This article is written by my colleague Dr Luke McPherson (CM) who is an Acupuncturist and Chinese Medicine Practitioner based in North Sydney, you can book an appointment with Luke through the West Street Wellbeing Clinic or call him directly on 0414 287083.

How can Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine contribute to a positive outcome in an IVF cycle?

Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine can help to improve the success rate of the IVF process in a number of ways; I have purposely kept it short as acupuncture is very complex, and to keep it succinct I had to make it into bullet points.   I have broken this up into 2 stages:

Acupuncture leading up to IVF (ideally 6-8 weeks before IVF)

 This is an extremely important phase in your health, you have invested time, money, emotion, and just about all of your energy.  It is getting close to your IVF transfer so you want everything to be working optimally.  Six-eight weeks is a great time to introduce acupuncture into your health arsenal, and give your IVF that all important boost it needs.  Here’s what Acupuncture does for you leading up to IVF

·        Alter and stabilise oestrogen and progesterone hormones to support the four phases of the menstrual cycle

·        Regulation of hormones to produce larger number of follicles.

·        Promote ovulation and improve egg quality

·        Improve blood flow to uterus and ovaries

·        Improve quality of the endometrium, and ensure it has adequate thickness.

·        For the partner I can help improve sperm count, motility and morphology.

Acupuncture during IVF and into first trimester

On the day of transfer you will be feeling nervous and anxious.  Seeing me, your acupuncturist, before a session is clinically proven to enhance your chances of IVF conception.  This in itself is enough of a reason to come see me; but that’s not all I do!  Acupuncture washes away the nasty stress hormone cortisol, and releases the beautiful hormones endorphins, serotonin, and dopamine; these are those wonderful hormones that will make you feel, chilled, happy, relaxed, and ready!!

So why after conception do you still need acupuncture?

When your pregnant, hormone levels double every day!  You will need help to deal with this, and acupuncture is the perfect candidate for the job.  Acupuncture has also been shown to reduce the chance of miscarriage, so the object is to protect your little miracle.  Pregnancy is many different things to many different people, it can be stressful waiting to complete those all-important scans; acupuncture can help relax and destress by giving you more of those feel good hormones, ans washing away the stressful ones

Here’s how acupuncture works

·        Relieve side-effects of IVF drugs

·        Decrease stress levels and create a more subdued ‘you’ for the transfer

·        Facilitate embryo implantation

·        Reduce chances of miscarriage

If you have any questions, and wish to discuss your options then please call Luke on 0414 287083 or see his website.