Acupuncture for Fertility and Pregnancy

I started acupuncture a few months prior to conception in hope of balancing my hormones to get my body ready for pregnancy. I believe in being preventative with my health. I know most people seek out alternatives once they have exhausted all options but for me I wanted to do ALL I could to give my body the best chance at getting pregnant (ovulating) and to not miscarry again. 

I have done a lot in the last year to balance my health. Detoxing, cutting chemicals from my life, nutrition changes, supplements, chiropractic and seeing a specialist for my MTHFR gene mutation.  I track my cycle by charting my basil cell temperature and even with all the diet changes, chiropractic, Chinese herbs and seeing a naturopath, my cycle was still off. My periods were regular but my temps indicted hormonal imbalance and I wasn't ovulating every month. 

​After meeting Kourtney, a local Acupuncturist in my area I decided to add it to my routine to boost my chances of conception. I saw Kourtney once a week for 2 months and on my 3rd cycle we got pregnant! Once we had confirmed pregnancy, Kourtney worked on my body every 2 weeks to support the pregnancy. We have now made it out of the 1st trimester and I am SO grateful to have her helping me with an old hip injury that is flaring up due to pregnancy.

Not only is Kourtney educated in acupuncture, her knowledge of Chinese medicine has helped remind me (yes, I need reminders about nutrition too) of foods to help with certain symptoms I was having! I am thankful for her help early in pregnancy, when I was scared we would loose the baby. My blood work didn't look great at first and with my history it was more concerning. She reassured me that I had worked hard to support my body. So here I am at 14 weeks, with my only concern being the hip pain  that she and my Chiropractor are helping me manage. 

​Weather you're like me, wanting to balance hormones and boost ovulation or are already pregnant and wanting to mange pain, nausea or induce labor I highly recommend acupuncture. I know as my pregnancy progresses that my baby will be in the right position for birth and if I need to be induced acupuncture can help me with BOTH!

​A word from Kourtney:
Acupuncture for Fertility: 
Kourtney Zamora, East Asian Medical Practitioner at The Pines Acupuncture

Acupuncture is a great treatment option for increasing the chances of conceiving and improving fertility. There are a few different mechanisms as to how acupuncture helps with fertility. The first mechanism is that acupuncture helps to regulate menstrual cycles. Your menstrual cycle regularity and quality is an indicator of your hormone balance. Healthy cycles are 29-30 days in length with 3-4 days of bleeding with no clotting and little to no pain with menstruation. By improving your menstrual cycle, you are improving your pituitary hormone balance which is important for ovulation. One of the ways acupuncture has an impact on hormone levels is by decreasing the stress hormone (cortisol) in the body. High levels of cortisol can lead to improper pituitary hormone balance. Another effect of acupuncture is improved blood flow to the ovaries and uterus. Acupuncture needles stimulate your body’s ability to provide good blood flow to your endometrium which is important for conceiving and maintaining pregnancy. Lastly, when you are on an acupuncture treatment plan, the goal is not only to achieve pregnancy but also to improve your overall health so that your body is in the right place to sustain a healthy pregnancy. Dietary and lifestyle changes are an important component for fertility. From a Chinese medicine prospective, an acupuncturist will recommend certain foods to eat or avoid to increase your chances of conceiving.
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Aside from my experience and the information from Kourtney, here is more info on other reasons to try acupuncture!

Acupuncture can be used for:
​-Adverse reactions to radiotherapy or chemotherapy
​-Allergic rhinitis (including hay fever)
-Depression
​-Dysmenorrhea, primary
​-Epigastralgia
-Facial pain
​-Headache
​-Hypertension, essential/Hypotension, primary
​-Induction of labor
-Knee pain
​-Low back pain
​-Malposition of fetus
​-Morning sickness
​-Nausea and vomiting
-Neck pain
​-Pain in dentistry
-Periarthritis of shoulder
-Postoperative pain, stroke recovery
​-Rheumatoid arthritis
​-Sciatica
​-Sprains, Tennis elbow

​In a  2 year retroactive survey of over 89,000 patients published in 2016, 93% of patients said that their acupuncturist had been successful in treating their musculoskeletal pain. - Reference: Russell, David, and Mel Koppelman. "Acupuncture for pain-An Evidence Based Review" Evidence Based Acupuncture,                                    www.evidencebasedacupuncture.org
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​​I hope you reach out to your local Acupuncturist and if you are in the Kitsap area give Kourtney a call. For more information: www.ThePines​Acu.com