How Does Acupuncture, Massage, and Nutrition Promote IVF Success?
Did you know that Surrogate Alternatives, Inc. was the first agency to offer a wellness package? Why does SAI offer a wellness package that features fertility acupuncture, massage, and nutrition counseling? Because we want to do everything possible to enhance the success rate of in vitro fertilization (IVF) for Intended Parents and Gestational Carriers.
Indeed, we partner with Conception Wellness in San Diego, an integrative medical clinic specializing in women’s health and fertility. The acupuncturists at Conception Wellness are registered nurses with a proven track record of success with IVF and for supporting women throughout the process.
Why Acupuncture?
Acupuncture has been practiced in Chinese medicine for thousands of years. Fine needles are inserted into the skin at specific points throughout the body associated with healing, pain and stress relief, and bringing balance to the energy within. Acupuncture can be effective in helping women manage hormones and reproductive disorders. In the past 20 years, it has been used to improve the chances for pregnancy among couples who have had difficulty conceiving.
Before changing their name to Conception Wellness six years ago, their practice was known as the Keller Clinic, founded by Dr. Loisanne Keller. In the 1980s, Dr. Keller maintained a photo album of “success story babies” — as she witnessed a decade before it became widely recognized, that acupuncture bolsters the rate of conception.
In Chinese medicine, we believe that the health of the future child depends on the health of the mother and father at the time of conception. This ties in closely to the emerging field of epigenetics, in which scientists believe certain genes in the child are expressed, depending on the health of the parents.
How Does It Work?
Proponents of integrative medicine, which employs Western and Eastern medicine for the most effective treatment, believe acupuncture may optimize fertility in several ways, by . . .
- Regulating the menstrual cycles and ovulation (release of a woman’s egg)
- Regulating hormone levels
- Increasing blood flow to the uterus
- Improving the quality of eggs and sperm.
In what they have found is a potent preparation for IVF success, Conception Wellness marries acupuncture treatment with massage and nutrition counseling. In surrogacy, the Intended Parents provide the egg and sperm to create an embryo and that embryo is “transferred” into the surrogate with the hopes that a pregnancy will occur. So acupuncture, massage, and nutrition are offered to . . .
- The Intended Mother to improve the success of egg retrieval — both a greater number of eggs produced and better QUALITY of the eggs
- The Intended Father to improve the health, quality, and quantity of the sperm
- The surrogate to prepare the body, including the uterus, and relieving stress prior to the transfer of the embryo. In this way, Conception Wellness’ Lisa Pugliese says “we must prepare the soil before we plant the seed.”
A Typical Treatment
Before focusing on fertility, the specialists at Conception Wellness will evaluate your overall wellness and wellbeing. Their goal? To bring about the ideal balance of wellness and nutrition to promote the best chances for pregnancy success and the highest likelihood of a healthy pregnancy, should conception occur.
During the acupuncture treatment, small, disposable, stainless-steel needles (single use only) are gently and painlessly inserted into specific points along the body, most often the arms, legs, or abdomen.
Ideally, it is best to begin acupuncture before fertility treatment begins and to continue throughout the course of your treatment until pregnancy happens. However, the start and duration of acupuncture for fertility can vary among individual patients.
The massage therapists at Conception Wellness also specialize in fertility. Fertility massage offers the following benefits:
- Improved circulation and blood flow to the uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries
- Breakdown and removal of adhesions, scar tissue and stagnant blood in and around the reproductive organs
- Optimal positioning of the uterus in the pelvic cavity (tilted uterus)
- Optimal output and reception of reproductive hormones such as estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone.
Learn more about prenatal massage benefits now! Our fertility wellness package is another example of how we are committed to helping Intended Parents and Surrogates enhance the success rate of the IVF process. If you’d like to start your journey as a Surrogate or Intended Parent contact us today.
