Natural Preconception care

For both him and her…

When you decide it’s time to start thinking about starting a family, you can begin preparing your bodies to provide the best possible environment for conception by following some commonsense guidelines for healthy eating and reducing stress. The healthier you are, the healthier your cells are. Our suggestion is to allow at least 3 months for preconception care, including improvements for any health, lifestyle and environmental concerns, because sperm and eggs take around 100 days to develop and mature. It’s not just the woman’s health that matters because sperm health is just as important.

Acupuncture may be able to assist with preconception care by helping couples to reduce stress.

EATING  HEALTHY

The goal of healthy eating is to provide quality nutrients for the body so it is able to produce good quality sperm and eggs. Choose fresh organic and hormone-free foods whenever possible. Drink plenty of water to hydrate the body and help flush out any toxins.

It’s advisable to reduce the following for preconception care:

• Coffee, as it constricts blood vessels and raises blood pressure

• Smoking as it ages the ovaries, affecting egg quality and it adversely affects sperm production

• Alcohol as it makes the liver work harder to detoxify the body; can adversely affect sperm production and affects certain Chinese Medicine body types (Damp, Heat and Qi stagnation)

• Junk foods as they contain high amounts of salt, sugar, fats and provide little nutritional value

  • Replace with healthy snacks (fresh fruit, nuts, vegetable sticks and dip, yoghurt or home-baked muffins)

• Reduce your exposure to chemical products in skincare and house-cleaning products

  • Try organic rosehip oil as a natural moisturiser

  • Try baking soda and white vinegar as household cleaning products.

REDUCING  STRESS

For preconception care, reducing stress helps the body to relax, encouraging the natural processes to flow smoothly.  Increasing sleep allows the body to regenerate and relax.

A few easy relaxation tips:

• Soaking your feet in warm water for 10 – 20 minutes at night promotes blood and Qi energy flow to the energy channels in the lower half of body including the reproductive organs.

• Regular physical exercise, 3 times a week, at your fitness level; this acts to provide much needed oxygen and nutrients to the whole body, and gently encourages free-flow of Qi around the body

  • Pilates is a strong core muscles strengthening exercise modality. Consider reducing the number of pilates sessions when you are trying to conceive.

  • Yoga is fantastic as it relaxes and energises the body simultaneously. This is great for unblocking stagnant energy and stretches the body. If you are a yin deficient body type, it is advisable to avoid bikram yoga as hot yoga can be too warming for this body type, causing further depletion of the yin body fluids.

When combining acupuncture sessions with yoga, it’s advisable to do the yoga first (yoga distributes energy flow throughout the whole body), and then follow with acupuncture because acupuncture directs the Qi energy to areas where it is needed. Acupuncture may be able to assist with preconception care by helping couples to reduce stress.

CHINESE MEDICINE

A consultation with your Chinese medicine practitioner for personalised preconception advice and care, to help to bring the body back into balance at a physical and emotional level. And you will feel healthier too!

Acupuncture for IVF support

IVF Acupuncture

In Chinese Medicine, fertility depends on a balanced body. 

Many health practitioners may recommend acupuncture as an adjunct treatment that may assist with IVF treatment. There is continuing research about how acupuncture can assist with the effectiveness of IVF treatment and you should consult with your treating practitioner/s about how acupuncture may be able to help you.

Bing’s Natural Health can assist you at each stage of the IVF program. We understand that this is a stressful time, so we are here to listen, support you with our best care, and help manage the stress associated with IVF.

Acupuncture and Chinese medicine are generally considered to be safe in the hands of a well-trained practitioner, but occasionally (as with all health treatments) may be associated with possible adverse reactions in individual cases.

Why combine acupuncture and IVF?

Please note that using laser acupuncture for IVF may not be as effective as conventional acupuncture. However, if you are uncomfortable using needles, then you may wish to discuss the use of needle free laser acupuncture for IVF with one of our practitioners.

Your health practitioner/s may recommend acupuncture as an adjunct treatment that may assist with IVF treatment. Since there is continuing research about how acupuncture can assist with the effectiveness of IVF treatment and you should consult with your treating practitioner/s about how acupuncture may be able to help you. For example, below are possible acupuncture adjunct treatments for each stage of the IVF program, depending on the recommendations of your health practitioner/s. 

Acupuncture to prepare for IVF

We recommend acupuncture and Chinese herbal treatments 1 - 3 months to prepare your whole body before attempting to get pregnant. This is known as preconception care; the body may need this amount of time to return to a healthier state, clear stress, improve nutrition and potentially enhance the reproductive environment for implanting and developing of the embryo. The acupuncture treatments may also reduce the side effects of the IVF medication, such as nausea, headaches and mood swings.

 Egg collection and IVF acupuncture

Bing’s Natural Health provides before and after acupuncture treatments for the egg pickup procedure.

Overview  of IVF acupuncture at implantation

The invasive IVF egg collection process can be physically and emotionally stressful; and this may not be a nurturing environment for the embryo to implant. So there can be an acupuncture treatment within the 24 hours before the embryo transfer and again within 24 hours after the embryo transfer. It is suggested that these treatments are close to the IVF procedure.

IVF acupuncture just prior to embryo transfer

An acupuncture treatment 24 hours before the transfer.

