root causes to infertility like PCOS, endometriosis, and irregular cycles for those with ovaries & a uterus; and sperm count, motility, and morphology for those that produce sperm, which helps to increase the odds of falling pregnant while addressing overall health and wellness. In both sexes acupuncture has been found to be phenomenal at regulating cortisol (stress hormones) to yield normal fertile cycle dynamics. If you have been told that reducing stress may help your odds, this is exactly how acupuncture can help that happen on a biochemical level. Acupuncture increases blood flow to the ovaries and uterus to support a healthy ovarian follicle and uterine lining. It also decreases inflammation and corrects subtle hormonal imbalances. Hillary also offers holistic fertility coaching in addition to fertility acupuncture.
Fertility Acupunctrure at AoA
In addition to being board certified for reproduction, we are also clinical herbalists. Herbs for fertility can be helpful to untangle complex disorders and speed up the timeline to natural pregnancy. We also use supplements like CoQ10, NAC, Myoinositol, and Vitamins when appropriate for natural and IVF cases.
At Art of Acupuncture, serving couples that are wanting to conceive, has been a specialty since our inception in 2012. We’ve helped thousands of couples conceive naturally and with western intervention like IUI and IVF and we are happy to help you whether you are just starting to think about conceiving or if you have been at it for years. We love treating fertility so much that we even created a virtual program using Traditional Chinese Medicine, Functional Medicine, and causal coaching principles called Conscious Conceptions, to help our patients manage their minds, emotions, and stress on the days they aren’t in the clinic getting acupuncture.
What Our CLients Say
“Absolutely LOVE Art of Acupuncture! I’ve been seeing Hillary since trying for my first baby over five years ago. She is amazing at everything and has helped me with everything from fertility, to knee pain with running, anxiety and more. Highly highly recommend them to everyone no matter what you would go for!”
“...Personally I have been seeing Hillary, and I couldn’t recommend her enough. She helped me prepare so much for my second pregnancy, and postpartum I still am seeing her. Hillary is very thorough and really helps me feel better after every visit. All other staff are super welcoming and nice...”
Solving Infertility with Acupuncture
Each person’s fertility picture is unique to them. That is precisely why no two acupuncture treatments will look exactly the same. In addition to taking your Western diagnosis, your Eastern imbalance into consideration we are also using the tongue, pulse, and body palpation to inform us of where to place the needles to rebalance your constitution and hormones. Traditional Chinese Medicine excels at solving infertility because we have so many tools in addition to acupuncture. We may employ a combination of fire cupping, electro-stimulation, ion pumping cords, moxibustion, herbal prescriptions, nutritional suggestions, and Chinese herbs and tinctures to help enhance your fertility and amplify the effect of the acupuncture.
And because stress has been implicated as a detriment to fertility, we are always taking an approach to regulate the nervous system from fight or flight into a peaceful state of rest and digest or what we like to refer to as the “breed & feed” side of your nervous system. When your mind thinks it is safe to conceive, hormonal balance is achieved much easier.
If you are looking for fertility treatments that help your fertility and leave you feeling like you are floating and in the best shape of your life, then we invite you to come experience acupuncture for fertility at Art of Acupuncture.
Health Conditions That Contribute to Infertility
There are many underlying conditions that have been implicated in infertility. Some patients come to us with a firm diagnosis in hand from an OB, or RE (reproductive endocrinologist) while others have not been diagnosed and just know it isn’t working. We love working with couples trying to conceive no matter where they are on the journey.
AMENORRHEA
DECREASED OVARIAN RESERVE (DOR)
ELEVATED FSH (FOLLICLE STIMULATING HORMONE)
ENDOMETRIOSIS
POLYCYSTIC OVARIAN SYNDROME (PCOS)
RECURRENT MISCARRIAGE
UTERINE FIBROIDS
UNEXPLAINED INFERTILITY
LUTEAL PHASE DEFECT
MALE FACTOR INFERTILITY
Read more about these health conditions, how they contribute to infertility, and what steps you can take to help yourself in our blog, What is Contributing to My Infertility.
“I’ve witnessed the transformative power of acupuncture in harmonizing the body’s energy for optimal reproductive health. Beyond statistics and treatments, I’ve seen fertility acupuncture become a conduit for my patients to rediscover a profound sense of inner balance and hope on their journey towards parenthood.”
