Acupuncture and Infertility: A Powerful Tool
The art and science of acupuncture has been with us for centuries, having been originally developed in Eastern cultures. Acupuncture includes all aspects of relieving pain and achieving medicinal benefits by skillfully inserting fine needles into specific places on the body. Among other results, the process generally affects the patient’s blood pressure by stimulating the nervous system. The link between acupuncture and infertility treatment is important although somewhat indirect.
The manipulation of the specialized needles helps to release endorphins; these serve to block pain and introduce an overall feeling of well-being. Another result is the release of helpful substances known as neurohormones and neurotransmitters. These are important in the natural healing process.
The treatment can serve to stabilize the nervous system and improve the balance of hormones that are so important to reproduction. So, although acupuncture is unconventional when compared to western medicine, it is based on solid science. And hundreds of millions of satisfied patients must know something.
You could think of acupuncture a bit like physical therapy, where the process allows the body to experience natural healing over time. As a rule, it is advisable to start modestly and proceed carefully to higher levels of therapy. When preparing for IVF the specialist may prescribe that the woman receive three to four months of treatment before proceeding with the medical procedure.
Acupuncture is clearly valuable as a means to reduce stress from any number of sources; concerns over fertility and the discomfort related to the medical visits and procedures represent a dramatic source of stress. So this ancient art can not only help the body deal better with the stress, but it also helps give the body its best chance of achieving success. Given the multiple benefits realized through acupuncture, a couple dealing with infertility would be wise to at least consider it as a low-risk option.
Speaking of risks, the pairing of acupuncture and infertility treatments is quite safe. Certainly the process itself is typically (virtually) painless and bloodless, with the occasional minor exception. One concern would be if the treatment involved stimulating the wrong acupuncture points, thus causing a miscarriage in a pregnant woman. This is the reason that it is essential to use a specialist with great experience in treating fertility problems; check this out in advance.
By the way, and assuming you are successful in getting pregnant, it may be worthwhile to consider a technique known as electro-acupuncture as an alternative to conventional painkillers in labor. It might shorten the hospitalization period slightly, which reduces costs and sends Mom home earlier.
Research suggests that acupuncture and infertility treatments of a more conventional nature can work together to improve substantially the body’s ability to become pregnant. We do not find support for this ancient art as a substitute for mainstream medicine and, as always, consult a doctor before moving forward with any treatment for infertility.
Infertility Insurance Options
Learning that you are dealing with some (unknown) type of fertility disorder can be heartbreaking, with dreams of holding your baby infant a vision now in jeopardy. The good news is that there often are a number of options before you, made possible by modern medicine. The bad news is that some of those alternatives can be quite costly. The biggest obstacle to achieving your dreams of a houseful of children may be money; that’s where infertility insurance comes in.
Elsewhere we’ve discussed the numerous methods to treat infertility. Some are quite inexpensive and others are very costly. The testing alone can cost thousands of dollars. If you embark on a program with a specialist, it may involve ongoing testing and visits, which can add up tremendously. Some assisted reproductive procedures can cost over $4,000, with the potential for in-vitro fertilization to be much higher still. You could be looking at $10,000 or more by the time you are finished.
These costs are beyond the budget of many couples and they need help. One potential solution is to purchase one of the forms of infertility insurance presently available. What are the options for this type of specialty insurance?
Add to Regular Health Insurance Policy
Some health insurance companies offer supplemental coverage for possible infertility, and some employers cover this for employees. For a relatively small premium the couple acquires protection in the event they find out about a fertility problem. The coverage will handle some or all of the costs of a wide variety of diagnostic and treatment alternatives. These may include fertility tests, artificial insemination and treatment of other health issues that are affecting the ability to conceive. The insurance company may want you to start the process with the least expensive steps, and there are limits to how long they will cover the costs for ongoing treatment.
The best pricing comes when the insurance is purchased before there is any hint of infertility; in fact it may be unavailable for couples with pre-existing conditions. The reason it is so inexpensive is that the probability that any one customer will have the problem is small. Once the doctor has diagnosed infertility, this option becomes less viable (or much more expensive), but still worth investigating.
Refund Program
This is an interesting approach to the problem. The couple must pay up front for the cost of the treatment, but if they are still unable to conceive successfully after a predetermined period of time the insurance company refunds between 70% and 100% of the amounts paid.
Financing
This is not really insurance, but a specialty loan program to help spread out the costs. Some such loans do not require full payback if the couple are unsuccessful. In this way it is similar to a refund program.
Conclusions
In these days of upheaval in the health insurance industry it would be wise to seek the help of a specialist. Not everybody can obtain this specialty coverage; it will depend on your specific existing insurance company. There may be age limits (maximum age of say 40 years) and the requirement that the buyers are existing customers. The insurance company could require that the couple be trying to get pregnant for over a year before considering it an insurable situation. Other restrictions and terms will undoubtedly apply, so be careful before purchasing any policy.
Infertility insurance is not an instant answer to the high costs of treatment, but it is worthy of some investigation. There are plenty of costs associated with the joys of new parenthood and it would be a shame to burn through the family savings in the effort to start a family.
Infertility Statistics
Couples who are going through infertility problems often feel alone in their struggle. They see other people with their babies and wonder why it’s not them. They forget that there are other people in the world that are going through the same things they are going through.
There are about 7.3 million women in this country alone between the ages of 15 and 44 who have an impaired ability to have children. Many of these women don’t even know that they have a problem until they try to start a family. Some women have gotten pregnant with issues like polycystic ovarian syndrome and the diagnosis didn’t come until after they had kids. But, most often this is not the case. There are many other couples who have gone through fertility treatments.
