Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been dealing with fertility and women's health for five thousand years. During the Shang dynasty (1500 BC), Tuina massage was used to treat gynecological and pediatric conditions, as found in inscriptions on tortoise shells. Herbal medicine was used to treat infertility in an anciant medical text, Journal of Mountains and Sees, published in 475 BC. The canon of traditional Chinese medicine, Huang Di Internal Classic (Huang Di Nei Jing), describes comprehensive treatment for amenorrhea (absence of menstruation) and menorrhagia (heavy or long periods); it attributes women's reproductive changes to certain acupoint meridians (220 BC).
We provide acupuncture treatment for women who seek natural pregnancy or assisted production procedures such as IUI and IVF. The frequency of acupuncture ranges from 1-3 times per week depending on their signs and symptoms. If women have considerable fertility difficulties, we highly recommend regular Chinese herbal medicine in addition to other treatments. We use three proprietary formulas (termed PreM, M and PostM), in tea form made of natural herbs, in each menstrual cycle. We provide a list of English names for Chinese herbs for patients or their physicians to review.
In general, many reproductive problems take at least three months to be treated fully. Even if patients incorporate acupuncture in a later phase of fertility efforts, they should expect some positive effects.
