The Difference Between IVF & TCM
Traditional Chinese Medicine for Fertility in Manhattan
When a person is struggling with infertility, it can be difficult to know what type of treatment will be most effective. There are treatments which fall under the aegis of Western reproductive medicine and treatments that fall under the aegis of traditional Chinese medicine, both of which have different goals. At The Berkley Center for Reproductive Wellness, we encourage our patients to consider holistic approaches to addressing infertility while simultaneously using Western reproductive medicine. Remember, it takes a village.
Western Medicine & Traditional Chinese Medicine
Western reproductive medicine can do many things, including promote follicular development with certain medications, promote ovulation with other medications, perform intra-uterine-insemination, and in-vitro fertilization. Western reproductive surgeons can also perform often necessary surgeries to create a fertile environment where polyps, fibroids, uterine anomalies, and cervical anomalies are present. Without these types of interventions many infertile women would never have children.
Traditional Chinese medicine can often regulate ovarian or testicular dysfunction naturally.
In the morbidly obese PCOS patient, weight loss is of paramount importance in increasing the ability to conceive because excess fat stores androgens and converts androgens to estrogen thereby creating a hormonal imbalance that is unlikely to enable conception. Women with PCOS have a miscarriage rate double that of the non-PCOS population. Acupuncture and herbal medicine along with exercise and life-style changes can make weight loss and its attendant health benefits possible.
- Traditional Chinese medicine can be used to treat the following:
- Endrometriosis
- PCOS
- Advanced maternal age
- Poor egg quality
- Implantation failure
- Infertility due to unknown causes
- Immunological causes of infertility
- Thrombophilic causes of chronic recurrent miscarriage
- Male factor
All cases of infertility can be diagnosed and treated and there are no mysteries or impossible cases. Each and every case can be analyzed, differentiated, diagnosed, and treated. TCM can often establish a treatment protocol where Western medicine has none to offer other than donor-egg. Traditional Chinese medicine uses specific herbal formulas prescribed for a particular patient for a particular disorder, taking into consideration the whole patient as well as their pathology. When treated by Mike Berkley, an expert in the field, TCM is safe and effective and there are no harmful side-effects.
- Traditional Chinese medicine incorporates a number of different types of treatment, including:
- Herbal medicine
- Acupuncture
- Stress reduction
- To learn more, set up a consultation to discuss your condition with a Manhattan licensed acupuncturist. Contact us now at (212) 685-0985.