How does acupuncture work for fertility?
Acupuncture works on the system that controls the balance of the body by accessing the acupuncture points on the body to help restore lost balance and improve poor circulation. In Oriental medicine, a cold body is not ideal for pregnancy. We believe that women are prone to experiencing a cold body when their living environment drastically changes in comparison to the past. The colder the body becomes, the less likely the body experiences cell activation. When this happens, the human reproductive function will also decline.
Acupuncture uses various techniques to improve blood flow in the peripheral circulation so that nutrients and oxygen can replenish the body. In Oriental medicine, improving blood flow in the uterine and ovarian arteries is the key to preparing a body for pregnancy. Improving blood flow to the uterus, ovaries, and brain can also affect the quality of the endometrium and eggs.
Additionally, acupuncture is effective in preventing and treating menstrual pain. By treating and preventing menstrual pain, it is possible to prepare the body easily to get pregnant. This is because menstrual pain is often closely related to physical condition, and many patients become pregnant after improving their menstrual pain.
Our clinic also offers acupuncture as an analgesic effect for the treatment of pain and discomfort after egg collection. Oftentimes, patients complain of heavy lower abdomen pain after egg collection, but acupuncture treatments can relieve this pain. With so many factors that can cause implantation failure, such as problems with the fallopian tubes and uterus, immune factors or coagulation factors, acupuncture can help to reduce these risks for patients. Additionally, acupuncture can alter an individual’s mood. It is not uncommon for people to feel stressed both physically and mentally when undergoing fertility treatment. Relieving muscle tension, relieving stiff shoulders and obtaining relaxation effects through acupuncture will help relieve patients of the stress and fatigue of undergoing fertility treatments.
How does acupuncture impact egg growth?
Follicles take about six months to go from the state of primordial follicles to mature follicles before reaching the stage of ovulation. The maturation of eggs typically takes about 14 days. An egg that ovulates after this period does not mean that it has grown all at once in the last 14 days, but that it began development in the last six months. Therefore, even if acupuncture treatment is performed 2-3 times a week, due to individual differences, changes in egg growth may take half a year or longer if there has been a history of infertility.