Many times the prevention of infertility involves learning how to reduce as much stress on the body/mind as possible. I know this sounds like common sense and it is but if conceiving and carrying a child to term is one of the most stressful and exhausting time periods how more so is trying repeatedly but unsuccessfully to conceive in the first place can be? Fortunately many of the very same things that positively affect your general health will also do the same for reproductive health. These are in your control. The quality of your eggs and sperm represent the state of health of your body as a whole. For instance, if you are diagnosed with high FSH(follicle stimulating hormone) this reflects on your general health as well as your reproduction health. FSH levels can drop once the ovaries become more sensitive again to hormonal stimulation.
Here is a very common situation many people encounter with concern to stress, either mental or physical:
However, what do many people do when experiencing stress? Many people drink coffee and some smoke cigarettes. Coffee will constrict the blood vessels limiting blood supply to the uterus and smoking will congeal the blood and reduce circulation. Is it no wonder that female office workers that routinely work under high stress levels and either drink a lot of coffee or/and smoke have some of the highest levels of infertility as well?
– Regular sleep
– Drink more water
– Wear looser clothes
– Eat healthier
– Stop smoking
– Reduce drinking
– Weight maintenance
Over the last 40 years fertility rates in the United States have declined. The childless rate of females over 39 have doubled and sperm counts for men have been nearly cut in half. You can see now why acupuncture for infertility treatments are some of the most common in TCM(Traditional Chinese Medicine) practice.
Here are a few things to keep in mind if you would like to protect your fertility. Get regular sleep and drink plenty of water. This will help ensure optimum vitality and circulation. Tight fitting clothes will obstruct blood supply and increase body temperature in the genital area. Consuming food with less hormones and more anti-oxidants will help keep stable hormonal balance and enrich the blood. Smoking and drinking excessively will definitely hurt your chances of conception. Being an average weight will promote hormonal balance and distribution.
How Acupuncture works for Infertility
Acupuncture has a profound effect on the circulation of body fluids. As with pain management treatments where acupuncture causes an increase in circulation of fluids to decrease inflammation and subside pain fertility treatments in part use the same strategy. Acupuncture can dramatically increase pelvic blood flow. Remember that wherever you have poor blood circulation in your body you will promoting a more toxic environnment and the initial stages of dysfunction. The blood not only circulates your nourishment but is also your garbage collector.
Acupuncture can help stimulate the centers of the brain(hypothalamus and pituitary) that regulate natural hormonal balance. Too little progesterone – the “warming” hormone in Chinese medicine – and the uterine lining or endometrium will be too thin for implantation. This is known as “cold womb” in Chinese medicine. Increasing the blood supply to the ovaries can restore their natural sensitivity to hormonal stimulation and increase your fertility.
Acupuncture is commonly used in conjunction with (IUI) intrauterine insemination and (IVF) in-vitro fertilization procedures and has been reported as doubling success rates for conception!