How to Increase Fertility Naturally
Want to start a family but are having difficulty conceiving?
Are you wondering how to increase your fertility?
Let Dr. Fei Fei Lu help you like she’s helped so many men and women. She can help you improve your fertility naturally with acupuncture and Chinese herbs. She also provides support treatments for patients who are undergoing IVF/IUI procedures at a Calgary fertility clinic.
Dr. Lu Can Improve Your Fertility with TCM
When you come to her clinic, Dr. Lu will discuss your personal health history and current conditions. She will then perform a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) diagnosis, which will allow her to determine the personalized treatment plan that will rebalance your body, mind and spirit while improving your fertility.
According to TCM, infertility is commonly caused by an imbalance between yin and yang, kidney deficiency, liver Qi stagnation, dampness, phlegm blockage, Blood deficiency or stagnation. These terms are related to key TCM concepts that pertain to the overall balance of mind, body and spirit, your flow of vital energy (Qi), your body fluids that are acted upon and energized by Qi (Blood), and various conceptual Organs.
Acupuncture and fertility
Many medical studies have been done on the effects of acupuncture to help both men and women improve their fertility. Like in other acupuncture treatments, very fine sterilized needles are inserted in specific points. These acupuncture points (or acupoints) are located along your body’s Meridians, which can be thought of as virtual rivers of Qi. The needles are used to remove Qi and/or Blood stagnation or blockages caused by dampness or phlegm and/or to nourish or reinforce deficiencies. The goal is to achieve your overall health and balance and to promote a healthy pregnancy.
Treatment for Female Infertility
For many women, fertility is an important issue. Some are determined to “beat the biological clock,” which only serves to increase stress levels, and therefore reduce the likelihood of pregnancy. If you visit a fertility clinic, you may be asked to start an Assisted Reproduction Therapy (ART), which is better known as a hormonal treatment. In a well-known German study1 involving 80 patients, 42.5% of women receiving ART and acupuncture treatments became pregnant compared to only 26.3% of those with ART alone. Some experts suggest that using a consistent and customized acupuncture treatment combined with herbal therapy could improve the success rate to 75%2.
One of Dr. Lu’s patients went from being a “clinic failure” who would “never be able to conceive” to being the proud mother of fraternal twins, thanks to Dr. Lu’s acupuncture treatments and herbal medicine. Read her acupuncture success story here.
Another patient, a 40-year old woman who had been trying to conceive for 3 years, finally became pregnant after receiving Dr. Lu’s acupuncture treatments and modifying her lifestyle and diet as per Dr. Lu’s recommendations. Read her fertility success story here..
Treatments for All Fertility and Hormonal Stages
With TCM, Dr. Lu can be there for you every step of the way. She can help you with the following aspects of female fertility:
- Menstruation: Regulate your period, ovulation time and reduce PMS symptoms.
- Hormonal Balance: If you are undergoing hormonal therapy, TCM can be used to alleviate or eliminate unwanted side effects like hot flashes, mood swings, irritability and insomnia.
- Conception: Increase blood flow to the uterus, increase the production and quality of follicles (eggs), reduce stress, regulate hormones and increase the uterine lining, which all serve to improve the likelihood of embryo implantation.
- Pregnancy: Regulate hormones, reduce morning sickness, improve your mood and prevent miscarriage.
- Pre-delivery: In case of a breech baby, returning the baby to the head-first position for a normal delivery.
- Post-delivery: Increase milk production and decrease the likelihood of and eliminate post-partum depression.
Acupuncture and IVF Support
Many acupuncture studies have been done to support the use of acupuncture in treating female infertility. For example, a study determined that acupuncture may be useful with agents for ovarian stimulation in producing follicles in women undergoing IVF3.
Acupuncture Treatment for Male Infertility
Many studies have shown that acupuncture can improve male fertility by increasing sperm count, sperm motility and the ratio of normal sperm within a given sample. Here are two examples:
- Acupuncture has been deemed beneficial when treating infertile males, especially in improving sperm quality4.
- Acupuncture treatments may be useful as a non-traumatic treatment for males with very poor sperm density5.
When Should You Consult?
If you are planning on using IVF, it is recommended to consult at least 4 weeks prior to embryo implantation. Dr. Lu can treat both of you or just you or your partner, depending on your specific situation, but both partners are welcomed to come together or book separate appointments. Men should start receiving treatment 3 months before sperm donation.
Acupuncture can be used in addition to or instead of hormonal treatments or other fertility treatments. Contact Dr. Lu to receive personalized advice.
Did You Know?
During her many years of successfully treating men and women’s infertility problems in China, Dr. Lu’s patients nicknamed her Song Zi Guan Yin, after an ancient Buddhist fertility goddess. Her nickname can be roughly translated as The Maiden Who Brings Children.
Since moving her practice to Canada and helping mostly English-speaking patients, her nickname is not used as much anymore, but the phone calls, hugs and letters of gratitude she receives on a regular basis stand to prove she’s still worthy of her title!
1. Influence of acupuncture on the pregnancy rate in patients who undergo assisted reproduction therapy by Wolfgang E. Paulus, M.D., Mingmin Zhang, M.D., Erwin Strehler, M.D., Imam El-Danasouri, Ph.D., and Karl Sterzik, M.D., Christian-Lauritzen-Institut, Ulm, Germany, published in Fertility and Sterility® in 2002.
2. Fully Fertile, A Holistic 12-Week Plan for Optimal Fertility, by Tamara Quinn, Elisabeth Heller & Jeanie Lee Bussell, published by Findhorn Press, 2008.
3. Acupuncture treatment for infertile women undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection by Sandra L. Emmons, M.D., and Phillip Patton, M.D., published in Medical Acupuncture: A Journal for Physicians in Spring/Summer 2000.
4. Quantitative evaluation of spermatozoa ultrastructure after acupuncture treatment for idiopathic male infertility by Jian Pei, Ph.D., Erwin Strehler, M.D., Ulrich Noss, M.D., Markus Abt, Ph.D., Paola Piomboni, Ph.D., Baccio Baccetti, Ph.D., Karl Sterzik, M.D. Christian-Lauritzen-Institut, Elm, IVF center Munich, Germany and Department of General Biology, University of Siena, Siena, Italy, published in Fertility and Sterility® in July 2005.
5. Does acupuncture treatment affect sperm density in males with very low sperm count? A pilot study by Siterman S, Eltes F, Wolfson V, Lederman H, Bartoov B, Institute of Chinese Medicine, Tel Aviv, Israel, published in Andrologia in January 2000.