With You All The Way

Female Fertility

Welcome to our Female Fertility page

This page is for women who are seeking to improve their Natural Fertility with acupuncture, or prepare before an IVF/ IUI cycle.

If you are seeking support for during your IVF or IUI cycle, please see our page on Acupuncture for IVF.

Improving Fertility Naturally

My approach to supporting your natural conception

Throughout the years of working with acupuncture for fertility, I have been fortunate to help many couples conceive.

Through carefully understanding any underlying causes, I work to support a realistic fertility plan for each couple which enables the best chances of success including:

Acupuncture for Fertility
Traditional Chinese Medicine dietary advice for supporting conception
Lifestyle advice
Understanding optimising timing for conception by various methods
Chinese Herbal Medicine

I work with couples, whether there is a known diagnosis such as endometriosis or PCOS, or where there is 'unexplained infertility', to understand any problems in the way of successful conception.

Stress is a big factor impacting upon conception, I support couples on their emotional and challenging journey towards parenthood.

Acupuncture for fertility is ideal to support your reproductive system before natural conception, or before IVF/ IUI, as it is a unique treatment which excels at addressing the root of any sub fertility.

This is particularly important where investigations have not been able to find a biomedical cause for failing to conceive.

Where there are complex diagnoses, I may advise herbal medicine to improve your chances of conceiving. Cases where this has been invaluable include Diminished Ovarian Reserve, PCOS, Endometriosis and poor response to stimulation drugs.

"I came to see Helen after 2 unexplained miscarriages. She really supported me throughout our sessions and listened to me. Within 3 months I had a positive pregnancy test and I now have a beautiful daughter! "

Understanding your Menstrual Cycle

The menstrual cycle, which comes around every 28 days, brings women the opportunity to understand their fertile rhythm and enables conception. When there is a menstrual problem, such as pain or erratic cycles, endometriosis, PCOS, amenorrhoea, or in some women, the diagnosis of 'unexplained fertility', a solution which regulates the cycle and improves hormone balance will correct the symptoms and address any accompanying sub-fertility.

Traditional Chinese Medicine is able to better understand and heal the underlying problems in the body by questioning and examining the cycle and all its features. A careful history of any previous gynaecology issues, pregnancies and menstruation, together with be more traditional diagnosis such as taking of the pulse and looking at the tongue, paves the way for a detailed understanding of the reproductive systems of the body.

Through regulating the 4 phases of the cycle and balancing hormones, treatment can be targeted to:

regulate the length of cycle
improve egg quality and follicular development
improve lining of the endometrium
help with PCOS
help with endometriosis
help with Pre Menstrual Tension (PMT)
resolve pain during the cycle

A Tailored Approach

Acupuncture brings your cycle and any hormones back into balance- it is the ideal preparation if you are trying to boost your fertility before natural conception, and also prepare your body for IVF.

Whilst your treatment plan is drawn up based on your individual circumstances, it is recommended that treatment is taken weekly over 3 months to work with each of the phases of your cycle and correct hormonal balance. This allows time to improve follicular development, improve the endometrial lining, regulate the cycle and to address any underlying patterns of disharmony which could hinder a successful pregnancy.

All treatment is reviewed regularly and in the event you conceive during this time, can be focussed on supporting implantation and nourishing pregnancy. All treatment at this time assumes that conception is possible, and is always safe for you and baby.

As every woman and couple has individual needs, please contact me to discuss how I can help you in your particular circumstances.

A Co-operative Approach to Treatment

During our first session, in addition to taking a detailed medical history, we can discuss your cycle in detail and how to tune into your body's optimal time for conception, as in some women, it may not be when they thought!

Before we begin your fertility treatment, I may ask you to make a record of your Basal Body Temperature and Record it on a chart, and I will explain what this means to you. The recent trend in BBT charting is used to predict ovulation , however it is a crucial tool when each phase is examined in detail from a Chinese Medical Perspective. Imbalances in the body’s temperature fluctuations over the month helps to reveal the subtle play of hormone levels and underlying body systems. Acupuncture treatment can be specifically targeted to improve the follicular phase, the luteal phase and the mid cycle ovulation, and works with a traditional diagnosis of your previous fertility history. This is particularly useful as progress can be tracked month by month and monitored by you as treatments address any hormonal imbalances to correct each cycle.

Lifestyle and dietary factors can be discussed so we can be sure that your individual diagnosis is supported by your efforts throughout the cycle and I provide a support package of information to work with you individually.

The Seed and the Soil

Where there has been shown to be male factor sub-fertility, I am able to offer Male Fertility acupuncture for

increasing sperm count
improving morphology
increasing motility

Where there is Anti Sperm Antibodies, and ICSI is advised, ICSI may be offered at your clinic to improve fertilisation. As ICSI cannot improve implantation rates, acupuncture is still indicated to improve the implantation success as

part of a pre cycle work up, or
an addition to a clinical ET transfer.

I will discuss with you how to work with and where necessary improve your cycle in readiness for conception whilst your partner undergoes any treatment.

Acupuncture is aimed at preparing your body by balancing your whole cycle, regulating temperatures throughout, nourishing your follicles, preparing the uterus for implantation, maintaining pregnancy and helping you cope emotionally.

As the chances of conception are optimised by synchronising good reproductive and general health in both partners, I am always happy to explain the details of how acupuncture works with your natural cycle, or alongside your IVF cycle for optimal conception to both you and your partner.