Spotlight on Fertility and Acupuncture: A Real-Life Patient’s Journey
Sara had been trying to get pregnant for two and a half years. She had been pregnant about a year and a half prior, but unfortunately she lost the baby in the 8th week, they tested the tissue and found no genetic issue. Her and her husband had been trying to conceive naturally since then. They had also recently considered seeking out a reproductive endocrinologist to discuss intra-uterine insemination (IUI) or in vitro fertilization (IVF). Sara came to us to get her body back into balance and to support her fertility, whether naturally or alongside Western support through IUI or IVF. Like most of our fertility challenged patients, she was healthy overall, but there was some minor things that needed balancing. She ovulated monthly, but her cervical mucus didn’t match up with ovulation and her periods were a little short at 25-27 days, our aim is 29 days. She experienced some low back pain, some slight digestive discomfort once a week, a little fatigue, stress and sleep problems; she woke in the middle of the night with her head spinning with thoughts. In Chinese medicine, each symptom we experience is a clue for the practitioner and tells us what organ system might be out of the balance and causing a barricade around the door to fertility. One organ system that needed support was her Liver. Almost everyone has some degree of Liver imbalance and each person displays that imbalance with a different set of symptoms. For Sara, it caused tightness and impeding circulation into her uterus, which was compromising implantation. So often, we believe that a patient is conceiving, but implantation is where the issue lies. After acupuncture twice a week, a Chinese herbal prescription taking three times a day and relaxation techniques, Sara got pregnant in 6 weeks. She is now in her 27th week and everything is smooth. Both acupuncture and herbal medicine were mandatory for her and she needed to be diligent. She also discontinued coffee and her excessive bootcamp workouts. Essentially, we needed to relax the body allowing her to become more grounded in her lower abdomen, which would bring more circulation to the area. Her treatment plan also provided her with an increase in energy, deeper sleep and digestive harmony.
Launch of Bay Area-Based Fertility Prediction App Today!
Bay area based app to predict FERTILITY launches today! The BUZZ in the fertility world today isn’t about acupuncture or some new-old ancient technique. It’s all about GLOW today, the fertility app that Bay area based and PayPal co-founder Max Levchin has created (and has sunk $1million of his own dollars into, by the way). Glow is a free-to-download, iPhone-only app that helps women — and their partners — track ovulation cycles and other data points to predict peak fertility windows. It officially launches in the App Store today. In addition, the Bay Area-based startup has raised $6 million in venture capital funding from Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, Jeff Jordan of Andreessen Horowitz and individual investors including Yuri Milner. Glow goes beyond tracking ovulation cycles, sexual activity and, yes, the texture of cervical mucus, which I can’t wait to find out more on this one. And in true Bay area style, Levchin and Glow co-founder Mike Huang have built the company with the intent to disrupt the current health-care system in the U.S., by creating a kind of insurance fund to help pay for women’s fertility treatments. Here’s the thing that I love the most, app users have the option to contribute $50 a month to the Glow Fund, for a period of 10 months. If, after 10 months of using the Glow app, a woman hasn’t conceived, she can withdraw money from the Glow Fund and use it to pay for fertility treatments. Conversely, if she has gotten pregnant, she forfeits her contributions; they will go toward another user’s fertility treatments. Genius and generous! Christina “Mei Wen” Martin, L.Ac., Dipl.AC, MTOM, FABORM. christina@berkeley-acupuncture.com Christina Martin is the founder of Tao to Wellness. She is an Acupuncturist, Chinese Herbalist and Teacher and has been in practice for fifteen years. She holds a Master’s Degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine and is California state licensed and a nationally certified Diplomat of Acupuncture. Christina entered Acupuncture school without ever having an Acupuncture treatment. She simply felt it was her calling.
