Holistic Care

The Birth & Baby Expo at the Midtown Global Market was great!  We got to talk with many new and expecting parents and also a great variety of practitioners about the work we do.

If you missed it, here some info we had at our table:

Acupuncture is part of a system of medicine that evolved more than 3000 years ago in China. People discovered that inserting fine needles into specific points on the body stimulated the body’s innate ability to heal itself. While acupuncture techniques have been refined over the centuries, the essential theory behind the practice has remained intact.  The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes 85 conditions in which acupuncture is an effective therapy.  Conditions include digestive disorders, addiction, nausea and vomiting, common colds, allergies, infertility, insomnia, and pain.

Acupuncture for Fertility
Why use acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine for issues surrounding fertility? Acupuncture offers a natural approach to treating infertility, with little to no side effects. It is a relaxing, nourishing treatment aimed at helping your body to remedy itself, preparing it for pregnancy. Research shows that by adding acupuncture and herbal medicine one has increased chances of conception, which is important for those about to undergo Read More

We hope this testimonial gives hope to those struggling with infertility.  This special mom was told her chance of having another baby was less than 5%.  Twenty weeks later she is well on her way to being a mother of two.

We began trying for our second child when I was 36 years old. After 6 months of trying on our own with nothing happening we went to see a Reproductive Endocrinologist. He discovered that my progesterone levels were a little low so we did three cycles of artificial insemination with Femara. That did not work.

The infertility specialist did all kinds of testing and discovered that my FSH level was a high (it was normally around 12, one month it was 24), meaning that I was pre-menopausal at the age of 37. We did approximately 2 more cycles of artificial insemination, again using Femara, estrogen patch for the thin lining and a trigger shot.

The doctor explained to us that since I was pre-menopausal and since my eggs were old and I couldn’t produce many, that there was no point in doing in-vitro fertilization with my own eggs because I didn’t produce enough eggs to even complete a cycle. Read More

Do you or someone you know have PCOS?  Becoming more and more common, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome is something we see regularly at our clinic.  It can cause longer than normal cycles, or absence of menstruation altogether along with a myriad of other symptoms, including those associated with increased levels of testosterone (acne, unwanted body hair, etc).  These symptoms can be annoying in the least, and devastating if you are trying to conceive.  Results from a recent study published in the American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism show something we have seen regularly in our clinic, that the combination of acupuncture and physical exercise was shown to decrease testosterone levels and lead to more regular menstruation.

Three groups of women with PCOS were included in the study, the first being treated with acupuncture and physical exercise, the second with physical exercise alone, and a third control group.  Both the acupuncture and exercise group, and the exercise alone group experienced improvements in weight, testosterone levels, acne and menstrual regularity, according to the study.

“The study shows that both acupuncture and exercise reduce high levels of testosterone and lead to more regular menstruation,” said author Elisabet Stener-Victorin.  “Of the two treatments, the Read More