Acupuncture for Infertility Process
You can expect to receive a thorough questionnaire from us as soon as you book your initial acupuncture appointment for fertility at Art of Acupuncture. This allows you to give us a detailed account of both your full medical history and fertility journey from the privacy of your home that is then safely stored in your HIPAA compliant patient portal.
You’ll want to plan to spend two hours with us on your initial visit. Your provider will go over your intake forms, any previous labs that you bring, and all of your vitamins and supplements. After we have all of this information then we can give you a prognosis on how many visits you should anticipate and when in your cycle is the optimum time based on your diagnostics. This time also allows for us to educate you on any lifestyle tweaks or supplement/ herbal formulas we think would be beneficial to your unique case as well as answer any questions you may have.
Some women will only need to come twice monthly while others that have complex PCOS or IVF cases may be asked to come twice weekly. Partners are always encouraged to be treated and we even offer a couples room where you can be treated simultaneously after initial consults are performed. This allows partners to support one another, to destress at the same time, and to bring back some of the intimacy that can sometimes feel missing once intervention has been involved.
Then we get to the good part! Acupuncture and cupping. We find that many of our fertility patients are stressed and that cupping can be a great way to nix upper back and neck tension as well as modulating immune responses and increasing blood flow to reproductive organs. Then you experience your first acupuncture treatment.
It is our firm belief that infertility acupuncture doesn’t have to hurt to work. We use tiny needles and are in constant communication about your comfort, from the needles inserted down to the temperature on the bed warmer. We often guide our patients through a deep relaxation process where you will be allowed to lay in a deeply relaxed state for approximately 30 min.
You’ll also receive access to our online classroom with Recipes for a Fertile You Meal Planner with hundreds of suggestions and meal plans designed to rebalance your TCM patterns that were uncovered during your intake and 30 Fertility Meditations to help you find your zen when you aren’t with us. Before you leave you’ll be given instructions for any herbal formulas or supplements that would be beneficial for your case.
After your appointment you’ll be guided by our front desk staff of how and when to reschedule. We often encourage booking out your appointments so it is one less thing for you to worry about. You’ll want to plan to be in our office for one full hour for follow up appointments. The providers in our clinic, Hillary & Hannah, that treat infertility acupuncture work opposite days and often share patients so that you have the ease of being seen any day of the week and two sets of brilliant eyes on your case.
Many of our patients choose to continue care with us throughout their pregnancy to better manage symptoms like nausea, fatigue, and insomnia that can be natural side effects of an otherwise joyous time. We also offer breastfeeding and postpartum support for those that wish to have a truly holistic experience with providers they have grown to trust.
Should you have any further questions about treatment we invite you to call our office and speak directly with one of our providers. We look forward to serving you.
Acupuncture & IVF
In the United States, Acupuncture was once considered a last resort to fertility or treating any health matter. It was foreign. It lacked cultural understanding and it addressed an unknown and invisible force, Qi. It was scientific studies on whether or not acupuncture can improve IVF outcomes that started in the early 2000’s that helped the popularity of acupuncture take off in the West. It was difficult to take a holistic medicine like TCM and shove it into a linear scientific method, but IVF and the very objective and measurable outcome of a healthy & happy baby helped to show acupuncture’s efficacy. Twenty five years later, many couples are comfortable adding acupuncture to their IVF protocols, and they consider it a must and a way to protect a substantial financial investment and their mental wellbeing during what can be described as a rigorous process. Here are few studies that highlight the potential of acupuncture to increase the odds of a successful IVF cycle:
German study that looked at 160 women undergoing IVF and split them into two groups. One group had only IVF and the second group combined IVF and acupuncture. The group that combined acupuncture and IVF had a 50% better outcome than the group that just had IVF.
In both sexes acupuncture has been found to be phenomenal at regulating cortisol (stress hormones) to yield normal fertile cycle dynamics. If you have been told that reducing stress may help your odds, this is exactly how acupuncture can help that happen on a biochemical level.
Acupuncture can improve sperm quality and fertilization rates in assisted reproductive technology.
Repeated electro-acupuncture treatments induce regular ovulations in more than one third of the women with PCOS.
A 2019 Meta-analysis of over 5,000 women undergoing IVF showed when acupuncture is given a minimum of 3 times prior to IVF embryo transfer and within 1 day of transfer the pregnancy outcomes are significant for those that have had previous failed IVF cycles.
For optimized results we recommend combining acupuncture and herbs for three months prior to starting IVF. However, we are able to accommodate new patients mid IVF cycle when space allows. Call and speak with one of our providers to get all of your questions answered.
