People always ask me how many acupuncture treatments are needed for fertility issues. In school we learned that a minimum of three months treatment should be conducted for male and female reproductive issues. Over the last ten years, I have added to the dimension of this knowledge and can explain a little bit more why a minimum of three months is important.
For females, we need the time to analyze your menstrual cycle, work on improvements and see change.
You should start seeing small improvements after the first menstrual cycle and continue to see changes over the course of at least three months. These changes in your cycle will reflect the balancing of hormones on your body and the progress you are making.
An egg is “chosen” 90 days before it is actually released from the follicle during ovulation.
Therefore, the health of our egg stems from the state of our body retroactively by approximately 90 days. If you can take herbs, receive acupuncture, reduce stress and improve your diet for a minimum of three months, you could potentially increase your chances of a good quality ovulation.
The same treatment time is good for male fertility.
When I see men and give them herbs, I always give them a three month supply since sperm takes approximately 60 days to regenerate and then about 10-14 days to travel through the tubes to eventually be released during ejaculation.
Most of my patients receive treatments once a week for about 6 weeks and then biweekly thereafter. By the second session we usually have a good treatment plan set up which includes acupuncture, herbs, nutrition, life-style changes, and relaxation exercises. I will also refer patients to other practitioners for services like psychotherapy, massage, naturopathic care, etc.
For more information on IVF and Acupuncture specifically, click here.