- Start
taking your nutritional supplements at least 3 to 4 months before your IVF
treatment or natural fertility cycle commences.
- Drink at
least 2 liters of water a day. Water is vitally important for every cell in the
body and helps to remove and eliminate toxins.
- Vitamin C:
500 mg a day will help collagen production and is vital for wound healing
following egg retrieval. There is some evidence to suggest that it may help to
prevent miscarriage. Reduce
Vitamin C intake to 250mg before transfer.
- Folic
Acid: helps prevents spina bifida and produce DNA and RNA.
- CoQ10: May
improve blood flow, enrich endometrium, and improve fertilization rates, “mitochondrial
nutrients” may improve egg quality and response to ovarian stimulation. Can
improve sperm quality.
- Bromalein: Using Pineapple & pineapple core can help to assist
implantation: Pineapple contains bromelain. Bromelain is a proteolytic enzyme
that breaks up proteins that inhibit embryo implantation. Consuming a whole
pineapple (focusing on the core as it has the highest
concentration of Bromelain) during a fertility cycle can be beneficial.
- Magnesium:
helps improve fertilization rates
- Zinc:
promotes cell formation and wound healing after surgery and is vital for
hormone production and implantation, plays a vital role in cell division
- Selenium:
improve fertilization rates, prevents chromosome breakage
- Vitamin B
complex: will help your body cope with the stress of invasive procedures
Acupuncture works in the following ways:
1. Acupuncture can increase blood flow to the reproductive organs, which dramatically improves a woman’s response to hormonal therapy.
2. Acupuncture has been shown to regulate hormone levels by moderating the release of beta endorphins levels in the brain, which improves the release of gonadotrophin releasing hormone by the hypothalamus, follicle stimulating hormone from the pituitary gland and oestrogen and progesterone levels from the ovary.
3. Acupuncture reduces stress and a hyperactive sympathetic nervous system response.
4. Acupuncture has been speculated to moderate cyclooxygenase and prostaglandin levels in the uterus, reducing uterine motility to improve implantation rates.
5. Herbs nourish the blood, whilst acupuncture moves qi, which facilitates the movement of blood. It has been claimed that some herbal formulas produce high clinical pregnancy rates as well as improve the general wellbeing of patients.
The following descriptions below will describe how acupuncture can integrate with Western Medicine. Each point is directly linked to the points above.
1. There needs to be adequate blood flow to the developing ovarian follicle. This is essential to the initiation and maintenance of normal human pregnancy. Doppler ultrasound evaluation of uterine and ovarian blood flow has demonstrated that improved blood flow in either vascular system is associated with improved fertility outcomes. Women who respond poorly to ovarian stimulation for IVF have compromised blood flow to their ovarian follicles.
2. There are 4 phases in the menstrual cycle. During each phases various hormones are released. The most common cause of infertility is hormonal imbalance.
3. From a Western Medicine perspective, people who are under stress release the hormone cortisol in the brain. Cortisol alters the brain’s neurochemical balance thus changing hormone levels and disrupting the pituitary balance, which is the key to the reproductive cycle. Because of this delicate balance between the hypothalamus, pituitary and reproductive glands, stress is capable of preventing a woman from ovulating entirely.
4. For IVF transfers and implantations the endometrium needs to be of particular
density and thickness for successful implantations and fertilization. The uterus therefore needs to be in a relaxed state.
5. The menses is based on the condition of the blood.
If you would like to know more you can read the clinic study on the "impact of acupuncture on in vitro fertilization outcome". Click the following link or paste:
http://www.eufom.com/Articles/acupuncture%20&%20IVF2.pdf
