Tag Archive for: fertility

Celine Dion IVF acupuncture

Celebrities endorsing acupuncture for fertility

One of my fertility patients emailed me today that the number of celebs who endorse acupuncture for infertility is growing and I should have this on my blog.

In May Celine Dion announced she was pregnant with twins.  The 42 year-old Canadian singer underwent 6 cycles of IVF. She credited acupuncture for the success in her last IVF cycle.

Last week a 41-year-old pop diva Mariah Carey announced that she was pregnant. And she has new mom Celine Dion to thank for her pregnancy – she tried acupuncture to help her conceive after hearing the Canadian superstar rave about the treatment.

Acupuncture and herbs for old eggs

Old eggs? Optimising ovarian reserve

Here you can find a great webinar on natural ways to optimize ovarian reserve, including acupuncture and herbal medicine. The webinar is put together for the general public by one of my colleagues in United States Dr. Brandon Horn, PhD, JD, LAc, FABORM.

It takes about an hour and 20 minutes.

Learn and take control!

The seminar is no longer available. However, here is an introduction below to a seminar aimed at acupuncturists.

Why you need to tell your fertility specialist about acupuncture

Tell your IVF specialist about acupuncture

Complementary medicines and therapies including fertility acupuncture are widely used by patients who are trying to conceive. This is a conclusion of a study published in the current issue of the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

The researchers insist that health care practitioners and fertility specialists need to be proactive in acquiring and documenting the use of these practices.  Additionally, they need to provide further information to patients on the use of complementary medicines and therapies.

Why does your IVF specialist need to know about acupuncture?

Just as you’d inform your doctor that you’re taking folic acid, sharing information about acupuncture is essential because it plays a part in your overall treatment plan.

And it’s not only about acupuncture. It is equally important when your naturopath prescribes tinctures you know what it is in them. Ensure you’re well-informed about the contents of any supplements you take, so you can communicate clearly with your specialist. This knowledge will also come in handy if you experience any adverse reactions.

There is currently no evidence that acupuncture can harm your IVF cycle. In fact, we’ve seen incredible results in some cases and we also prefer that they are documented by your specialist.

For instance, one of our patients had high follicular stimulating hormone (FSH) levels, preventing her from doing IVF. FSH levels dropped from over 40 to 10 after a couple of months of acupuncture. And you should share this with your specialist. Such successes should not be kept secret from your doctors.

And don’t just take my word for it: research has demonstrated the numerous benefits of acupuncture on fertility. It has a potential to improve egg quality, uterine lining,  increase receptivity, reduce fertility stress, the risk of miscarriage. Furthermore, in combination with IVF it has been shown to improve live birth rates.

If the male partner takes herbs or has acupuncture to improve his sperm quality, your specialist needs to know this.

You can see fertility acupuncture as a lifestyle factor and as IVF add on. It has to be researched and studied like all IVF components, but first it has to be the part of the treatment plan.