Fertility issues are on the rise for both women and men. There are multiple factors contributing to the increase in infertility for couples trying to conceive. These include: delaying conception to later in the childbearing years, poor quality foods and dietary choices, sedentary lifestyle, increasing chemicals in the environment, and stress.

Infertility is traditionally defined as a couple that has been trying to conceive for one year or more unsuccessfully. Most OBGYNs will not recommend fertility testing or medical interventions until one year of trying to conceive unsuccessfully has passed. At Revive Acupuncture, we define infertility slightly differently. This is because we want to screen for fertility issues sooner rather than later. Our definition of infertility is any couple that has been trying to conceive naturally longer than 6 months using timed intercourse.

Women under the age of 35 years old should conceive within six months of trying naturally using timed intercourse. Women over the age of 35 years old may take longer to conceive as the number of good quality eggs available is lower at this stage in the reproductive years. In this case, if there is a fertility issue present, waiting until the year mark has passed to complete fertility testing while the ovaries have aged further is not ideal. Either way, early testing will catch fertility issues sooner, and will expedite the time to conception.

Our clinic begins treatment by ordering a full panel of lab work that includes: a general health panel, a comprehensive hormone panel, ovarian reserve markers, a physical inspection of the uterus and fallopian tubes, and a semen analysis. This early screening helps us to diagnose the fertility issue presenting and target this issue directly as quickly as possible.

At Revive Acupuncture, we often recommend integrative care that may include both holistic treatment to optimize fertility and a referral to a reproductive endocrinologist for Western interventions to be utilized as well. We work directly with Bay Area reproductive endocrinologists to provide integrative fertility care to our patients. Additionally, our team works onsite at CCRM IVF in Menlo Park to provide acupuncture at the time of embryo transfer in IVF.

Our holistic treatments focus not only on improving the function of the reproductive organs, but also on improving the overall health of our patients. We offer Chinese medicine, functional medicine, and clinical nutrition to ensure comprehensive natural medicine to optimize fertility. Please contact our clinic today to schedule your first appointment.