Acupuncture and Infertility

Louisa

Louisa presented at my clinic in June, 2007.  She and her husband had been trying to conceive for over two years.  

Louisa started taking the oral contraceptive pill from age 19 to 25 and on and off from age 27 to 34.  She had undergone two years of fertility drugs under the guidance of a fertility specialist, but at no time during those years had Louisa fallen pregnant.

Referred to me by her naturopath, I set about assessing how Louisa's body performed at all phases of her cycle and discovered that once she ovulated her body was not producing enough progesterone to support conception.  

Helping the body to produce the progesterone, in the phase after ovulation, became our primary focus. Our other objective was to iron out a few sleep and gut issues.

Louisa took herbal medicines to regulate her menstrual cycle, improve her body's ability to produce progesterone and promote conception.  

After a couple of 'cycles', Louisa's cycle started to normalise.  She eventually conceived, had a hassle-free pregnancy and delivered a beautiful boy in mid 2008.

In early 2009, Louisa called to say she was pregnant again (under her own steam this time) and I was happy to help her through her 2nd pregnancy and she delivered another boy in November 2009.

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Cheryl

Cheryl and her husband Bob had been trying to conceive a baby for about 2 years.  When Cheryl was a teen she had had surgery to remove a benign ovarian tumour which left her with half of one ovary.  

They had explored all options, including artificial insemination and IVF.  Cheryl had had endless courses of fertility drugs which made her feel emotionally labile, bloated and as though she had lost control of her body.

She initially came to have acupuncture to support her through the IVF process.  These cycles, like all the others, were unsuccessful.

Feeling completely wiped out, Cheryl took some time away from all the fertility drugs and we discussed her taking some herbal medicine (combined with acupuncture), to stabilise her body and mind.

I prescribed a herbal formula which addressed Cheryl's underlying pathology and added herbs to reflect what was happening in her menstrual cycle at that time.

In that small window of opportunity, Cheryl and Bob conceived naturally.  Cheryl had a good, healthy pregnancy and against the odds, she and Bob are now the proud parents of a delightful little boy.