First, what exactly is infertility? Infertility is when you’ve been trying to have a baby for a year or more if younger than 35 and 6 months or longer if over 35, without using any protection, and nothing’s happening. It’s like nature’s playing hard to get! According to the Center for Disease Control, around 18 percent of females 15-44 find it challenging to get pregnant. But guess what? It’s not just women dealing with this. Almost 6.9 million people have ventured into the world of fertility treatments. This might involve shots, popping pills, or even a little help from science with artificial insemination. But here’s the kicker – even with all these efforts, there’s no magical guarantee that a baby’s on the way. It’s a real emotional rollercoaster, no doubt.
You won’t believe it, but Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) can really up your chances of having a baby, especially if you’re already diving into fertility treatments. It’s like giving Mother Nature a helpful nudge! The stats don’t lie – when you throw acupuncture and TCM into the mix, the success rates of conceiving jump from 39.4 percent to a solid 65.5 percent.
Curious about the effectiveness of fertility acupuncture? Let’s examine some evidence! A study released just last year by Evidence-Base Complementary and Alternative Medicine took a deep dive into 27 studies involving nearly 8,000 participants. What they found was quite interesting: acupuncture might just boost the chances of women with fertility issues getting pregnant. These results line up with what we’ve seen in earlier research, strengthening the case for acupuncture as an effective approach to tackling infertility.
So how does it work? Well, acupuncture does a few cool things. First, it’s like a chill pill for your stress, which can be a real baby-making roadblock. Plus, it gets the blood flowing down there to your baby-making organs and keeps your hormones in check. This extra blood flow does wonders for the ovaries and uterus, making it more likely for an egg to find a comfy home and grow into a little one. Any hey, it’s not just for the ladies. Acupuncture can also give a boost to the guys by improving the quality and swiftness of those little swimmers. It’s like a fertility superpower!
When it comes to acupuncture, those tiny needles are like traffic lights for your blood flow. For the guys, regular acupuncture sessions can actually boost the blood flow to your precious testicular highways. Why is that important? Well, your testicles need a good blood supply to stay healthy. It brings in all the nutrients, clears out the junk, and keeps the area nice and cool which is a perfect recipe for healthier sperm.
So, here’s the deal – the top reason for female fertility issues often boils down to ovulation troubles. It could be all sorts of things causing it, like wonky hormones, stress making a cameo, or even a bit too much “phlegm” hanging around the lower part of the body. These hiccups can sometimes stop a mature egg from making its grand exit from the ovaries.
And then there’s progesterone – when it’s in short supply, it can throw a wrench in the works, making it tough for a little one to snuggle up in the uterus. But here’s where acupuncture comes to the rescue. It’s like a superhero that can help iron out those hormonal wrinkles and get everything back in balance, making the whole baby-making process more likely to happen.
Doctor Michele Zic-Tuccino is a board-certified licensed acupuncturist and self-cultivated energy healer. She holds both a master’s and doctorate in acupuncture and has been sensitive to energy since childhood. Doctor Michele uses her background in science, clinical experience, and innate gift of energy healing to help women in their 30s and 40s and their partners with fertility challenges meeting them wherever they are on their journey towards building a family.
Quan K, Yu C, Wen X, Lin Q, Wang N, Ma H. Acupuncture as Treatment for Female Infertility: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2022;2022:3595033. Published 2022 Feb 16. doi:10.1155/2022/3595033
Zegers-Hochschild F, Adamson GD, Dyer S, Racowsky C, De Mouzon J, Sokol R, et al. The international glossary on infertility and fertility care, 2017. Hum Reprod (2017) 32:1786–801. doi: 10.1093/humrep/dex234
