Why You Should Consider Acupuncture For Ovulation Induction

Are you and your partner thinking of expanding your family soon? Whether you’re trying to get pregnant on your own or with the help of IVF treatments, acupuncture can be used to enhance your fertility naturally. Acupuncture is particularly helpful when it comes to supporting ovulation. Even in women who have underlying hormonal conditions, like PCOS, acupuncture has been found to be helpful for supporting healthy menstrual cycles and restoring ovulation. If you’re looking for ways to enhance your sexual health, here are some very good reasons why you should consider acupuncture for ovulation induction.

Acupuncture increases circulation to the ovaries, which supports ovulation and increases ovarian reserve. Additionally, acupuncture can balance hormones to support regular menstrual cycles and your fertility overall. 

Acupuncture balances hormones

Healthy menstrual cycles start with healthy hormone levels. One of the biggest reasons women fail to ovulate is because their hormones are out of balance. Acupuncture has been used for decades to restore hormones and boost fertility.

We all experience stress, and some degree of stress is actually healthy. But when stress becomes overwhelming, this has a negative effect on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Chronic stress puts you in a perpetual state of fight-or-flight mode, but acupuncture can help restore balance.

Acupuncture gently stimulates the nervous system to regulate stress hormones like cortisol and DHEA. If you’ve ever had acupuncture, you know how relaxing it can be. Regular acupuncture sessions signal the HPA axis to “gear down”, so to speak, to help you feel calmer and more relaxed.

Meanwhile, acupuncture also promotes sex hormone production. Acupuncture has been shown to raise estrogen and progesterone during the follicular stage of the menstrual cycle, which supports ovulation. Acupuncture also regulates follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) levels, the former of which is responsible for telling the ovaries to release a follicle, and the latter of which enables that follicle to mature properly. 

Acupuncture increases circulation to the ovaries

Have you ever sat in one position for too long and had your foot go to sleep? When you stand up again, you may have a difficult time walking or wiggling your toes for a few minutes because the lack of circulation prevents you from using your foot the way you normally would. Good blood flow is critical for any part of the body to function correctly, and it’s no different for the reproductive system. One area of the body that is often overlooked in ovulation is pelvic floor health and blood flow to the uterus and ovaries.

One of the reasons why women may not ovulate is simply because their ovaries aren’t getting the blood they need to do so. With acupuncture, we can enhance blood flow to the ovaries, which is a major step in supporting ovulation.

Adequate circulation ensures your ovaries have ready access to the blood and oxygen they need to stay healthy. It also delivers hormones to the ovaries, which are essential for follicular development and egg maturation.

And the ovaries aren’t the only ones to benefit from better circulation. Good blood flow also supports uterine health, increasing the thickness of the endometrium, and making the uterus more receptive to implantation. With benefits like this, it’s no wonder more and more women are utilizing acupuncture for their IVF embryo transfers.

Acupuncture can increase ovarian reserve

Although the subject is still up for debate, it’s currently believed that women are born with a finite number of eggs. So acupuncture may or may not be able to induce your ovaries to produce more of them. However, what research indicates acupuncture can do is increase ovarian reserve quality by supporting egg quality, ensuring egg follicles mature properly, resulting in more viable oocytes.

Acupuncture has been shown to increase ovarian reserve by helping women produce more mature eggs. This is one of the reasons acupuncture is a wonderful complementary therapy for women scheduled to undergo egg retrieval for IVF. The more viable eggs your fertility specialist has, the better their chances of producing good embryos. This can improve your IVF success rate later on.

It’s also worth noting that acupuncture is safe to use in tandem with medications used to induce ovulation. Acupuncture is adaptogenic, and a non-drug that can be used to support more conventional treatment methods. Many of our clients have used acupuncture alongside hormone injections designed to induce ovulation with great success. 

Other therapies can be used to support ovulation, too!

There are so many reasons to use acupuncture if you’re having anovulatory cycles(periods with no ovulation) But when it comes to enhancing your fertility naturally, other therapies can be used to great effect as well. At Integrative Healing Arts, we may utilize a variety of holistic treatments to help our clients boost their fertility.

In addition to acupuncture, certain herbs can be used to support ovulation. Some herbs work by improving circulation to the reproductive organs, while others influence the HPA axis and promote hormonal health. At Integrative Healing Arts, we can help you determine which Traditional Chinese Herbs will help you the most (Note: Do not use herbs without the guidance of a professional herbalist).

Because stress levels can be so damaging to fertility, it’s worth making stress management a priority. Understanding what is contributing to your stress levels, and taking steps to keep these stressors in check, can further support your fertility and encourage ovulation.

If you’re not sure which of these therapies your body needs, that’s okay, just leave it to us. We’ve created countless customized treatment protocols to help our clients support ovarian health and achieve ovulation. We have the knowledge and expertise to help you, too. 

Get in touch with us today

If you know you aren’t ovulating, or if you’ve been trying to get pregnant for a while with no success and you need some help figuring out why, contact us today to learn more. Our friendly staff will help you schedule an appointment as you take the first steps toward achieving better fertility.

At Integrative Healing Arts, we understand that fertility is a multifaceted issue. We also understand that every woman is an individual and should be treated as such. With 21+ years of experience, we can help you get to the root of your ovulation issues so you can finally overcome them and fulfill your health and wellness goals.