Having a baby is such an exciting time in so many people’s lives; unfortunately the harsh truth is that there are growing numbers of cases of infertility. I have found that a lot of the time when a couple is having a difficult time conceiving it is the women who seeks treatment or thinks something is ‘wrong’ with her. It is so unbelievably sad to see this.

First things first, both men and women have fertility issues, it is important for both to get checked out. And secondly, Acupuncture can help!

I am so excited that I have recently completed additional education on helping from conception until birth. Let me tell you, there are a ton of things that can happen in a pregnancy –both positive and negative- I can only imagine how overwhelming it must be.

So now, lets take a look at how acupuncture can help you…

Acupuncture is an amazing therapy for stress reduction. In such a stressful time, it is important to make sure you are taking time for yourself to reduce your stress. This might include acupuncture treatments, yoga, meditation, reading, a nice long walk in nature, or whatever it is that helps you. Research shows that during an acupuncture treatment, endorphins are released – which gives you that “happy and relaxed” type feeling. So, while you are starting to feel more relaxed and not as stressed, acupuncture will also be helping regulate your cycle. Each week of your cycle will be a slightly different treatment because each week, in your body, there is something different going on hormonally with your cycle. For example, at ovulation time, the dominant follicle releases an egg. The follicular phase is considered the most yin part of the cycle. Menses is the most yang, so with Yin and Yang being opposite, we treat in accordance with that. When trying to conceive, 4-5 days prior to ovulation would be the best time to start engaging in intercourse – 48 hours being the peak time.

Taking your basal body temperature (BBT) will help you and your therapist know when or if ovulation has occurred, what phase of your cycle you are in, as well as thyroid function. For your convenience, here is a link to a BBT chart. http://www.babycenter.ca/a7069/download-a-blank-basal-body-temperature–cervical-mucus-chart

A lot of the time, couples feel helpless or like they have no control over their difficulty conceiving. Hopefully now you feel a bit better about how you can help your therapist and yourself to bring a new bundle of joy into your life!

If you have more questions, please ask! There will be a few more blogs posts on this issue for both men’s and women’s health…. So stay tuned!