As many who have tried to start a family know, falling pregnant is not as easy as you might have thought when you were a teenager. When you are trying to fall pregnant, there are many treatments you can use, and one of them happens to be acupuncture. How exactly can sticking needles into your body help with conceiving, let’s find out!
What is acupuncture?
Acupuncture is a medical treatment that involves strategically inserting fine needles into different acupoints—generally on the back, neck, head, or face—to assist in recovery or release tension in muscles. Generally, this medical technique is used to treat pain caused by arthritis, muscular pain, headaches or migraines, sports injuries, and menstrual cramps.
In some cases, although there is still a lot of research that needs to be done on the topic, acupuncture is also believed to improve fertility in men and women and, therefore, may improve their chances of conceiving.
How could acupuncture help with fertility?
According to some studies, although it still needs to be investigated further for accuracy, there is some promising evidence that acupuncture may help aid with fertility in both men and women.
Essentially, it’s theorised that when acupuncture is performed prior to and after in vitro fertilisation (IVF), embryo transfer is more fertile than even women who changed their lifestyle to increase their chances of conceiving. In roughly 20 studies, women undergoing IVF who had acupuncture before showed significant improvements in the chances of falling pregnant. Again, while these signs are promising, more research is needed to make this conclusive.
What are the benefits of trying acupuncture for fertility?
Acupuncture has many benefits for an individual’s overall health and, as a result, could benefit your fertility. Here are some benefits of acupuncture for your overall health and how this could impact fertility:
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Improves blood circulation
Acupuncture is renowned for its effects in improving the blood flow of people who participate in this type of treatment. As a result of the increase in blood flow, more nutrients are carried to your reproductive organs, like the uterus and ovaries, and this could potentially improve their function. Healthy reproductive organs mean that you will create more favourable conditions for conceiving a child.
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Helps balance hormone levels
Hormone imbalances, like PCOS, can make falling pregnant significantly harder for some people. Through stimulating the release of endorphins and helping regulate the hypothalamus-pituitary-ovarian axis, acupuncture may be able to assist in balancing a woman’s hormone levels, regulate menstrual cycles better, and promote regular ovulation.
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Reduces stress and anxiety
Stress and anxiety or other mental issues like depression can play a significant role in your overall health and harm your fertility. Regular acupuncture sessions can release tension in your muscles, stimulate nerve cells, and cause you to feel more at ease and relaxed by stimulating the release of endorphins. A more relaxed nervous system may lead to improved fertility.
Are there any risks of going for acupuncture?
Overall, when administered correctly, acupuncture is fairly safe. The needles are extremely thin and sharp, so much so that you might not even feel them enter your skin. However, it’s still important to ensure that you have acupuncture treatment done by a professional who is familiar with fertility care.
Where will the needles be inserted for fertility acupuncture?
The body has different acupoints used to increase blood flow to certain areas. For fertility acupuncture, pressure points on the head may be used to promote relaxation and reduce stress while points on the stomach are believed to increase blood flow to the ovaries. Needles might also be placed around the lower legs to improve blood flow back up to the reproductive organs.
Can you do acupuncture during pregnancy, too?
In most cases, acupuncture is considered safe to do while you’re pregnant. In fact, like a massage, it might actually be helpful to alleviate certain symptoms of pregnancy, like morning sickness or fatigue. However, it’s always better to be safe than sorry when you’re carrying your baby. So, we recommend consulting a professional before going for acupuncture while pregnant.
Where can you get professional fertility acupuncture in Australia?
In Australia, there are numerous places where you can have acupuncture done, but you don’t want to go to anyone. Shift fertility acupuncture in Brisbane stands out for its exemplary service and results in helping couples with fertility problems. If you’re looking for professionals to help you, consider contacting Shift for a consultation.
Final Thoughts
It’s easy to be sceptical about medical procedures like acupuncture, especially when you’re extremely eager to fall pregnant. However, as you can clearly see, the results speak for themselves. Things like stress, anxiety, or depression can all have an impact on your fertility. Acupuncture addresses these issues and relieves them, improving your chances of conceiving.
