A birth announcement with your mail. A stork and baby garlands in a garden. A colleague who is pregnant. Pregnant women and prams on the street. It seems like everyone has children just like that. All that baby happiness around you can hit you hard if you have fertility problems. However, you are not alone with this serious problem: for one in six couples, getting pregnant does not happen by itself.
One in six, that’s quite a lot. Then there are also people in your area who have to deal with it. Usually you don’t know who. Because talking about your fertility problems is still often taboo. That makes it a lonely problem.
The first step is often a visit to the doctor for help with your unfulfilled desire to have children. And after that? Usually you go to the gynecologist for an examination, often followed by fertility treatments. But there is even more possible: acupuncture can help in addition to regular medical care.
So what does an acupuncturist actually do for fertility problems? Acupuncturist Gilles Stoop treats women and men with fertility problems on a daily basis. He likes to talk about how acupuncture can help.
Acupuncture as a medicine
Acupuncture (acus = needle, punctum = prick) is part of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Thin needles are placed at specific points in your body. With this you can slow down or stimulate energies.
In 1979, the WHO (World Health Organisation) published a list of conditions for which acupuncture can be used as a cure. There is also reduced fertility. Since then, more and more people with fertility problems have been using acupuncture, often in addition to the help from regular medicine.
Many people know acupuncture as a means of pain relief. But it is much more widely applicable, including for many different fertility problems.
How does acupuncture work for fertility problems?
Acupuncture can help with many different fertility problems, including patients diagnosed with “ununderstood infertility”.
For female fertility, an acupuncturist usually starts by regulating the menstrual cycle. Periods that are irregular, painful or with a lot of blood loss are not only very annoying, but often show that a certain balance is disturbed. Acupuncture can help restore this balance and a good cycle, an important condition for fertility.
Acupuncture further strengthens the energy and blood flow of the gynecological organs. In addition, it ensures a good hormone balance, rest and reduction of stress.
Acupuncture and your fertility
Fortunately, there are many options within regular and complementary medicine so that there are still opportunities to fulfill your wish to have children even in the event of reduced fertility. But what is the real chance that it will work? Actually, no one can give a good answer to that.
Fertility treatments are often about averages and statistics. But that’s not about your specific situation. That is a big difference with the complementary medicine acupuncture. It is not about standards, but about your specific situation and condition. Every treatment is tailor-made. In addition, the fertility of both partners is important. Recommendations for lifestyle and good nutrition for both women and men are therefore extensively discussed: everything to optimize your fertile condition.
Acupuncture for IUI, IVF and ICSI
Guidance with acupuncture of fertility treatments such as IUI, IVF or ICSI is a good example of how modern medical technology and the ancient healing method of acupuncture can complement each other well. Acupuncture supports these treatments and helps reduce the side effects of medication. In the first phase of an IVF treatment, a good maturation of the eggs and a good condition of the uterus are central, and in the second phase the focus is on rest to promote good implantation. Regulating the immune system is also important to promote a healthy and ongoing pregnancy.
Prick, but different
When you’re working on fertility treatments, sometimes you can’t see a needle anymore. Very understandable after all those injections with hormones and also the puncture needle. Fortunately, acupuncture needles cannot be compared with that. They are so thin that you hardly feel them. And if you sometimes feel them, it’s not pain, just a kind of tingling. Even more reassuring information: acupuncture needles have a relaxing effect. It often happens that patients become so calm that they fall asleep on the spot.
Breaking the circle of stress
Fertility problems cause a lot of stress. The uncertainty and living between hope and fear make the tension high. It often becomes a difficult circle when you also consider that stress can get in the way of a pregnancy. Seeking distractions can help. But often your fertility problems keep you busy with everything you do or just when you need to sleep. It is therefore good to know that acupuncture can bring the necessary rest.
Stress hormones and relaxation
How does that work? Various scientific studies have shown that acupuncture can influence the production of stress hormones such as cortisol. Acupuncture can help lower elevated levels of these stress hormones. It can also promote the production of natural substances such as serotonin. This ensures relaxation and better sleep. The treatment itself often already has a deeply relaxing effect, which will persist afterward.
Attention to emotions when you want to have children
An unfulfilled desire to have children is emotionally heavy. And if you are in a process such as IVF, it is mainly a “technical operation”. There is usually not much time and attention for your emotions in the hospital. But it is precisely then that attention, also for your emotions, is very important to support your fertility. Acupuncturists pay a lot of attention to the emotions surrounding fertility problems. Chinese Medicine sees your body and mind as one whole. Not only the medical file is therefore important, but also your feelings about your desire to have children. What does it take to give your emotions space and a place? With conversations and acupuncture we pay attention to your feelings so that the energy can flow better again. Very important because pent up emotions can lead to blockages in your body. While a free continuous energy according to Chinese Medicine plays a key role for your health and your fertility.
Acupuncture and male (in)fertility
Unfortunately still very underexposed, but men have fertility problems just as often as women. Acupuncture can also do a lot of good for male fertility. Various studies show that acupuncture and Chinese herbs have a positive effect on sperm quality. That is good news, because conventional medicine usually has no solution available. Fertility treatments such as IVF and ICSI are often quickly chosen; very stressful for the woman. It is very nice if a lighter treatment such as IUI is possible due to the improved quality. And sometimes there is even a natural pregnancy.
Does acupuncture really work to get pregnant?
Acupuncture often gives very good results. For unexplained infertility, but also for very complex fertility problems. Many research results confirm the positive effects. But unfortunately, just like the various fertility treatments, acupuncture does not guarantee a fulfilled child’s wish for everyone. It helps to prepare as fertile, calm and healthy as possible for your attempt to fulfill your desire to have children.
Many patients report that acupuncture treatments make them feel better. They have more energy and feel calmer. The physical and emotional burden of a child wishing program is then much easier to bear.
We often see patients again later in their pregnancy. To help relieve pregnancy symptoms. And preparing for childbirth with acupuncture: one of the best things about our profession!
Is acupuncture reimbursed?
Many health insurers reimburse acupuncture in whole or in part, from the supplementary insurance.
Before you go to an acupuncturist, check whether he/she is affiliated with a professional association, such as the NVA. Acupuncturists who are affiliated with this professional association must meet strict quality requirements for training and practice. For fertility problems, find an acupuncturist who specializes in and has experience with them.
Door: Gilles Stoop, Acupuncturist.nl
More information:
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