Whether you are just considering starting a family, or are already well into your fertility journey, we are here to help! Offering individualised acupuncture care to support you, with specialised programs to assist you in your individual needs, from natural conception, all the way through to ongoing IVF cycles. There are a multitude of causes and levels of infertility, from delayed conception through to diagnosed “unexplained infertility”, and at Kishi Acupuncture we look at the whole system, using advanced Japanese acupuncture diagnostic and treatment techniques to address the core pattern of disharmony that may be impairing your reproductive cycle.
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Acupuncture is not a quick fix, and we recommend weekly acupuncture treatments commencing at least three months prior to attempting to conceive (either with Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) or natural conception). This gives us time to work with you to assist in repairing the functionality of your whole system, preparing the body for conception, and to ultimately maintain a healthy pregnancy through to birth. However, if you are already undergoing an IVF cycle or have already conceived there is still SO much we can offer to support you!

From a western medicine perspective some conditions that may have an impact on fertility and conception are:

• Advancing Age (over 30 years)

• PCOS

• Endometriosis

• Uterine Fibroid

• History of Ectopic Pregnancies or Miscarriages

• Pelvic Inflammatory Disease

• Pelvic and abdominal surgery

• Irregular menstrual cycle / ovulation

• Amenorrhea / anovulation

• History of Sexually Transmitted Infections

• Thyroid Imbalance

• Decreased Ovarian Reserve (DOR)

• Premature Ovarian Failure (POF)

• Structural issues with the reproductive organs

 
In clinic we have observed the correlation of these western diagnosed conditions with varying Chinese Medicine patterns, and the same condition can have a completely different underlying pattern of disharmony from person to person. At Kishi Acupuncture we commence each acupuncture session with a thorough systemic assessment using the pulse, Hara (Japanese diagnostic technique using stomach palpation), Pituitary reflection points, and related acupuncture channel disharmony indicators. A personalised acupuncture prescription using advanced Japanese Acupuncture techniques is then applied specific to your case.

There are a many patterns of disharmony that may addressed in clinic, however we consider the three most common to be:

• Hormonal Imbalance often stemming from a pituitary disharmony – leading to follicles not developing, and irregular ovulation or anovulation.

• Impaired healthy blood flow to the uterus leading to stagnation of blood in the uterus, cold in the uterus, or lack of blood in the uterus.

• Stress- overactive sympathetic nervous system – high levels of cortisol / constant fight or flight response (read more on this under the Stress & Anxiety tab).

 
 
More about the pituitary gland..
The Pituitary Gland is a small pea sized gland that sits at the base of the brain and is essentially considered to be the ‘control tower’ of the endocrine system. It plays an integral role in fertility, menstruation, menopause and many other hormonal systems like thyroid function and even blood sugar regulation in diabetes insipidus. The hormones produced in the pituitary gland that are directly involved with menstruation and fertility are Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) and Luteinising Hormone (LH). FSH stimulates the ovaries to release estrogen, and is responsible for growing and maturing ovarian follicles. LH is responsible for ovulation (the release of the egg from the follicle). These two gonadotrophins work together in maintaining a healthy reproductive cycle, and an imbalance of either hormone may lead to delayed conception or infertility.

How does your pituitary become imbalanced you may ask? There are various causes of what we refer to as a pituitary gland imbalance, some common patterns I have seen in clinic are, rapid fluctuations in hormonal levels (ie, birth control/ morning after pill), chronic- long term sinus infections, physical trauma to the face or head, and you guessed it! our good old friend STRESS!!
Constant ongoing stress can wreak havoc on the pituitary gland and endocrine system, this occurs due to the Hypothalamic- Pituitary- Adrenal Axis stress response, which can impair the production and release of FSH and LH and impact your menstrual and fertility cycles.
 
Male Fertility
When dealing with infertility in hetro couples, it is important to address all possible causes, including the health of the male partner.
Just as there are a multitude of possible causes of infertility in women, so there are with Men. Ranging from hormonal issues (stemming from the pituitary.. yes men produce FSH an LH as well!), to lifestyle choices, illnesses, injuries etc which can all effect the quality, morphology, motility and delivery of sperm,  as well as libido, erectile function and ejaculation.
 
As with female fertility, thorough systemic assessments are performed at the beginning of every acupuncture session, and individualised advanced Japanese acupuncture treatments are prescribed specific to your needs.
(More information on male hormonal disharmonies coming soon!....Stay tuned for website updates.)