Getting Pregnant By Acupuncture

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Photo taken by Char Plevyak Photography

When you try and try for a baby and it continuously does not happen you become desperate for options. I  found out the hard way that my health insurance did not cover “infertility” related procedures or doctor visits. I went in concerned that nothing had been happening, I spoke to a doctor for 15 minutes (if that) and was told to do blood tests to see where my progesterone level was and then was billed $2,000 a few weeks later. My head was spinning with how little amount of time actually seeing a doctor was. This lead me to being extremely worried about how much it would cost us if I went to get a fertility treatment or see a specialist. But when it comes to trying to get pregnant, you are willing to pay or do anything to have a baby.

Before we dove into the deep end of forking over thousands and thousands of dollars to get pregnant I did my research to see what natural fertility treatments we could try. I felt it was so hard to find anyone really willing to share about their experience. What I did find is that many people would do acupuncture prior to starting fertility treatments and many people had great success with getting pregnant with just doing acupuncture. I could not really find much about how it actually works though. But I was willing to try to because it is a way cheaper option, less stressful and definitely a way more natural way to do it. 

I didn’t even know where to begin to find a good acupuncture place. It was not something I had ever done before. I posted on a local group in Chandler on Facebook and only one person commented back. They suggested going to Stone Pointe Institute. I called them to make an appointment and told them why I wanted to see them. The receptionist informed me the doctor is a naturopathic doctor and in fact she specializes in fertility. I went over the cost per sessions and it was amazingly affordable. I felt instantly it was meant to be and felt a sense of ease wash over me. 

When you walk into the front office you will see a wall full of baby pictures and sonogram photos. These are the hundreds of families Dr. Stouk has helped, it gave me chills. The first session we sat down and met her with, she just wanted talk to us and hear our story and what we were looking for. She sat and talked to us long time, longer than I have ever talked to any doctor. She told us that we would most likely become pregnant within 3 – 4 months. It was the first time I had felt actually hopeful. 

Basically, how acupuncture works is that a small tip of a needle goes into certain points of the body. The idea is that blood will flow more and stimulate the nerves in that area. Specifically for fertility, it also helps to reduce stress, which is really needed when you are trying to conceive, balance your endocrine system, and increase the blood flow to your reproductive organs. 

I would go every other week to get acupuncture. The needles are very small and you don’t even feel them when they go in. Since, I was doing acupuncture specific to fertility most of my needles were in my lower abdomen, some were in my feet, a few in my hands, and a few on my head. Depending on what point I was at in my cycle, she would do different points on my body. She would usually bring over a heat lamp and place it over my abdomen as well. You would lay for an hour and then they would be removed after. During that hour, the lights were dim and I usually listened to a fertility meditation, so I could set my intentions and mindset. It seems silly, but these meditations would really relax me and not make me so anxious about the whole process of getting pregnant. I was so relaxed sometimes I would drift off to a very light sleep. I would leave my sessions feelings amazingly refreshed and worry-free.

Along with acupuncture I also would take Vitex Chaste Berry once daily. Through blood testing, it was discovered my progesterone was low. A women needs progesterone to become pregnant and stay pregnant and mine was very very low. This natural vitamin is basically the equivalent to pharmaceutical drugs that you can take to increase chances to get pregnant and it helps to increase progesterone levels and ovulation. Since it takes two to tango, my husband never had to do an acupuncture but he did have to take a whole slew of different vitamins throughout the day. 

My doctor was very hands-on and would request that I send a picture of my test every morning, to gauge if I was ovulating or not. If I did end up getting a positive ovulation result then she would order us to do the deed. Yup, you read that right. And her doctor’s order were specific, one time she prescribed having intercourse every 12 hours for the next 48 hours after getting my positive ovulation back. I look back and still laugh at this, but it is all just a part of the journey. 

After several countless ovulation tests, vitamin taking, acupuncture sessions, and following doctors orders, 4 months later, we found out I was pregnant. Dr. Stouk is a miracle worker. I went and saw her two more times once finding out, just to help make sure our little pea stuck. I credit us getting pregnant to acupuncture and being able to work with the very kind and caring Doctor we had. We saved a lot of time and thousands and thousands of dollars by trying acupuncture first. My experience of TTC went from being full of anxiety to it being a calm enjoyable experience. My daughter’s sonogram and her birth announcement hangs in Stone Pointe’s Institutes lobby now, as one of the many families Dr. Stouk has helped.

I am forever grateful for my experience and it important to me that I share it with anyone who might be looking for the same outcome that I was. Everyone’s experience could be different and acupuncture might not work for everyone. This is my story, and my only hope is that it helps to provide a better option for some who might be struggling to get pregnant. 

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