Acupuncture for Fertility

In Canada, one out of six couples experience fertility issues and difficulty conceiving.

If you’re curious about trying acupuncture to help you along your fertility journey, Red Leaf Wellness is here to support you.

Fertility acupuncture is a specialty practice that is designed to strengthen the body’s natural reproductive system by rebalancing its cyclical rhythms and fostering healthy hormonal and neurotransmitter release.

Stimulating Qi and blood circulation in the pelvis and promoting the secretion of necessary hormones can help restore imbalances within the fertility cycle, to increase your chances of conception and full-term pregnancy.

Red Leaf Wellness is dedicated to providing reliable integrative medicine services that can restore balance throughout your mind and body and help you conceive.

What is Acupuncture?

How Acupuncture can help with male and female fertility issues

Acupuncture is a treatment derived from Traditional Chinese Medicine that works to stimulate the Qi, or life energy, in your body to rebalance patterns of disharmony.

This energy should continuously flow through our bodies. However, health conditions such as infertility can arise when this flow becomes obstructed.

Acupuncture works by replenishing the flow of Qi by gently inserting thin needles into specific points on the body to remove blockages and stimulate energy flow to eliminate stagnation. This brings balance back to the body and ignites the body’s own healing mechanisms.

How Acupuncture Can Help with Fertility

Acupuncture has been shown to regulate hormones, improve circulation and uterine blood flow, and promote relaxation in the body and mind. All of which are key factors when it comes to improving fertility outcomes in both men and women.

For women, Acupuncture can also increase ovarian and follicular function to strengthen and improve the health of the ovaries and uterus in preparation for embryo implantation. For men, acupuncture can increase sperm motility and count, and decrease sperm morphology.

That means that this effective practice can help with the following fertility issues:

Miscarriage Prevention

Acupuncture is an amazing way to help relieve stress when you’re trying to conceive, but it can also help with miscarriage prevention.

Many factors, such as genetics, hormone imbalances, nutrition, environment, immunity, and mental health, can affect whether a pregnancy is carried to term.

Whether you are trying to conceive naturally or undergoing assisted reproductive methods, acupuncture can provide a stabilizing effect on your hormones, prepare the uterus for egg implantation, and minimize stress.

Healthy Hormonal Balance for Fertility

Both men and women can suffer from hormonal imbalances that can affect fertility and their ability to conceive.

Many factors for women, such as age, stress, and diet, can contribute to hormonal imbalances. For men, aging is the most significant factor as the body slowly decreases testosterone production.

Acupuncture for hormonal balance can help regulate the body and help the liver eliminate toxins that are negatively impacting estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone in both women and men.

Sperm Motility and Concentration for Fertility

Acupuncture has been extensively studied as a treatment for male infertility, including improving sperm motility and concentration.

Acupuncture treatments help to reduce stress and improve hormonal balance, which can positively impact fertility issues in men such as low testosterone or an imbalance in estrogen levels.

Treatments can also improve sperm quality, or morphology such as its ability to swim strongly, and the shape, size, and structure of the sperm.

Endometriosis and Fertility

Endometriosis is a health condition that affects the uterus, leading to fertility struggles and other uncomfortable symptoms during a women’s reproductive cycle.

Typical treatments include hormone therapy to balance the hormones and pain medication to manage the discomfort and pain experienced with endometriosis.

Acupuncture for endometriosis can help to decrease inflammation, allow for proper menstrual flow, and decrease the associated pain and blood clots, while helping to minimize the stress in your body and assist the body to optimize its estrogen clearance.

The Benefits of Acupuncture for a Healthy Pregnancy

Acupuncture can offer many wonderful benefits towards a healthy pregnancy. From reducing body pain and morning sickness to preparing your body for labour and delivery. Here are the ways that acupuncture can support a healthy pregnancy:

Labour and Delivery Preparation

Acupuncture is sometimes commonly used as a complementary therapy for labour and delivery preparation.

It gently prepares the pelvis and cervix for labour by releasing tension in those areas, making the active stage of labour more efficient. Instead, acupuncture not only gently prepares the pelvis by helping to release tension in the areas, but also assists in the release of prostaglandins which are needed to ready, or soften, the cervix in preparation for delivery.

Acupuncture can also help reduce the rates of medical interventions, such as synthetic medical inductions, C-sections, or excessive medications.

Induce Labour Naturally

Labour induction is often recommended for you and your baby’s safety and wellness and can be assisted with acupuncture treatments that are done closely together in conjunction with your health care team.

Acupuncture provides a minimally invasive, natural, and drug-free approach to inducing labour by stimulating points on the body to increase your oxytocin and prostaglandin levels to help soften the cervix.

Acupuncture also increases your circulation and energy levels to prepare the body for labour and give you the boost of energy you will need to deliver your baby.

Pre and Post-Natal Care

Acupuncture can help during pre and post –natal care by supporting both mother and baby through this incredible transition.

In prenatal care, acupuncture can help in alleviating aches and pains, decreasing morning sickness, aiding in digestive issues such as pregnancy induced heartburn, and providing headache relief.

In postnatal or postpartum care, acupuncture can help the body heal and recover from the tremendous effort required from birthing a baby, including softening the scar tissue from C-sections.

It can also help benefit a new parent’s emotional health by helping to reduce the stress and anxiety associated with bringing a new baby home.

Acupuncture and herbs can also support you if you are struggling with lactation or milk supply problems by tonifying any deficiencies and removing obstructions from the breast.

Post-Partum Depression

Acupuncture is an amazing treatment for postpartum depression (PPD), a common condition that affects many new mothers.

PPD is characterized by feelings of the “baby blues” which present as sadness, anxiety, and low mood which can interfere with a mother’s ability to care for herself and her baby.

If you are struggling with PPD, acupuncture can help your body restore a natural hormonal balance, reduce stress and provide you with an overall feeling of calm and wellness without the side effects of medications that may interfere with breast feeding.

Acupuncture and Fertility Go Hand-in-Hand

Red Leaf Wellness has successfully worked with many patients seeking fertility solutions. So, we understand the patterns of disharmonies that affect the body’s ability in becoming pregnant, while using key acupuncture points and best applications in integrative medicine to provide the greatest results.

If you live in Edmonton, Sherwood Park, Spruce Grove, Leduc, or in the surrounding area, we invite you to get in touch with us to learn more.

Our team of skilled Acupuncturists is here to provide you with exceptional holistic health solutions.

Click here to book your appointment .