Female Infertility

What is Infertility?

Infertility can be diagnosed when you have been attempting to conceive unsuccessfully for a year or more. If you’re over 35, you can be diagnosed at 6 months or more. When you have become pregnant one or more times but haven’t been able to carry through a pregnancy, you may also be diagnosed with infertility. Not being able to get pregnant at all is called primary infertility. If you have had at least one successful pregnancy and then become infertile, this is known as secondary infertility. Infertility is not just a problem for women but for men too. The chances of either gender being infertile are equal. 

Causes of Female Infertility

Infertility will be caused if any of these biological processes are interfered with or effected:

  • Ovulation
  • Fertilization
  • Implantation

Circumstances that can affect these processes are:

Medical Conditions:

Meghan Markle Acupuncture Pregnancy
  • Ovulation disorders (polycystic ovary syndrome, hormonal imbalances)
  • Pelvic inflammatory disease
  • Endometriosis
  • Uterine fibroids
  • Premature ovarian failure
  • Scarring from a previous surgery

Medications and Drugs:

  • Chemotherapy or radiation therapy 
  • Frequent use, long-term use , high-dosage use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs 
  • Antipsychotic medications
  • Recreational drugs such as marjiuana and cocaine

Risk Factors that increase your chance of infertility include:

  • Increasing age
  • Smoking cigarettes 
  • Alcohol abuse 
  • Weight problems (being obese and overweight or very underweight)
  • Sexually transmitted infections that can cause damage and effect the reproductive system
Acupuncture may help with IVF treatment. fertility and stress

Testing for Infertility

If you suspect that you are infertile and have been trying for a pregnancy for over a year (or 6 months if you’re over 35) it’s good to go and see a doctor. A women’s fertility decreases around age 30. 

Testing will probably begin with a pelvic exam to check for abnormalities. These could include endometriosis, fibroids or pelvic inflammatory disease. Your ovulation cycle will also be checked to make sure you’re ovulating every month.

An ultrasound may be done to check the ovaries and uterus. Other testing that is commonly done to check fertility include hysterosalpingography, laparoscopy, ovarian reserve testing. 

Treating Female Infertility

Treatment is approached depending on what the conditions of infertility are and the results wanted from the patient. These factors include:

  • Infertility cause (if known) 
  • The amount of time pregnancy has been attempted for 
  • The ages of both partners
  • The health overall of both partners
  • What outcome you and your partner are looking for 
male infertility

The treatment for females can include surgery, medication and reproductive assistance. At times a combination of these are used. 

Surgery is used in infertility cases for correcting abnormally shaped uterus, unblocking fallopian tubes and removing fibroids. Although this is an effective treatment, other methods have improved so that surgery is no longer required.

Assisted reproduction is very common but there are multiple methods. A few include:

  • Donor insemination – Injecting sperm into the female during ovulation time
  • IVF – extracting sperm and egg then combining the outside the body. When the embryo is formed it is placed into the womb. 
  • Surrogacy – a third party to carry the baby

Medication is used during treatment to assist and/or add to the naturally present hormones in the body. This is to encourage/regulate ovulation.

There are also many natural treatments for infertility. Noticed natural methods are:

  • Fertility diets to stay healthy and enhance bodily function
  • Vitamins  – Folate, Zinc, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Iron
  • Essential oils and yoga are used to decrease stress levels and promote relaxation through aroma therapy and breathing. 
Acupuncture is an effective treatment for many ailments.

The most effective natural method for treating infertility is acupuncture. Acupuncture focuses on blood flow and energy in the body. Inserting needles into energy meridians within the body to promote and balance flow. In Traditional Chinese Medicine acupuncture is assisted with Chinese herbs which can also be used to treat infertility. The focus of these two methods are to restore the body’s functioning instead of replacing it like Western medicine does. At Centre of Balance we proudly treat infertility with Traditional Chinese Medicine. If you’d like to know more give us a call or check out our website to learn how we can help you. 

Our Offer to You

Fill in our online questionnaire for free – and save the $135 it would cost you to do this detailed medical history in person with a practitioner.  You can request a phone call from a practitioner after they have read your online form, or just book your initial exam for $40.  Call us on 07 846 7956 to book, or fill in the questionnaire now.

