Infertility Struggles and Acupuncture

August 29, 2012

 

While most of my friends are having their second baby, I have a good friend who is struggling to get pregnant with her first. Its such a hard thing to watch and I’m sure experience that my heart aches for her so I decided to reach out to a few people I know who work with women who are struggling. One of those women is Susan Wallmeyer. I met Susan at an event and just adore her. She’s very kind and knowledgable about women’s issues in general (so even if you aren’t having trouble with infertility hit her up). And best part - she’s a Greenpointer!

Here is my Q&A with Susan of NY Chi Acupuncture about how acupuncture can help with infertility issues: 

With regards to infertility, what is the treatment like?
Being diagnosed with infertility is one of the most stressful things a couple can go through.  Acupuncture for fertility can really help you to better cope with the stress as well as increase your chances of success with any reproductive procedures such as IVF or IUI.  I’ve worked with many women going through these procedures, and most tell me that acupuncture really helps to decrease side effects of the fertility meds as well.

If you were trying to get pregnant, when is a good time to come see you?
I have many women who begin acupuncture before they even start trying to concieve, just to prep their bodies and get as healthy as possible before starting to try.  For these women, I usually recommend 3 months worth of acupuncture sessions plus herbs.  Everyone is different but for most women this is plenty of time to optimize health and regulate their cycle. 
For women who aren’t getting pregnant as quickly as they’d hoped, I recommend coming after you’ve been trying for about 6 months.  In addition to increasing health through acupuncture, herbs, and food recommendations,  I can help with everything from determining exactly when you’re ovulating to which supplements to take and which testing you may want to have performed.

Do you work with patient’s doctors? 
As someone with a background in western medicine and biology, I think it’s really important to work in cooperation with doctors and understand a person’s condition from both an eastern and western point of view.   I’ve actually had the opportunity to work in several hospital settings (including Continuum Reproductive Center at St. Luke’s Roosevelt here in NYC) and really enjoyed seeing my patients benefit from the best of both worlds.  I do everything possible to help my patients find natural alternatives such as herbs, acupuncture, food, and supplements- but if I recognize that someone really needs help or monitoring from an MD, I don’t hesitate to refer them to someone I know will provide exceptional care and will be receptive to utilizing natural methods.

NY Chi 
1133 Broadway, Suite 1023 
New York, NY 10010
(between 25th and 26th St)
917.575.0293 
swallmeyer.acupuncture@gmail.com