When you are told you can’t have a child it feels as though someone has instantly ruined your life. A whirlwind of emotions haunts you as you search desperately for other options. You, your husband, or partner may be asking, “Why us”? You may be sick and tired of “everything baby” around you and you certainly may be disgusted when you are asked innocently, “Do you have children?” The bad news is you may feel this excruciatingly painful part of your life will never end. The good news is it will resolve, you are not alone and you have more options than you think.
One thing you may not be aware of is the fact that acupuncture could increase your chances of getting pregnant by over 50% (Sterility and Fertility April 2002 and April 2006). I witness it in my practice every day. Patients have success combining acupuncture with in-vitro fertilization cycles, inseminations, and/or pharmaceuticals with intercourse. Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine can also be used exclusively to treat patients before they attempt more invasive therapies or after couples have been told they will never be able to get pregnant. Time and time again I have participated in the success of helping couples conceive when they were told that would never be an option.
Infertility often causes anxiety and depression and why wouldn’t it? Most of us have wanted to be parents from a very early age playing house with our friends carrying around teddy bears and baby dolls as though they were our own flesh and blood. Believing your life-long dreams will never become your reality is devastating.
For most people, acupuncture is the last thing they think about when they are having a difficult time conceiving. For many, acupuncture seems like an unlikely match for tackling depression, calming anxieties, and enhancing fertility. In the past, the least likely person to tell you about acupuncture and herbal medicine enhancing your fertility was your physician but that has changed. Many physicians work side-by-side and make referrals to acupuncturists to decrease stress and increase fertility in their patients. The science is finally proving the efficacy of Traditional Chinese Medicine in the world of fertility.
Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine works by treating imbalances and diseases in the body that are prohibiting conception or the ability to carry a child. We are familiar with many terms through western medical terminology: endometriosis, poly cystic ovarian syndrome, high FSH levels, poor sperm count, poor motility and poor morphology and the all too common and frustrating diagnosis of unexplained infertility.
In Chinese medicine we view these diseases through images projected in nature like: too much heat in the uterus or dampness obstructing the reproductive organs. This is more easily understood when a Chinese medical term aligns nicely with a Western medical explanation of a disease. For instance: endometriosis which often causes painful menstruation, sensitive bowel movements and tender breasts is a common diagnosis of infertility. This pattern of disharmony according to Traditional Chinese Medicine has several potential diagnoses depending on the personal symptoms. If a woman has pain before her period starts, tends toward depression, has breast tenderness and blood clots that accompany her uterine cramping this is consider blood stasis in the uterus causing pain and infertility. She needs acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine to alleviate pain, move blood stagnation in her uterus in order to increase her fertility.
If however, the patient has uterine cramping and pain AFTER the first day of her menses, she is tired, and pale then the same western diagnosis of endometriosis has a different diagnosis in Chinese medical terms. This diagnosis is called: blood deficiency causing pain in the uterus and inhibiting pregnancy. For this patient we would treat her with different herbs and acupuncture points that increase blood flow to the uterus and alleviate pain thereby enhancing her fertility. Describing our diagnosis as it relates to the individuals symptoms makes sense to patients. They can literally see the blood stagnation in their clots and they can obviously recognize their pale face when blood deficient. The medicine is easy to understand in this way and brings comfort and satisfaction to new patients. The mystery of the dysfunction in their reproductive system is relieved.
Another benefit for the person who uses acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine to increase their fertility is the emotional well-being and reduction of stress that accompanies treatment. Utilizing acupuncture to enhance fertility is never a waste of time or money. At the very least patients feel better physically and emotionally and often become open to options that they never would have considered before. From a western medical perspective we now have evidence that supports what acupuncturists have known for centuries: Stress reduces your ability to conceive and carry a child to full term. Acupuncture reduces stress on a very deep level and this fact alone enhances fertility in both men and women considerably.
As acupuncturists and herbalists we are unable to separate the mind from the body so when we bring balance to the body through acupuncture and herbal medicine the patient will also experience balance emotionally. This is an aspect that patients can feel and observe readily during their healing process. It is the confirmation that many people seek acknowledging that the therapy is working because feeling better is palpable and easy to assess. For the skeptic, they acknowledge that at the very least they feel better while receiving acupuncture and herbal therapy. They also have the comfort of reading the scientific proof in some of the most respected journals in reproductive medicine. Thankfully the majority of acupuncture patients will conceive and carry their dream to fruition becoming parents at last. Being open to the unknown not only enables your child to enter your life but bring peace into your heart as well.
Article written by Kristen Burris, L.Ac., M.S.T.O.M Licensed Acupuncturist, Herbalist and Master’s In Science of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Kristen is the founder and medical director of American Acupuncture Center in Eagle, Idaho www.Americanacu.com. Her areas of expertise are: women’s health, fertility enhancement, irregular cycles, painful menstruation, and unexplained infertility. Ms. Burris has been featured in Parenting Magazine, Natural Health Magazine, Better Nutrition Magazine, KUSI News, Today’s Local News, National Public Radio and The San Diego Union Tribune.
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