What Are the Benefits of Acupuncture For Fertility?
Infertility is the inability to conceive a child within one year of trying. Infertility (also referred to as sterility) affects both men and women and can have drastic effects on mental health, stress levels, and relationships.
Many different infertility treatments have been used over the years, but one that often gets overlooked is acupuncture. Believe it or not, acupuncture treatment has proven to be very helpful in cases of infertility, as several causes of infertility can be reduced with acupuncture.
Acupuncture is helpful as a complementary method used in conjunction with other treatments to increase their effectiveness. Learn more about the benefits of acupuncture for fertility.
How Acupuncture Works
Originating from traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture is performed by inserting thin, sterile needles into specific points on the body to improve a person’s well-being. Ancient Chinese believed that inserting needles into these acupuncture points would open pathways and regulate “qi.” In today’s world, acupuncture has been proven to stimulate chemical releases in the body.
While labeled as “alternative medicine” by many skeptics, the positive effects of acupuncture cannot be argued. When performed by a licensed acupuncturist, it results in several different reactions in the body to relieve pain, stress, anxiety, and much more.
One of the other issues that acupuncture can help with is infertility. While acupuncture cannot cure sterility, the effects of acupuncture can help boost fertility in both men and women.
Benefits for Female Fertility
Acupuncture is most effective in helping fertility in women. Many factors lead to women struggling to get pregnant; the most common factors being poor egg quality and irregular hormones. Thankfully, acupuncture can help with both of these issues.
Hormone Regulation
A key hormone for women’s fertility is the Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (FSH). As the name implies, this hormone is crucial to develop ovarian follicles. If FSH is too high, fertility treatments tend to be less effective, and the ovaries can stop working entirely.
Acupuncture has shown to be very effective at helping regulate FSH, and keep the ovaries and ovarian follicles growing. If women still struggle with fertility after their hormones are stabilized, they are still more receptive to ovarian stimulation thanks to this treatment.
Improves Blood Flow
Blood flow is an important part of egg quality. The ovarian blood supply delivers nutrients directly to the eggs to help them develop. Poor blood flow deprives eggs of quality nutrients, making conception difficult.
Research shows that acupuncture treatments improve blood flow to the uterus and ovaries, allowing for more high-quality eggs. By relaxing the blood vessels, poor circulation can be remedied and allow blood flow to the ovaries.
Assists With Health Conditions
There is evidence to suggest that acupuncture can help treat some health conditions such as polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) or other conditions that affect ovulation/reproductive organs. Conditions such as this can make conception extremely difficult, and any effort toward treating them can help make conception a little more likely.
Benefits for Male Fertility
Acupuncture can also help with infertility in men. Nearly half of infertile couples find that their troubles are due to poor male fertility. While in vitro fertilization (IVF) is often able to overcome male infertility, this is not always the case. This is because IVF treatment still requires the man to have some high-quality sperm cells available. If there is a lack of high-quality sperm cells, IVF has a low success rate.
Luckily, acupuncture can help with issues regarding sperm cells in men.
Improves Sperm Count & Quality
Acupuncture treatment has been found to help with sperm cells’ motility, vitality, and total count. Not only does this aid in fertility on its own, but it also can improve the success rate of IVF treatments by producing more and higher quality sperm cells.
Acupuncture is also believed to help regulate testosterone in men, which is a key factor in fertility.
Other Benefits That Help Reproductive Health
Some benefits affect both sexes or the fertility process as a whole.
Reduces Stress & Anxiety
One of the main reasons people seek acupuncture is to treat stress and anxiety. What some don’t realize, however, is that stress and anxiety can directly contribute to infertility. Heightened levels of stress can negatively affect reproductive hormones, reduce sperm count, shorten menstrual cycles, and increase the risk of miscarriage.
Reducing stress is often key to increasing fertility in both men and women. Regular acupuncture sessions have been proven to reduce stress and anxiety, helping people with their fertility journey.
Complements Other Fertility Treatments
Acupuncture helps the effectiveness of other fertility treatments. For IVF, acupuncture helps the sperm quality and quantity to improve the chances of successful treatment.
Not only is it helpful for men to get acupuncture before attempting IVF, but for women as well. Acupuncture has been shown to help with embryo transfer and implantation in women due to the increased blood flow. Acupuncture also helps immune function, which is helpful to the implantation process as well.
When Should You Start Acupuncture for Fertility?
Ideally, you should start getting acupuncture treatments several months before receiving any other infertility treatments. Regular acupuncture is the best way to see sustained, long-term improvements. If you attempt IVF after only one acupuncture session, it may not be enough to observe the benefits of acupuncture to help with the IVF treatment.
Looking for an Acupuncturist?
Whether it’s for increased pregnancy rates or overall wellness, acupuncture is a valuable treatment method. In addition to the various advancements in reproductive technology, the benefits of acupuncture for fertility can help both men and women — with minimal side effects.
If you’re looking for a fertility acupuncture treatment plan or have any other acupuncture needs, look no further than Meridian HealthCare! Not only do we offer exceptional acupuncture treatment, but our integrative medicine model is designed to ensure you are taken care of in every aspect of your health. Contact us here when you’re ready to start feeling the benefits of acupuncture.