Natural Fertility

Centre of Balance Natural Fertility Programme

Infertility is an increasingly common issue that affects over 50 million couples around the globe. Most of these infertility cases are preventable by promoting optimum reproductive health. The Centre of Balance Natural Fertility Programme is a holistic approach that aims to help a couple conceive and sustain a healthy pregnancy. This is achieved through a carefully drafted plan that includes acupuncture treatment, Chinese herbs, and lifestyle changes.

Benefits of the COB Fertility Programme – Women’s Health

  • Improve Egg Development: Acupuncture
    treatment
    may influence the integrity (healthy
    development) of female reproductive eggs. How? By improving the circulation of
    nutrients, blood supply, and regulating reproductive hormones.
  • Regulate Ovulation: Are you late or early in your ovulation
    cycle? Acupuncture and our Natural Fertility Programme may help you maintain an
    optimal ovulation cycle of 13-15 days. (You can read more on ovulation here).
  • Facilitate an Efficient Menstruation Cycle: The COB Natural
    Fertility Programme
    aims to regulate the menstrual cycle to 28-30 days. It may
    also prevent mid-cycle spotting and premenstrual symptoms such as breast
    tenderness and PMS.
  • Effective Menstrual Bleeding: Did you know
    that the characteristics of your menstrual blood can tell a lot about your
    reproductive health? According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, menstrual blood
    indicates the condition of the uterine lining. Therefore, our fertility
    programme is designed to increase the quality and thickness of a woman’s
    uterine lining – identified by fresh red bleeding without clots.
  • Improve the Success of IVF: According to various studies, acupuncture treatment (including some Chinese herbs) before and
    after your In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) procedure may significantly improve the
    outcome.
  • Promote the Quality of Cervical Mucus:  Cervical mucus is usually produced shortly
    before ovulation. It is an essential fluid that assists sperm as they swim to
    their destination in the fallopian tubes.

Men’s Health

Acupuncture for fertility, frozen embryo transfer, IVF

Fertility is not just about women! The Centre of Balance Natural Fertility Programme also attempts to improve the reproductive health of men. The men’s fertility programme mainly focuses on enhancing sperm quality. At Centre of Balance Hamilton, sperm quality is determined by:

  • Sperm Morphology: Are there any deformities?
  • Sperm Motility: Are the sperm moving vigorously?
  • Sperm Count: What is the concentration of sperm per ml?

According to an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the sperm count, morphology, and motility of normal sperm are 20 million/ml, 14%, and 50% respectively. However, the study showed that men with the highest chance of fathering a child should have better sperm quality – morphology (12%), sperm count (40 million/ml), and motility (63%).

Treatment Plan

As highlighted earlier, the Centre Of Balance Natural Fertility Programme aims to achieve a patient’s optimum reproductive state. This objective is achieved through a carefully formulated treatment plan – but the programme takes time. In the wise words of Lao Tzu, an ancient Chinese philosopher, “nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.”

The treatment plan for the COB Fertility programme takes place over approximately 3 months. This is important in order to stimulate therapeutic changes and maximise their outcome. In a 3-18 month period, your reproductive health is expected to improve as the body makes the necessary changes. Although the treatment plan is designed to achieve results on its own, we also encourage couples to use it as a complementary therapy for conventional treatments.

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References

Guzick, D. S., Overstreet, J. W., Factor-Litvak, P., Brazil, C. K., Nakajima, S. T., Coutifaris, C., … & Xu, D. (2001). Sperm morphology, motility, and concentration in fertile and infertile men. New England Journal of Medicine, 345(19), 1388-1393.

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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.