Few things are as frustrating and sometimes even heart-breaking as infertility when trying to have a baby. It becomes even more difficult because there are so many possible causes and treatments. While there are no guarantees, fertility acupuncture and its closely related cousin, fertility acupressure, may be able to reduce the stress and improve your chances.
What causes Infertility?
The causes of infertility are too numerous to mention. There are conditions that stop you from becoming pregnant to begin with and others that lead to miscarriages or stillbirths. Some people will try IVF, but not all will find it to work. Sometimes it is because of a physical barrier, from hormone levels and infections to structural problems in the reproductive organs. If there is a medical cause, identifying and treating it with the help of a specialist doctor has to be your first step to becoming pregnant. If you still have problems, however, or if you cannot identify the cause, acupuncture and acupressure are an alternative, complementary medicine that may be able to help.
What are Acupuncture and Acupressure?
Acupuncture and acupressure are two ancient remedies with origins in China. Traditionally, they are based on the idea that the body has life energy, called qi, that travels along the body’s meridians. When these meridians are blocked, it causes health problems. In acupuncture, needles are inserted at certain pressure points along the meridians, while in acupressure, physical pressure is applied by hand, elbow or device. There are a lot of claims about what these methods can do for the body, some of them quite fanciful, but they have long been recognized as a potentially useful tool in relaxation and pain relief in particular.
Fertility Acupuncture and Acupressure
One major factor that can affect fertility is stress. Trying to get pregnant, and then trying to identify and treat the causes of potential infertility, are all highly stressful processes, and this can prove an impediment to progress. Attending acupuncture or acupressure sessions alongside your regular medical treatment will not interfere with its effectiveness and may allow you to relax a little. A good therapist will be able to work with you and your doctor to coordinate treatments.
When your body experiences heightened levels of stress, hormones like cortisol and adrenaline surge and non-essential parts of your body begin to shut down, all so energy can be diverted to your fight-or-flight response. That includes your reproductive system. Acupuncture and acupressure may alleviate this response, and with time and patience, allow you to manage the stress more effectively. This does not just apply to women; men trying to have a child may also benefit. Relieving stress may also lead to an improved sperm count.
Infertility is complicated, and saying there is one magical solution that can help anyone get pregnant is misleading. What fertility acupuncture and acupressure can do is work alongside any medical interventions to relieve stress and give you the best chance possible of becoming pregnant.