IVF SUPPORT
Are you starting IVF to assist you in getting pregnant? Maybe you are using a donor egg or sperm via IVF?
IVF has especially become more popular over the last decade amongst couples in Australia, with 1 in 6 couples requiring assistance in getting pregnant.
Acupuncture is now being used more than ever alongside IVF to assist couples going through the process. The benefits of acupuncture can be shown to assist in reducing stress whilst going through the process and bringing blood and qi (energy) to uterus.
How does it work with IVF?
Depending on your individual needs, we start weekly sessions at least 3 months prior to any western medicine assisted fertility treatments. Weekly treatments will focus on reviewing and making lifestyle changes, dietary changes that may be known to be impacting fertility health.
In regards to men’s sperm, it takes approximately 120 days from the moment sperm is created to when it is ejaculated. Therefore, if we want to optimise a male’s health, we require working with a male 4 months prior to IVF treatments.
However, there are occasions that patients will be referred from a fertility clinic or health professional to us, in this circumstance, we will treat patients from that time until pregnancy.
What’s included in the program?
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Prior to appointment, an online 10+ page initial health assessment form needs to be completed, and all tests’ results emailed through.
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Further health assessment face to face where we discuss current health concerns
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Recommendations of lifestyle and food advice
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Weekly acupuncture treatments
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Chinese medicine formulas
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Supplements
Acupuncture points are chosen according to where you are in your menstrual cycle and tailored to your constitution to get the maximum benefit for your health. Working on the body’s natural healing processes and bringing blood and qi (energy) into local areas, assists in optimal health.
Pre and post IVF transfer
I have worked with many women during pre and post embryo transfer. My patients are already having regular acupuncture sessions leading up to their embryo transfer and will book in sessions just before and after their transfers.
A recent meta-analysis on acupuncture for embryo transfer found that having acupuncture prior to embryo transfer improved IVF outcomes.
If this is something that feels right for you right now, book in a time to have a chat with me.
Why use a pineapple as my image? Pineapple is considered by some as a fertility boosting food if eaten at certain times of the month. But also the infertility community has adopted the pineapple as a recognisable symbol for everyone going through infertility and IVF.
REFERENCES
Zheng CH, Huang GY, Zhang MM, Wang W. Effects of acupuncture on pregnancy rates in women undergoing in vitro fertilization: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Fertil Steril. 2012 Mar;97(3):599-611. doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2011.12.007. Epub 2012 Jan 11. Review. Erratum in: Fertil Steril. 2012 Apr;97(4):1017.
Pinar Gursoy, Guvena, Yasemin Cayira1,BunyaminBorekcib. Effectiveness of acupuncture on pregnancy success rates for women undergoing in vitro fertilization: A randomized controlled trial. Taiwanese Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Volume 59, Issue 2, March 2020, Pages 282-286
Lee E. Hullender Rubin.Medical Acupuncture.Dec 2019.329-333. http://doi.org/10.1089/acu.2019.1392