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Blog                                  

Acupuncture and self-support during the Two Week Wait

10/21/2021

3 Comments

 
Acupuncturist Philippa Summers looks at the 'two week wait' in menstrual and ivf cycles and how she adapts treatment during this time when supporting clients in their journey to conceive and offers some helpful self care tips for this time.
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Trying to have babies when it doesn’t just happen easily can be a heart wrenchingly difficult time.  There can be months even years of trying, balancing hope with uncertainty, even at times despair.   Another cycle starts.  Is this going to be your lucky month?
 
When supporting women with fertility I tend to focus treatment on the follicular phase leading up to ovulation, or in the case of IVF through the stimulation phase until egg collection and at embryo transfer.  These are the times that research has shown acupuncture can have a significant influence on live birth rates (Zheng, 2012). Treatments around embryo transfer, when they can be scheduled in without adding extra stress, are also shown to have a beneficial effect on outcomes (Smith, 2019).
 
Ideally, men and women would also have received some preconceptual lifestyle advice during the preceding months, not least of all to support egg and sperm quality as they develop and mature.  Treatment can be aimed at regulating the menstrual cycle, supporting endometrial development and addressing other issues impacting on fertility.  Treatment during the follicular phase will be aimed at supporting the processes that take place throughout the menstrual cycle including the luteal phase but what about treatment during the actual luteal phase or the two-week wait as it is commonly known, which follows ovulation or embryo transfer?
 
How can Acupuncture help?
As I have said, I tend to focus most treatment during the follicular phase but that does not exclude treatment during the luteal phase. It is a time to be cautious with any treatments that could disturb the delicate interplay between the embryo and uterine lining around the time of implantation, but treatments aimed at relaxation and good sleep can be positively beneficial.   It is often an anxious time when every little twinge seems to take on some significance.  An acupuncture treatment can offer a gentle wind down from the intensity of IVF or the pressures of trying naturally, at a time when sound sleep and a feeling of calm may be quite elusive.
 
How can you support yourself during the two week wait?
The preparations you have taken in the preceding months, weeks and days will help to lay the foundations but here are 10 tips to support implantation and help through these two weeks:
 
  1. Get plenty of rest and sleep. Try one of these Yoga Nidra exercises for sleep.
  2. Eat nourishing anti-inflammatory food. Lots of fresh fruit and veg, good quality protein, nuts and seeds, healthy fats and wholegrains.  
  3. Avoid sugar, processed and junk food as much as possible.
  4. Include some live fermented foods – yoghurt, sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha, kefir etc - or take a probiotic.
  5. Ease up on strenuous workouts, moderate exercise is fine even beneficial.
  6. Avoid excess heat on the abdomen (no hot baths, saunas or hot water bottles on the belly).
  7. Avoid googling and trying to second guess the meaning of everything you feel.
  8. Take time to sit quietly, and just notice how you feel. Take a few breaths into your belly to help your thoughts settle – longer on the out breath. Notice any sensations you feel in your body, without attaching any significance.  Just notice and let them go.
  9. Distract yourself with a few things to look forward to. A catch up with friends, a film, a creative project, a good book.
  10. Don’t be tempted to test too early. Wait until the first day of your missed period or until advised by your fertility clinic.
 
Good luck. Remember that even under perfect conditions there is only a 1 in 4 chance of conceiving each month, so it can take a while. Please contact me if you think I may be able to help you.
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3 Comments
Psychologist Edmonton AB link
10/10/2022 03:52:57 am

Great blog. Thank you for sharing this. I wanna try out acupuncture soon. Is it expensive?

Reply
Philippa Summers
2/5/2023 09:55:06 am

Thank you for your question and sorry that it has taken so long to reply. I have not been monitoring comments!
The total cost depends on the number of treatments you would need and that varies hugely from person to person, underlying conditions, as well as the time it takes to conceive. I charge £99 for the consultation and first treatment combined and then £66 for each follow up session.
Please do contact me if you'd like to discuss further:
info@psacupuncture.co.uk
07941 674792

Reply
Jackon Jones link
1/24/2023 02:43:41 am

Hi Philippa

I was surfing through the internet for a while just to get in-depth information about the topic you wrote about and it really helped me to know more about how acupuncture can help women for IVF treatment. It was something new for me to learn about. Keep sharing such blogs further as well. And kindly let me know how can I subscribe to the Newsletter. Thanks.

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