Acupuncture is a medical system that has been used to diagnose, treat and prevent illness for over 3000 years. Acupuncture is performed by inserting fine needles into points along the body, stimulating the flow of the body's vital energy known as Qi. These acu-points connect to the network of meridians that flow beneath the surface of the skin, where they flow into the major organs. When the flow of Qi is disrupted, the body's systems become imbalanced. This is frequently experienced as illness or pain, and can appear in women as period irregularities, menstrual pain, etc. etc. The goal of acupuncture is to remove these disruptions and revitalize the flow of energy in the meridians.

Acupuncture is proven to remedy acute or chronic ailments, relieve pain, enhance recuperative powers, and strengthen the immune system. It is also effective in soothing the mind and balancing the body's hormones and chemicals, thus regulating the cycle and enhancing fertility.

When you are struggling to become pregnant, the important thing is not to despair. You must remember that you are both working with and fighting against nature. Fortunately, you have a powerful ally in traditional Chinese medicine.

We like to use the term natural treatment as opposed to alternative treatment regarding our approach to fertility, since the latter term sometimes has a negative connototation attached to it. That stigma often extends to traditional Chinese Medicine in that somehow it is not mainstream because it is not a part of Western medicine. The term natural seems more Taoist, and like Traditional Chinese Medicine, embraces nature and our understanding of the world. Traditional Chinese Medicine is becoming more widely accepted, mostly because we, as Americans, are just beginning to understand just how powerful it is, and embrace it, because of the results we see when it is put to good use.

There are three important principles to know about when we are talking about Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture. First is that it is holistic. Every system works together. If one part of the system breaks down, it will affect the other systems. Our body's are systems, not just colections of parts, and they function together in harmony. When we treat one system, let's say the Kidney system for example, we must keep in mind all of the other systems it could possibly affect.

The second principle involves the human body's relationship with nature. As members of nature we are supplied with the energy we need to survive. Changes in nature can also indirectly or directly affect our body and our health. Natural disasters, accidents, traumas, sickness are part of nature and life, but as humans we are very resilient. We overcome, we rebuild, we fight back.

The third principle involves humans as social beings. We interact and have emotions - joy, sadness, anger, grief, or fright - and all of these can create imbalances in our body, which can create imbalances in our organ systems.

As practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine, we look to educate women to look at the natural approach to dealing with their fertility challenges. We want you to become an authority on your own condition. Growing numbers of women have helped their chances of getting pregnant and maintaining a healthy pregnancy by following the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Not only do our patients come for acupuncture, but to learn new techniques and exercises they can do at home. We also educate our patients on nutrition and lifestyle changes that can be made to enhance fertility, as well as the best supplements and herbal infertility formulas they should be taking to optimize their chances of pregnancy. We want to help you make sure your body is a healthy as possible, along with your spiritual and emotional state, for this is the foundation for getting pregnant and for maintaining health and vitality after your baby is born.

Whatever path you have taken thus far in your journey to have a child, whether it be just at the thoughts stage, or trying to conceive naturally, or even if you have tried or in the midst of trying an assisted reproductive technology (ART) such as IVF, we are welcoming you to begin a new journey, with us as your guides, providing the tools and the preparedness to help you improve your overall general health and increase the awareness you have of your own body.

During the initial consultation, we will take a comprehensive medical history of health and illness over your lifetime. This provides us with a blueprint of the overall state of your body, not just a particular symptom. We will ask questions, takes your pulse, and examine your tongue. The initial visit can last up to 90 minutes, including your first treatment. Subsequent visits usually last about 45 minutes and are done on a weekly basis depending on the patients need for treatment. The course of treatments can vary widely. Problems that have been around for a long time may take more treatments to resolve than ones that are acute. Your treatment course will be determined after the initial consultation and re-assessed after each visit.

There are more than 120 different herbs usually given in complex formulas that are very useful in correcting imbalances and enhanching fertility. The ingredients in the formula are mostly derived from roots, barks, leaves, flowers, and fruits. No one single herb is considered especially useful in treating fertility, rather the synergistic effect of a carefully chosen group of herbs is what makes a formula strong and effective. Each person is unique, and their underlying pattern of disharmony usually forms the basis for the selection of herbs and the formula used.

Clinical studies done in China show that almost two thirds of all fertility cases treated with acupuncture AND herbs restored fertility and resulted in pregnancy. Included in the study were some of the causes of the infertility. They include: blocked fallopian tubes, amenorrhea, no ovulation, endometriosis, uterine fibroids, low sperm count and PCOS. In these studies, daily use of the herbal formulas usually resulted in fertility within 3 to 6 months. Many doctors feel that if pregnancy is not achieved within eight to twelve months of weekly acupuncture combined with Chinese Herbal Formulas, than it is unlikely that treatment will have a positive outcome if it continues past that window of time. One advantage of using the herbs and getting acupuncture, even if you do not get pregnant, is the benefits to health that can be achieved by regular treatment. You can read more about herbs and acupuncture in our TCM RESOURCES section or read more about Natural Fertility Treatment.