About The Needle and Leaf

What's Up with Reproductive Health?

Traditional Chinese Medicine is a popular choice for fertility help, PMDD, painful menses, conditions that are long term like PCOS, fibroids, and endometriosis, low libido, concerns of aging, urination concerns, and more.

How Does it Work?

We use:

-Acupuncture
-Gua Sha
-Cupping
-Moxibustion
-Massage and acupressure
-Breathing techniques, exercise, heat, and cold
-Magnets
-Prescriptive nutrition and diet
-Use herbs, plant, animal, and mineral products
-Dietary supplements
-Meditation techniques
-Labs and imaging

To adjust the nervous system and hormonal function, focusing on the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (and Ovarian) Axis to change and improve reproductive functioning .

What is ABORM?

Dr C is FABORM, an ABORM fellow. What does that mean?

ABORM (American Board of Oriental Reproductive Medicine)

What it is:
ABORM is a professional organization that certifies practitioners in the application of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for reproductive health and fertility. It focuses on integrating classical TCM theory with modern fertility science to optimize outcomes for patients trying to conceive.

Key points:

Practitioners are trained to diagnose reproductive imbalances using TCM methods such as tongue and pulse diagnosis.
They use herbal protocols and acupuncture strategies specifically for conditions like ovulatory dysfunction, low ovarian reserve, PCOS, endometriosis, and IVF support.
Certification ensures the practitioner has demonstrated advanced knowledge and clinical competence in fertility-focused TCM.
ABORM also emphasizes evidence-informed practice, integrating peer-reviewed research with traditional protocols.

Fertility

Combining acupuncture with herbal medicine offers synergistic benefits. Studies suggest that integrating these therapies can improve outcomes in assisted reproductive technologies (ART), including IVF, by enhancing ovarian function and endometrial receptivity.

Systematic review found that Chinese herbal treatments improve pregnancy rates by up to threefold compared to biomedical therapies over a four-month period. Herbal formulations are often tailored to individual diagnoses, such as anovulation or polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and aim to enhance ovarian function, regulate menstrual cycles, and improve endometrial receptivity. PubMed

Studies indicate that acupuncture may improve clinical pregnancy rates and implantation outcomes, particularly when administered around the time of embryo transfer during in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures. Here are some places to start:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35222669/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31335705/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40508938/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31624530/