References:

https://www.geneticsandsociety.org/topics/assisted-reproduction#:~:text=Assisted%20Reproduction%20Assisted%20reproductive%20technologies%20%28ARTs%29%20are%20usually,couple%20or%20person%2C%20often%20in%20exchange%20for%20payment

https://www.healthline.com/health/fertility

Leave Comment

Monica

I am originally from Hebei province in China. I hold a NZ bachelor’s degree of health and science with a major in acupuncture. I am honoured to be an acupuncturist at Centre of Balance. Helping patients to alleviate their pain brings me the greatest joy. Chinese medicine emphasises the unity of human beings and nature. During the treatment, I hope to not only relieve your pain but also help you to understand the principles behind acupuncture’s effectiveness, as well as the significant impact of diet, emotions, lifestyle habits, and living environments on disease recovery. Self-healing is an ability that our bodies are naturally endowed with.

I studied acupuncture in New Zealand and completed one and a half years of supervised clinical internship before graduating. In the early stage of my training, I mainly worked with patients experiencing neck, shoulder, and lower back pain. Under the guidance of senior clinical tutors, I gradually developed hands-on experience and confidence in treating musculoskeletal pain conditions.
As my clinical exposure expanded, I began treating a wider range of internal conditions. Alongside traditional acupuncture, I was introduced to Umbilical Acupuncture and Tungs-acupuncture Points. What interested me most about these approaches is that they often do not require needling directly at the painful area, yet can still achieve very effective results.
I was especially inspired by observing my supervisor use Umbilical Acupuncture to treat common conditions such as insomnia, menstrual irregularities, and even rheumatoid arthritis, with very positive outcomes. Another supervisor was highly skilled in Tungs-acupuncture Points and achieved excellent results in treating pain, infertility, menstrual disorders, and a variety of women’s health conditions. After completing my studies and entering clinical practice, once I observed Dr. Szenan Phua using Tungs-acupuncture points to help cancer patients relieve pain, which further strengthened my trust in this treatment method.
I later completed training in Dr. Tan Balance Acupuncture, which had a strong influence on the way I approach treatment. One of the most noticeable features of this method is how quickly patients often feel improvement, especially with pain conditions. Dr. Szenan Phua’s New Balance Acupuncture combines meridian regulation with structural adjustment and internal organ balancing, including techniques such as pulse balancing and spinal adjustment.
From my clinical experience, pain is rarely just a local issue. It often involves underlying organ weakness or structural imbalance. When these aspects are addressed together, treatment can be more thorough and longer-lasting. I also apply this approach to internal conditions, particularly in fertility and women’s health. This includes supporting natural conception, IVF preparation and embryo transfer, pregnancy support, early-pregnancy nausea, and late-pregnancy labour induction. I combine these treatments with concepts learned from a few additional fertility training, which has given me a broader and more flexible clinical perspective. This has reinforced my belief that acupuncture should be adapted to each individual rather than applied through fixed formulas.
Two other areas of study that have been very helpful in my clinical work are Tongue Diagnosis and Dr. Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture. Although tongue diagnosis is taught in my standard Chinese medicine training, further study allowed me to deepen and refine my diagnostic skills.
My first formal training was in Li’s Tongue Diagnosis, which looks not only at organ patterns, but also at how different areas of the tongue reflect the body’s structure. This system also explores personality traits and changes during pregnancy, making it both clinically useful and engaging. I later attended online lectures on Yin’s Tongue Diagnosis and studied the related materials independently. this learning has helped me make clearer and more accurate pattern differentiation, allowing my acupuncture treatments to be more targeted. It covers a wide range of conditions, including skin disorders, oncology-related presentations, mental health patterns, and joint or limb problems. In practice, tongue observation often provides valuable insight even before a patient begins describing their symptoms.
In addition to the methods above, I regularly use local bloodletting techniques, which can be very effective for improving circulation, reducing swelling, and relieving pain. I also incorporate auricular (ear) acupressure and stimulation, which I commonly use for allergies, insomnia, headaches, stress management, and various internal conditions.
In my clinical work, I value taking the time to listen carefully to each patient and to understand their overall health, lifestyle, and concerns. Based on each individual’s condition, I also provide personalised dietary guidance and lifestyle or wellness advice to support overall health and long-term wellbeing. I commonly support patients with musculoskeletal pain, such as neck, shoulder, knee, and back pain, as well as stress-related conditions, sleep issues, migraines, digestive concerns, and women’s health and fertility-related conditions.