Fertility Acupuncture in Tampa, FL

What is fertility acupuncture used for?

There are 4 main areas that fertility acupuncture is used for:

• To focus on conception — normalize and then optimize your entire menstrual cycle (length), ovulation (timing), and overall menstrual health.
• To optimize your eggs and uterine lining.
• To optimize your sperm.
• To focus on IUI / IVF.

It doesn't matter if you're trying to get pregnant naturally or using IUI / IVF — fertility acupuncture is a great addition to the process. On top of these 4 focuses, acupuncture is proven to regulate your nervous system and help you better manage stress.

What are the benefits of fertility acupuncture?

• Helps to normalize your menstrual cycle.
• Improves uterine lining.
• Improves egg quality (it may also improve egg quality in women of an advanced age, when quality has declined over time).
• Improves blood flow to the ovaries, uterus, glands and cells — which in turn improves function and supports the areas of the body that need it the most.
• Improves sperm parameters (motility, morphology, quantity).
• Reduces anxiety and stress associated with infertility.
• Decreases chances of miscarriage.
• Significantly improves success rates of both IUI and IVF.
• Research has shown that acupuncture has a positive effect and no adverse effects on pregnancy outcomes.

When should I start fertility acupuncture?

This depends on what your goals are and what other treatments you might be using. So let's break this down into Natural Fertility Support and Reproductive Technology Fertility Support (IUI / IVF).

Natural fertility support with acupuncture

When it comes to natural fertility support with acupuncture, there is so much that can be done to help. In my fertility acupuncture practice in Tampa, FL, I use very specific goals and metrics to determine when you should start treatment, how much acupuncture you need, and how we use Chinese herbal medicine to support your goals.

The first place I start is with a deep dive into your menstrual cycle health. When it comes to fertility success, your menstrual cycle and basal body temperature are the greatest predictor and measure of your fertility potential. Your cycle should look like this:

• 28 days long (+/- 2 days)
• 4 days fresh red bleeding, soaking tampon/pad/diva cup every 4 hours
• No clotting or cramping during bleeding
• Ovulation on cycle day 14 with fertile cervical mucus
• No spotting or PMS before period
• BBT 97.2–4 during follicular phase
• BBT 98.2+ during luteal phase

Any deviation from this ideal can reduce your potential success. Our goal is to get you as close to this ideal as possible. Generally, with acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine, we can do that in 3-6 months. So it's always easiest to start fertility acupuncture as soon as possible. Most patients will need weekly treatment during those 3-6 months.

IVF support with acupuncture

When it comes to using acupuncture for support during your IUI / IVF cycle, there is a lot that can be done. We'll break this down into 3 phases — the stimulation phase, the transfer phase, and the post-implantation phase.

• Stimulation / Retrieval Phase: Before and during the stimulation phase, the ideal number of treatments is a minimum of 12 to help maximize egg quality and quantity.
• Pre-implantation: We're looking to optimize your uterine lining, so we generally prescribe 1-2 treatments a week leading up to implantation.
• Post-implantation: Statistics show a treatment on day 3-5 (range) post transfer and on day 8-10 (range) post transfer.

During the initial exam, Dr. Josh Hanson, DACM will determine — through the patient's past history and our proprietary Fertility Symptom Index — how close the patient is to the optimal fertility balance.

Those with egg quality issues and low follicle counts should start 6 months ahead, due to the fact that it often takes 3 months to balance the body and 3 more months (~90 days) for the egg to mature. Those with multiple IUI or IVF failures and multiple miscarriages should start acupuncture 2 months prior to their next IUI or IVF cycle. During this period, customized, safe and effective Chinese herbal medicine is recommended to accelerate the fertility optimization process.

How many acupuncture sessions will I need?

In general, treatment is given 1-2 times a week unless the patient needs to start IUI or IVF in less than 30 days — in that case, more frequent treatments may be necessary. Studies show 12+ acupuncture treatments is where acupuncture has the greatest benefits, and starting treatment so you have 3-4 months before an anticipated cycle is ideal. So anywhere between 12-24 treatments is considered one course of fertility acupuncture treatment.

How much does fertility acupuncture cost?

If you'd like to see how much Fertility Acupuncture in Tampa, FL with Dr. Josh Hanson costs, please check out our Fees page for the most current pricing information.