What can TCM do for you?
TCM has successfully treated both female and male infertility for a long time and has accumulated extremely abundant experiences; it can be used to
treat infertility alone or in conjunction with ART.
TCM provides the following benefits:
For women
For men
TCM in your treatment plan
If you are infertile and want to become pregnant, the following suggestions may help you
Option 1 - You can try TCM before going through Western fertility treatment if you are:
Option 2 - You may want to combine ART with TCM if you are:
Option 3 – You ought to definitely use ART with your TCM treatment when you are:
These decisions should be carefully made in discussions with your TCM practitioner and your M.D.
How long does TCM treatment take?
When you are relying on TCM exclusively, you may need to give it about 6 months to ready your body for pregnancy. It takes that long or even
longer if you plan to combine TCM with other treatments.
It is advisable to begin acupuncture 3 months before fertility procedures commence and continue acupuncture through your Western treatment.
Patients are recommended to make two visits per week. If the problem is sperm quality or quantity, this plan is useful for men as well as women
because the period of sperm maturation takes between 70-90 days. While this course of treatment is recommended, many people come in just prior
to IVF, or during a IVF cycle, and still experience improvement.
If a woman is undergoing IVF, it is ideal that she receives treatment on the day of the transfer or as close to the day as possible.
I encourage women to continue with treatment after a positive pregnancy test once a week for the first trimester to help prevent miscarriage.
Women who have more difficulty getting pregnant have a slightly higher rate of miscarriage.
Some suggestions
Eat organic foods when possible and avoid meats that have been treated with hormones or fish that contains mercury.
Women need to eat food with essential fatty acids, e.g., soy products and wild caught salmon. Essential fatty acids are also found in non-
hydrogenated cold pressed oils like flaxseed, vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots, and all dark green vegetables.
Avoid alcohol and caffeine.
Try to get good amounts of sleep and limit stress. Find ways to relax - meditation, yoga, chatting with friends and any other calming activities that
work for you are encouraged.
For men, skip saunas, hot tubs and tight clothes, all of which heat up sperm.
Sex during the first trimester is contraindicated, especially for the woman that has a history of miscarriage, as the placenta is not yet fully formed.
Usually, TCM practitioners go one step further and indicate that it is probably best for all couples to abstain for the whole nine months of
pregnancy. For the couple, where the woman is over 40, intercourse is not recommended for the entire pregnancy even by Western physicians.
TCM has successfully treated both female and male infertility for a long time and has accumulated extremely abundant experiences; it can be used to
treat infertility alone or in conjunction with ART.
TCM provides the following benefits:
For women
- improves the function of ovaries which allows for the development of better quality eggs and embryos
- regulates hormones and ovulation
- increases blood flow to the uterus
- helps to thicken uterine lining if it is too thin
- strengthens the immune system
- reduces stress
- lessens the side effects of drugs
- strengthens and balances a woman’s general health so that IVF, GIFT, ZIFT, ICSI, AHT and TET procedures can be more effective
For men
- improves semen quality and quantity
- strengthens body
- increases energy
- improves sex function
TCM in your treatment plan
If you are infertile and want to become pregnant, the following suggestions may help you
Option 1 - You can try TCM before going through Western fertility treatment if you are:
- a younger woman – under 35 years old
- a woman who has only 1 minor impediment, such as mild endometriosis, an irregular menstrual cycle, mild PCOS (Polycystic Ovary
Syndrome), or hormonal imbalance - a couple in good health with unexplained infertility and/or no detectable abnormality
- a men with poor sperm quality and quantity
Option 2 - You may want to combine ART with TCM if you are:
- a woman over 35 years old
- a woman who has several of the minor impediments listed above that can interfere with pregnancy
- a woman whose partner has mild abnormalities in sperm count or quality (he ought to consider TCM treatment)
- feeling like you are running out of time
Option 3 – You ought to definitely use ART with your TCM treatment when you are:
- a woman over 40 years old
- a woman with major impediments, such as blocked tubes
- partnered with a man who has seriously low sperm count or poor quality
These decisions should be carefully made in discussions with your TCM practitioner and your M.D.
How long does TCM treatment take?
When you are relying on TCM exclusively, you may need to give it about 6 months to ready your body for pregnancy. It takes that long or even
longer if you plan to combine TCM with other treatments.
It is advisable to begin acupuncture 3 months before fertility procedures commence and continue acupuncture through your Western treatment.
Patients are recommended to make two visits per week. If the problem is sperm quality or quantity, this plan is useful for men as well as women
because the period of sperm maturation takes between 70-90 days. While this course of treatment is recommended, many people come in just prior
to IVF, or during a IVF cycle, and still experience improvement.
If a woman is undergoing IVF, it is ideal that she receives treatment on the day of the transfer or as close to the day as possible.
I encourage women to continue with treatment after a positive pregnancy test once a week for the first trimester to help prevent miscarriage.
Women who have more difficulty getting pregnant have a slightly higher rate of miscarriage.
Some suggestions
Eat organic foods when possible and avoid meats that have been treated with hormones or fish that contains mercury.
Women need to eat food with essential fatty acids, e.g., soy products and wild caught salmon. Essential fatty acids are also found in non-
hydrogenated cold pressed oils like flaxseed, vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots, and all dark green vegetables.
Avoid alcohol and caffeine.
Try to get good amounts of sleep and limit stress. Find ways to relax - meditation, yoga, chatting with friends and any other calming activities that
work for you are encouraged.
For men, skip saunas, hot tubs and tight clothes, all of which heat up sperm.
Sex during the first trimester is contraindicated, especially for the woman that has a history of miscarriage, as the placenta is not yet fully formed.
Usually, TCM practitioners go one step further and indicate that it is probably best for all couples to abstain for the whole nine months of
pregnancy. For the couple, where the woman is over 40, intercourse is not recommended for the entire pregnancy even by Western physicians.
Evergreen Chinese Medicine
| Infertility |
| Special Clinics |
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) has improved greatly in recent years and increasing numbers of
couples have benefited from the scientific advances. However, at the same time, more and more couples are
turning to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), either alone or in conjunction with their Western treatments
to improve their chances of conceiving and delivering healthy babies.
An important German study that has attracted notable attention in the U.S. showed that acupuncture
significantly increased the effectiveness of IVF success. Impressively, pregnancies were documented in 34 out
of 80 patients (42.5%) in the acupuncture group as compared to 21 out of 80 patients (26.3%) in the control
group.
couples have benefited from the scientific advances. However, at the same time, more and more couples are
turning to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), either alone or in conjunction with their Western treatments
to improve their chances of conceiving and delivering healthy babies.
An important German study that has attracted notable attention in the U.S. showed that acupuncture
significantly increased the effectiveness of IVF success. Impressively, pregnancies were documented in 34 out
of 80 patients (42.5%) in the acupuncture group as compared to 21 out of 80 patients (26.3%) in the control
group.