The Ways Acupuncture and Chinese Herbs Help in the Treatment of Male and Female Infertility

Acupuncture significantly increases the rate of conception by an average of 27%, especially when it is used in conjunction with Western fertility therapies. A Palestinian study concluded that TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) treatments (herbal medicine and acupuncture) helped increase the rate of success of IUI treatments by 66% as compared to only 39.2% from the control group, who received zero type of TCM treatment. In the United States alone, there are around 5 million couples who are suffering from a specific type of infertility condition each year. A lot of them need to consider acupuncture as a way to overcome their condition.

Based on several medical research and studies, there are three ways that acupuncture can do to treat infertility: It can aid in the balance of the endocrine and reproductive systems, increase the flow of blood into these systems, and boost fertility by removing stress in the person’s mind and body. Acupuncture’s goal when treating infertility from the viewpoint of TCM, is to not only make the patient pregnant, but also to let her stay pregnant and help her deliver a healthy baby. Besides these three benefits, acupuncture can also increase the circulation of blood to the uterus and ovaries, resulting in the egg’s stronger chance to be nourished and brought to term.

Acupuncture involves the insertion of acupuncture needles into certain points in the body. The needles are made of stainless steel, sterile and extremely thin. The human body has over 2000 acupuncture points scattered throughout. Underneath each acupuncture point lie a meridian of which there are 14 in the body and where the vital energy known as chi flows or travels. The meridians, according to TCM practitioners, are believed to be located between the internal organs and the surface of the body. The vital energy chi is the force that normalizes a person’s physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental balance. When, because of disease, pain, poor health and other circumstances the flow of qi is disrupted, acupuncture can be considered and enabled to improve the flow of qi which then helps improve the chances of conception.

Treating infertility with acupuncture in Palm Harbor can resolve almost any factor that can cause infertility. Female infertility accounts for 40% of all infertility cases while male infertility matches that with same number of cases as women (40%). Causes of male infertility include poor sperm motility and count while female infertility includes, endometriosis, and anovulation as the common reasons for female infertility.

As mentioned before, reducing stress is one way acupuncture can help treat infertility. Stress is one important factor in the loss of fertility; when individuals are under extreme stress, their stress hormones, known as cortisol, increases in their body. The cortisol changes the neurochemical balance of the brain resulting in an imbalance in pituitary function and a change in hormone levels thus compromising the normal cycle of reproduction. Fortunately TCM is able to help a woman go through this important time in her life. Acupuncture can be extremely helpful for the physical and emotional balance of a woman, important factors required for her to successfully conceive. Furthermore, this powerful TCM modality can also help with insomnia, birth preparation anxiety, physical pain and ache, nausea, morning sickness and many other forms of conditions.

Since stress can capably disrupt the delicate balance between the reproductive, pituitary and hypothalamic glands, it can prevent a woman from ovulating altogether. This is one of the most common causes of female infertility. Moreover, spasms in both the uterus and fallopian tubes can occur because of stress resulting in the interference in the movement and implantation of a fertilized ovum. Stress also affects men by causing impotence and lowering sperm motility and count. Treating stress with acupuncture can help neutralize the effects of cortisol and stress itself by helping releasing endorphins in the brain. Chinese herbal formulas can also help alleviate stress in men.

Cortisol is not really an important player for the creation of a hormonal imbalance that leads to infertility. Ovulation disorder is the most common reason for infertility. This particular problem occurs when the release of a mature egg is blocked in the ovaries due to an imbalance in the hormones. If the body has insufficient amounts of progesterone, for example, it can make it difficult for the fetus to attach itself to the uterus. Overabundance of prolactin, on the other hand, can also make it impossible for the body to ovulate. Prolactin is the hormone that activates breast milk production.

The male reproductive function can also become imbalanced when the reproductive hormones are imbalanced. This imbalance can lead to poor sperm production and motility. Fertility drugs designed to activate ovulation through the normalization of the pituitary and hypothalamus glands can help infertile women but not infertile men. A recent herbal product that can cure male importance may be just what you need to conceive.

There’s a 20% – 40% chance of success for fertility drugs to work. However these drugs come with side effects that include nausea, weight gain, water retention (edema), bloating, and tenderness in the stomach

Certain research data also show that usage of these drugs can also lead breast cancer.

In contrast acupuncture treatment for infertility has little if no side effects at all while at the same time can perform the same function as medications, which are resolving the underlying cause of both male and female infertility, properly balancing the hormones, and stimulating the hypothalamus in order to also balance the endocrine system.