Acupuncture for conceiving naturally

Following! I’ve been doing some research about it and apparently pressing 4 fingers below your belly button helps conceive. Anything at this point I will try!! 🙋🏼‍♀️

@Jo oh nice!! I haven’t heard about the 4 fingers thing yet - will give it a google. And same! Willing to try anything, (even if just makes me feel more in control and like I’m doing everything I can so no regrets🙈)

I had acupuncture for about 4 months following a miscarriage. I stopped it in Nov and conceived in Jan. But I was also due to start IVF and I think letting go of the control really helped. And my husband (who had the fertility issues) made changes on his side. So who knows really! It’s worth a go though.

As someone who has had accupuncture treatments for decades, I say proceed, but with caveats. Please bear in mind I am in not an expert, this is just my experience. Some practitioners will be better than others. I mostly used Korean practitioners when younger (simply because mum had friends that were good) but for fertility issues I used a Central London place with British/European practitioners (I don't mean to criticise Western practioners, I went in with an open mind & heart, plus I am sure there are plenty of really competent Western acupuncturists around), however, I did not have a good experience at this Central London place. This place always left me feeling a bit of pain, which I never had before. When twisting the needle, I'd feel a little twinge like a nerve would be touched in an unpleasant way and sometimes my hand would feel funny for a few days, which wasn't great as my work is very physical. They also advised me to avoid sugar, caffeine and dairy.

I don't believe accupuncture should cause or leave you in pain, in the past, at most I would feel tired the day after and would have to take it easy. I would be advised to avoid foods that cool down the body -a Chinese medicine concept, so like radish, uncooked veg, not just temperature cold like ice cream etc. Admittedly, i don't know enough about what is taught in Eastern accupuncture institutions vs. Western ones, but to my limited understanding in Korea the training is lengthy and rigorous-6 years? As opposed to the UK courses can be 3-4 years, maybe less. I am not sure how true this is, so take that with pinch of salt. Accupuncture is not a quick fix, you'd have to go to several appointments over many months. You may not see or feel obvious improvements. Many use it as health maintenance, as something to prevent future harms to health or balance your body. Health improvements can be slow and subtle. It may require an overhaul of your lifestyle and mindset. A holistic approach if you will.

I used it whilst doing my IVF didng think it’s helped anything apart from staying zen

So yes, the idea of letting go of control as mentioned by Amy can be helpful. I think it was part of what helped me to conceive. So after a loss at 21 weeks, 2 years ago, I had trouble conceiving even after trying for most of that time. I found that I had pcos, fibroids, my weight is on the high side as well which didn't help. Work was stressful, I wasn't eating particularly healthily and my mental health wasn't in a great place. What I think ultimately helped was treating TTC as being part athlete and also incorporating eastern health philosophies: being gentle on the body and nourishing it. So greatly reducing processed food- so I was eating clean 60-80%- it was too hard to be totally clean without being miserable. I actually increased dairy to take probiotics and yogurt for gut health and helped to not have unhealthy snacks. Increasing nuts and seeds in diet helps too. For exercise, nothing too long and vigorous. Yoga, pilates or a 30 min spin class are good.

Also look into good quality supplements, avoid ones with bulking agents and fillers, same goes for protein powder if you use them. Like I said, think about it as being an athlete. Putting clean, high quality things into your body helps your body perform better. For me, going back to eating more Eastern foods helped as I think my body was able to enjoy a lot of easy to digest and nutritionally diverse ingredients. Finally, also take a f*** it approach to things sometimes. You want something that makes you happy from time to time. You want a fancy pastry/ some chocolate/ a holiday.... f*** it, just do it. Being far less stressed and happy helped me, rather than anxiously tracking cycles, restricting diet to the point it made me unexcited about life. Like I say, accupuncture is rarely a cure all in itself. It is most effective when it is part of a wider picture of mind and body treatments. Don't be afraid to look into what accreditation the acupuncturist has and to drop them if you don't like them.