Female Fertility

mom-and-newborn

Female Fertility Issues

Women who have experienced difficulty getting pregnant or maintaining a pregnancy are looking for effective solutions to help them. Many have been on the journey to motherhood for a long time. This can be a stressful and emotionally draining experience. Many women try Traditional Chinese Medicine after failing with other methods. Some come because they have heard that acupuncture can help improve the outcome of Assisted Reproductive Technologies like IVF. Still others come because they want to try a natural route to achieve pregnancy. Acupuncture can help in all of these situations.

Acupuncture and herbal medicine have been shown to increase fertility in the following ways:

  • Regulate the menstrual cycle, return normal cycles
  • Improve egg quality
  • Increase blood flow to the uterus, increasing uterine lining
  • Treat blockages in pelvic area
  • Reduce stress that can affect hromone levels
  • Reduce possibility of miscarriage

During your initial appointment we will evaluate your overall health, look at lifestyle issues that may impact your fertility, create a customized herbal formula to assist in regulating your menstrual cycle, make recommendations on supplements to ensure your and your baby’s health and provide an acupuncture treatment. You will also be given guidance on any other issues that may assist you in timing conception. I always consider this a team effort between myself and my patient. I listen to what you have to say and to your feelings about what you are going through. All factors impact your success and feeling free to express your concerns is of great importance. I make every effort to ensure your success.

You can get started now to improve your fertility by adding a few things to your diet.

  • Take a high quality prenatal vitamin if you aren’t already doing it.
  • Take a high quality, high potency fish oil, or flax seed oil if you are a vegetarian.
  • Eat a variety of vegetables at every meal, especially leafy greens (not salads with only lettuce) like broccoli, kale, collards, spinach, chard.
  • Drink plenty of filtered water.

Other beneficial things to do:

  • Stop smoking
  • Avoid alcohol
  • Limit caffeine consumption to one cup of green tea per day.
  • Sleep 8 hours a night

All of these things will greatly enhance your fertility and your overall health, which in turn will ensure that your baby will be strong and healthy too!

Assisted Reproductive Technologies  (IVF, ICSI, IUI)

If you have decided that assisted reproductive technologies are your best option for pregnancy, acupuncture is a very beneficial addition. Most reproductive endocrinologists now routinely accept and encourage acupuncture as an adjunct to treatment.

A recent study has shown that for women who are undergoing ART using acupuncture along with in vitro fertiliztion:

  • Improved their results by 40-60%
  • Improved ovarian response and receptivity
  • Reduce the side effects of IV drugs
  • Helps produce more follicles
  • Helps produce better quality eggs
  • Reduces stress during procedures
  • Prevents the uterus from contracting
  • Decreases the chances of miscarriage

I often work in conjunction with your reproductive endocrinologist to achieve the best result. If at all possible I come to your embryo transfer to administer acupuncture using a specific protocol that was used in the study above.

Bethany Muhl, L.Ac
13315 W. Washington Blvd, Suite304
Los Angeles, CA 90066
(310)367-1564