There are many ways to get pregnant and many reasons why one may face challenges.
In order to achieve and maintain an on-gong-pregnancy, the oocytes (woman's eggs), must be of good quality. Chromosomal abnormalities of eggs or embryos are one of the most common causes of infertility, or chronic, recurrent miscarriage. We have found, through two-thousand years of research and application, that acupuncture can, and frequently does, improve egg quality, thus facilitating an ongoing, healthy pregnancy.
How does this happen?
Acupuncture enhances and improves blood flow (hemodynamics). Since acupuncture is trophic, meaning that it can affect any part of the body the practitioner wants to effect, we can focus on the ovaries and/or uterine lining (the endometrium).
Blood is simply a messenger which delivers FSH/LH from the brain nutrient product from our food, oxygen, and electrolytes to the ovaries. Once these important products are dropped off at the ovaries, the blood 'picks-up' debris (dead cells) from the ovaries, eventually eliminating them via exhalation. By delivering more 'good' stuff to the ovaries and excreting more 'bad' stuff (dead cells), from the ovaries, it only makes sense that what the ovaries contain (your eggs), will be improved in quality.
Not only do the ovaries receive this 'extra' blood and all the beneficial components the blood supplies but so too does the uterine lining, helping to reduce implantation failure which may occur due to a lining with limited blood supply.
This is the mechanism-of-action of acupuncture in improving egg and lining quality.
In future entries I will write about how herbs help to improve fertility outcomes as well.
I will also address pathologies which can cause infertility, both obvious and not-so-obvious and how they are treated with both Western and Chinese medicine.
To find out more about Chinese medicine, acupuncture, and miscarriage prevention, be sure to visit http://www.berkleycenter.com