IVF acupuncture immediately after embryo transfer

An acupuncture treatment in the 24 hours after the embryo transfer. We are sometimes asked about massage after the embryo transfer and we do not advise this because our understanding is that it requires a very specific and appropriate therapeutic massage which can only be given by someone with this exact special training.

Continuing acupuncture for the embryo transfer

The next acupuncture treatment will be 4-7 days after the embryo transfer to assist the implantation, followed by weekly sessions for the next 12 weeks to keep the body in balance and quieten stress.

Many health practitioners may recommend acupuncture as an adjunct treatment that may assist with IVF treatment. There is continuing research about how acupuncture can assist with the effectiveness of IVF treatment and you should consult with your treating practitioner/s about how acupuncture may be able to help you.

Pregnancy acupuncture

 Thoughtful and Respectful Maternity Care

Pregnancy and childbirth are a deeply personal time in the life of a woman and her loved ones, while also being a period of emotional vulnerability. The maternity care should be gentle, respectful and informative; and take place in an atmosphere of trust, support, compassion and empowerment.

Pregnancy acupuncture can help by providing both pre and post birth care and support; and help to provide women with more confidence in their own bodies as they undergo the many changes that occur throughout the term of pregnancy.

Stages of pregnancy and labour, and the benefits of Traditional Chinese Medicine care:

1st trimester (0-12 weeks)

As this can be a sensitive time during pregnancy, acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine are able to help maintain the body to support a growing foetus throughout the term of pregnancy.  Issues including morning sickness, back pain, musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, headaches, and stress about the pregnancy may be managed with pregnancy acupuncture during this time. Acupuncture is considered to be safe in the hands of a well-trained practitioner, but occasionally (as with all health treatments) may be associated with possible adverse reactions in individual cases.

Acupuncture can be used for reducing both the severity and incidence of nausea, dry retching and vomiting during pregnancy.

2nd trimester (13-28 weeks)

During the second trimester, symptoms of morning sickness, back pain, headaches and stress may be treated with the use of acupuncture and Chinese medicine. 

3rd trimester (28-40 weeks)

Issues that may occur during this trimester include pregnancy related back pain and musculoskeletal pain which may be managed with pregnancy acupuncture.

Consultation after childbirth

You may wish to consider a follow up consultation 2-4 weeks post-birth to assess the general health of the mother.  As childbirth can be a demanding and exhausting process, the session may simply look at ways to replenish the body’s energy.

How does acupuncture support the body?

Acupuncture has a calming effect on the nervous system:

• engages the parasympathetic nervous system to ease your body into a rest-relax-rejuvenation state of being.

• signals the body to release endorphins which are the body’s own ‘feel-good’ chemicals

  [Ribeiro SC, Kennedy SE, Smith YR, Stohler CS, Zubieta JK. Interface of physical and emotional stress regulation through the endogenous opioid system and μ-opioid receptors. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry. 2005;1264-1280]

• endorphins play an important role in regulation of emotional stress responses

  [Harbach H, Moll B, Boedeker RH, et al. Minimal immunoreactive plasma β-endorphin and decrease of cortisol at standard analgesia or different acupuncture techniques. European Journal of Anaesthesiology. 2007; 24:370-6

  Agelink MW, Sanner D, Eich H, Pach J, Bertling R, Lemmer W, Klieser E, Lehmann E. Does acupuncture influence the cardiac autonomic nervous system in patients with minor depression or anxiety disorders? Fortschritte der Neurologie-Psychiatrie. 2003;71:141-9 19.

  Rickels K, Rynn M. Pharmacotherapy of generalized anxiety disorder. J Clin Psychiatry. 2002;63:Suppl 9-16 20.

  Generoso MB, Trevizol AP, Kasper S, Cho HJ, Cordeiro Q, Shiozawa P. Pregabiln for generalized anxiety disorder: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis. 2017;32:49-55

Acupuncture improves Heart Rate Variability (HRV). HRV is simply a measure of the variation in time between each heartbeat. This variation is controlled by the automonic nervous system (ANS).The ANS is subdivided into two large components, the sympathetic (fight-flight-freeze) state and the parasympathetic nervous system (rest-relax-rejuvenation) state. HRV is an interesting and noninvasive way to identify any Autonomic Nervous system (ANS) imbalances. When the body is in ‘a fight-flight-freeze mode’, the variation between heartbeats is low. When the body is in a ‘rest-relax-rejuvenation’ state, the variation between heartbeats is high. So, the healthier your ANS is, the faster you are able to switch gears which is reflected in a high HRV. Your body shows more resilience and flexibility; and may be associated with better cardiovascular fitness. Research has shown a relationship between low HRV and worsening depression or anxiety. It is fascinating to see how HRV improves as you incorporate more mindfulness, meditation, sleep, and physical activity into your life.

[https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/heart-rate-variability-new-way-track-well-2017112212789, accessed 21/9/21]

• Acupuncture improves the body’s ability to cope with stress by improving HRV

  [Chung, J. W. Y., Yan, V. C. M., & Zhang, H. (2014). Effect of Acupuncture on Heart Rate Variability: A Systematic Review. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2014(5), 1–19. http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2982.2008.01164.x]

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