Did you know that many people use Acupuncture to help manage the process of IVF? Acupuncture benefits both physiologically and emotionally, as couples move through what is a stressful process.
As women undergo IVF, their ovaries are stimulated to produce a larger number of egg-containing follicles, rather than a few that are normally released each month. Regular treatments in the lead up and during IVF assist in optimizing a woman’s response to the highly stimulating medication.
While a higher number of eggs can result in a greater number of embryos, there are some side effects. These vary from person to person, but bloating and discomfort are common, which can persist after egg collection. Acupuncture is used to decrease swelling and pain, and to balance the body prior to embryo transfer.
Once a woman has had an embryo transfer, she then has to wait for her blood test to find out if she has been successful. This can be an agonizing time and minutes can feel like hours. Acupuncture can be incredibly useful at this time to break the stress cycle, and turn down the stress hormones, as stress can be counter-productive at this time.
Many women also find meditating very useful. We recommend the “Be Fertile” meditations which are free on Spotify. There are meditations for the stimulation phase, the embryo transfer itself and then the waiting time until your blood test.
If you would like to find out more about how acupuncture can help you, give us a call and talk to one of our experienced therapists. Our Acupuncturists are doctors of Chinese Medicine. Taryn, Jonathon and Rachel each have 20 years clinical experience, and have completed post graduate studies in three unique styles of Japanese Acupuncture – Toyo Hari, the Manaka Protocols and Kiiko Matsumoto Style.