FEMALE FERTILITY

Acupuncture can affect your fertility in two ways. Firstly, by influencing your qi system in order to help improve your overall health. Secondly, by targeting specific aspects of your reproductive process, for example, ovulation. For many women, we may use both approaches. For example, we can help to remedy a general weakness in your qi system. At the same time, we can use specific treatments at different points in your menstrual cycle to remedy specific problems, such as period pain. For women going through IVF/ICSI, similar strategies are used (see next page). In this way, our acupuncture treatment can help to:

•  regulate your menstrual cycle

•  enhance and stimulate ovulation

•  promote effective implantation

•  prevent miscarriage

Regulating your menstrual cycle

In Chinese medicine, a regular and harmonious menstrual cycle can be the key to fertility. Addressing this can make a critical difference to those women who are having problems conceiving. The emphasis of our treatment is on regulating the menstrual cycle, trying to ensure that the period flows smoothly and with minimal discomfort. We use your temperature (BBT) chart to help determine the pattern of disharmony affecting your period and, thus, decide the most effective treatment strategy.

Enhancing and stimulating ovulation

This a more specific and targeted aspect of regulating your menstrual cycle. Our treatment focuses on ensuring that the qi pathways that connect to the uterus and ovaries, called the Chong Mai , the Ren Mai and the Bao Mai , are functioning properly and supporting the ovulation process. This helps to ensure that the ovaries produce an egg at the right time of the month and that the egg is healthy and capable of being fertilised.

Promoting effective implantation

Our acupuncture treatment can help to ensure successful implantation by regulating your menstrual cycle, in this case with the emphasis on ‘clearing' and ‘nourishing'. ‘Clearing' involves eliminating excess fluids which may obstruct your fallopian tubes. ‘Nourishing' involves preparing your uterus to receive the fertilised egg by promoting the circulation of qi and blood to ensure an adequate lining to your uterus (endometrium).

Helping to prevent miscarriage

If you have a history of miscarriage, preparatory treatment to strengthen your qi and blood can enhance your ability to hold your foetus in the early stages of pregnancy. Where you have a history of premature birth, giving you acupuncture treatment during pregnancy can be beneficial in helping your pregnancy go to full term.

There is now evidence that acupuncture during pregnancy helps to shorten labour and promote an easier birth.

Acupuncture and IVF/ICSI Treatment

We also use acupuncture treatment to improve success in IVF/ICSI treatment. Acupuncture works in a number of ways:

•  It helps to ensure that your ovaries and uterus respond well to the IVF medication.

•  It helps to clear specific pathogenic factors which may inhibit the success of your IVF/ICSI treatment, such as excess fluids obstructing your fallopian tubes.

•  It helps to ensure that your qi system is functioning well and therefore supporting your reproductive system.

•  It helps to reduce anxiety, inducing calm and relaxation so that your treatment will be more effective and conception more likely.

•  It helps to reduce any side effects of the IVF treatment, especially the down-regulating medication.

Our treatment is similar to, and builds on, the treatment regimes for regulating your menstrual cycle, enhancing ovulation and promoting implantation.

Chinese Medicine and Gynæcology

Chinese medicine treats your reproductive system as part of your whole qi energy system. This system consists of ‘organs' that generate qi and ‘channels' that distribute the qi around the body. This system supports your reproductive system. How well your reproductive system functions may reflect your overall health. If, for instance, your periods cause discomfort or distress, this may mean that your qi system is out of balance or run down.

Acupuncture can be effective in addressing underlying problems and thus help to regulate your menstrual cycle. Chinese herbal medicine can also be used, sometimes separately, sometimes in conjunction with acupuncture.

The following conditions all feature in traditional Chinese medical textbooks and will be routinely treated with acupuncture and/or Chinese herbal medicine in the gynaecology departments of traditional Chinese medicine hospitals in China :