Acupuncture, Infertility, Fertility

How Many Acupuncture for Infertility Treatments Does One Need?

There are two types of acupuncture treatments in addressing infertility: The corrective acupuncture treatment and supportive acupuncture treatments for infertility.

The corrective acupuncture Treatment for infertility:

Unsuccessful pregnancies has many causes. Very often there is imbalance exist not just in woman but also in man.

These acupuncture for infertility treatments for woman usually start one to three months before the start of anticipated trying cycle for all 3 category of patients (trying on their own, with IUI, with IVF). During the initial exam, Dr. Lee will determine, through patient's past history, pulse and tongue diagnosis, hand/feet exam, how close the patient is to the optimal fertility balance. For patients whose internal conditions are within 10% the optimal balance, 4 to 8 acupuncture treatments for infertility may be sufficient. For those with only 20 to 40% of the normal energy, 9 to 16 infertility acupuncture treatments may be necessary prior to the start of anticipated trying cycle. Those with egg quality issues and low follicle counts should start 5 to 6 months ahead due to the fact that it often take 1 to 2 months to balance the body and 3 more months (85 days) for the egg to mature. Whose with multiple IUI or IVF failures and multiple miscarriages should start acupuncture 2 to 4 months prior to next IUI or IVF cycle. During this period, customized safe and effective Chinese herbs and teas are recommended to accelerate the fertility optimization process. In general, treatment is given once a week unless patient needs start IUI or IVF in less than 30 days more frequent treatments (2/wk) maybe necessary. For man, it is also important to get balanced, for ICSI (injecting sperm into the egg) will only result the union of the chromosome of the sperm and that of the egg. It does not improve the quality of the sperm. For sure the egg is fertilized. But, at what quality? Will the resulting embryo turn into full term pregnancy? For man, one treatment is required each week with herbs for 3 to 4 months. The improvement can be seen thru semen analysis. Dr. Lee has helped many couples achieved their dreams by mostly treating the men.

The supportive acupuncture or Post Retrieval Acupuncture Treatment for infertility:

Part A: 2 Acupuncture for Infertility Treatments for IUI patients: 5 days AND 10 days after insemination.

3 acupuncture for infertility treatments for IVF patients: On the day of transfer, 5 days AND 10 days after transfer.

Patients will usually take pregnancy test 3 to 4 days after the 2nd follow-up acupuncture treatment.

If the pregnancy test shows positive, then part B starts, If not, patients depend on their condition need to restart from corrective acupuncture treatments again.

Part B: You've received the good news - you're pregnant. You are half way in reaching your goal. The next important thing is to stay pregnant. With his MPP (miscarriage prevention program), Dr. Lee is able to achieve 7% miscarriage rate for women age ranging 24 to 34 and 21% for age ranging 35 to 47.

Reaching this goal involves weekly acupuncture treatments for the next 8 weeks to maximize your fetus's chance survive in your uterus. These follow-up acupuncture treatments (done once a week for the first 12 weeks of your pregnancy) are just as important as the previous acupuncture treatments for infertility. Statistics show that on an average, there is a 20% chance of the pregnancy ending with a miscarriage within the first 12 weeks. This miscarriage rate increases to 50% if the patient is in their late 30s and early 40s. The ultimate goal of treating infertility is to have a child - getting pregnant is only the first step in an acupuncture for infertility program.

I have seen it time and time again that patients who continue acupuncture after they become pregnant have a much better chance in staying pregnant than those who do not. Having acupuncture once a week for the first 12 weeks of your pregnancy can help ensure the continuous and the maximum blood flow to the uterus for your child (ren) and increase your success, and minimizing the chance of miscarriage. Let's work together to keep your baby (babies).