Supplemental Treatments to Assist with Acupuncture
Moderate Exercise
Tinctures
Healthy Eating
Stress Reduction
Read more about these at-home activities, how they enhance your fertility outcomes when used alongside fertility coaching and acupuncture, and what steps you can take to help yourself in our blog, Supplemental Treatments to Improve Fertility Outcomes.
Choosing a Practitioner
Your Fertility Acupuncturist should have the following minimum credentials:
State licensure & national licensure
Master’s level certification of a DOM
Fellow of the Acupuncture and TCM Board of Reproductive Medicine
All of our acupuncturists have a National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. When choosing your fertility practitioner in St. Petersburg, be sure your acupuncturist has these credentials and make sure you are comfortable with them.
Read more about these credentials and what to consider when searching for a fertility practitioner in our blog, Choosing a Practitioner for Fertility Acupuncture.
Frequently Asked Questions About Fertility Acupuncture
-
We recommend coming in for fertility acupuncture as soon as you decide you are ready to conceive. It can take 3 months to change sperm quality and count and rebalance hormones. The literature suggests the minimum number of times for acupuncture to be most advantageous to fertility is 3 times. We believe optimum treatment times for most is three months to see lasting changes in fertility health.
-
Infertility is typically a complex health issue that includes both partners 30% of the time. After an initial intake a plan is made to decide how frequent treatment should be to get to the desired outcome of a healthy pregnancy. For some we will lean in heavier to herbs and nutritional support and less acupuncture 1-2 times a month and for others like PCOS and Frozen Embryo Transfers we will request to see you twice a week.
-
Risks associated with acupuncture for fertility are the same as they would be for any treatment. They typically include bleeding or bruising at the site of insertion. Dizziness or nausea could also happen if the person’s blood sugar is low or they have fasted before coming in. We recommend having something light to eat before your appointment if you have known blood sugar issues.
-
To best prepare for your fertility acupuncture treatment, gather any past labs, your current vitamins and supplements and set aside 20 minutes to properly fill out your patient intake electronically, 48 hours before you arrive. This allows you and your provider to make the most of your time in the first and future visits starting with a complete picture. Try not to overschedule yourself directly after your visit so you can enjoy the acu-high relaxation you are likely to feel after.
-
Most studies on acupuncture for fertility pertain to IVF cases as those are easy to control for. Those studies suggest that a minimum of three treatments prior to a transfer + one within 24 hrs of the transfer can increase pregnancy rates by 50% over control groups. It stands to reason that acupuncture should work the same or better in natural cases of conception.
-
You can absolutely get acupuncture while you are doing IVF or IUI. We are lucky to have close relationships with some of the best IVF clinics in our area helping to support one another’s patients. We understand the uniqueness of a medicated cycle, how to ensure we don’t interfere, how to minimize the side effects of stimulant medications while increasing their ability to work in the hopes that less medication is needed.
-
Fertility Acupuncture can improve sperm quality and fertilization rates in assisted reproductive technology. Chinese Herbal Medicine has also been shown to improve motility, morphology, and count. You can learn more about what to take to help each aspect of a sperm analysis with our free Supplement Guide.
-
The only contraindications for acupuncture for fertility would be of an ethical nature when a person is seeking care, but does not have a womb in order to hold a pregnancy. In the event of blocked fallopian tubes it would be unethical to advise acupuncture without the addition of IVF or intense physical therapy in order to bypass the challenge of blocked fallopian tubes. Menopause is not necessarily a contraindication for fertility acupuncture as long as the carrier is undergoing IVF with donor or frozen embryos and will use medications to grow a lining. We have assisted in several of these cases resulting in healthy pregnancies for several 50 year old aged women and a younger woman reached menopause early before the mean age of 48. We believe all humans should be able to access care to help them build families regardless of age, race, or sexual orientation.
Featured Blog Posts
Enhance Fertility Outcomes
Acupuncture for Labor & Delivery
Supplemental Treatments To Improve Fertility
Choosing a Practitioner for Acupuncture
Schedule an Appointment
OUR OFFICE: 2941 5th Avenue North St. Petersburg, FL 33713
HOURS OF OPERATION: Monday — Thursday: 8:30am — 6:30pm & Friday — Saturday: 9:00am — 5:00pm
EMAIL US: Join our community today. Ask a question, send us a testimonial or just let us know you are interested in learning more by filling out the form below. Our terrific front office staff or one of our practitioners will be happy to help!