Often when seeing the happy couples with their babies, infertile couples do not contemplate whether that parent had to receive some sort of infertility treatment in order to conceive. In 2002 11.9% or 7.3 million women between the ages of 15 and 44 years of age have received some sort of infertility services. 6.1% have received professional advice. 5.5% of women have received some sort of medical help to prevent a miscarriage. 4.8% have undergone a fertility test. 3.8% of women have received ovulation drugs. And 1.1% of women have received artificial insemination. 11.8% of women between the ages of 15 and 44 years of age have impaired fecundity which means they not only have problems getting pregnant, they have problems carrying a baby to term.
It is commonly known that as women age their ability to become pregnant decreases with the loss of their eggs. In fact, the percent of childless women who have ever received any infertility service between the ages of 35 and 39 years of age is 15.2%. Childless women who have received any infertility service between the ages of 30 and 34 years of ages was 17.3% and women between the ages of 15 and 29 was only 2.9%.
The percent of married childless women between the ages of 15 and 44 years of age are infertile by the following ages. 27.4% of women are infertile by the ages of 40 and 44. 22.6% of women are infertile by 35 and 39 years of age. 16.9% of women are infertile by the ages of 30 and 34. And 11% of married women are infertile by the ages of 15 and 29.
But just because there are problems getting or maintaining a pregnancy, that does not mean that it is impossible. At age 31, the percentage of live births after undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) which is a very affective fertility treatment was about 38%. By age 39, the percentage of live births was around 22%. But after age 43, the percentage of live births drops to less than 10%. Women have also used an egg donor. Even though IVF success was less than 10% at age 40 using the mother’s own eggs, women who used an egg donor from a much younger women had a success rate of about 45%. It is an even better rate than women using their own eggs in their early 30s.
Infertility Information– A Brief Introduction
Most of us have a deep desire to experience the joy of parenthood, and to share our home with our beloved children. It is unfortunate that becoming pregnant is a huge challenge for certain people. In fact, when the author first began trying to have a family, we had a short period of time where it was necessary to seek specialized medical help. Happily we were soon successful in obtaining infertility relief, and now have two wonderful daughters. Please be encouraged that there often is a happy ending! We have some great infertility information resources for you.
It might be helpful to begin with a definition, to make sure you are in the right place. One useful definition of infertility is when a couple is unable to conceive after a year of regular intercourse, or when the woman is unable to carry a pregnancy to full term.
Given her biological complexity, it is not entirely surprising that most infertility problems are found in the woman. There are quite a number of possible culprits, but most of the causes are of female origin. There can be disorders in the man’s sperm count or quality, and sometimes the specialists can’t exactly figure out why the woman cannot get pregnant.
So what are some of the most likely issues that are likely to arise? Recall that the menstrual process is a big part of fertility, and the woman’s body must handle this stressful function well to become pregnant. And part of that is ovulation, the creation and release of the egg. Ovulation problems can be a source of infertility. The fallopian tube is another source for trouble. Tubal blockage may be temporary or permanent, full or partial. Issues with the uterus and other parts of the “system” can all contribute to sabotage the delicate process. (By the way, not all roadblocks are directly related to physical breakdowns; hormonal imbalances and even emotional issues can throw a wrench in things.)
You may have heard of PCOS. That stands for polycystic ovarian syndrome, a hormonal disorder that messes up the normal cycle of ovulation. Women with PCOS either have trouble ovulating at all, or are very irregular. The good news is that PCOS is often very treatable with certain mainstream medications; infertility relief may be found in drugs like Metformin, or in alternative approaches involving herbs and acupuncture; consult a doctor before embarking on any treatment. Metformin assists the body in the absorption of insulin and consequently helps restore hormone levels to be more supportive of ovulation functions.
Pelvic Inflammatory disease (PID) is another source of fertility problems. Its name implies the presence of inflammation, often caused by untreated infections such as gonorrhea and Chlamydia. The scarring from these dangerous conditions can actually block the fallopian tubes. Bacteria actually make their way up from the pelvic area and into the ovaries, tubes and related machinery. If the PID is treated properly, there is the chance that in vitro fertilization can be successful.
We mentioned hormone levels above. If these are out of synch the sensitive and complex reproductive systems will not function properly. There is not a lot of room for malfunction during the process of getting pregnant. The areas of attention for hormonal problems are the hypothalamus gland, ovaries, pancreas, pituitary gland and, in men, the testes. Also important are the adrenal gland and thyroid gland. A disease or other issue with one of these babies can throw off the hormone balance, thus placing a roadblock to fertility. The good news is that modern medicine is very good at analyzing such problems and infertility is often treatable by a specialist.
Not all sources of infertility are malfunctions of a bodily organ. There is a big mental and emotional element to the process. Remember that numerous systems must be in order and well synchronized, including hormone balances, to achieve pregnancy. Smoking, excessive alcohol, weight issues, illegal drugs and stress can play a surprisingly big role.
Speaking of stress, once a couple begins to sense that things are not happening as quickly as they’d like, the stress level can go way up. That makes the situation worse. Sometimes the reason for infertility is unexplainable; there are no diagnosed medical issues with either man or woman. A starting point might be to relax, start charting the woman’s ovulation cycle to know when to “take action,” and give it some time. Note that the definition allow up to a year of trying before it becomes applicable. One of the cheapest and easiest sources of potential infertility relief is to reduce stress, eat right and enjoy the process.
Hopefully the infertility information presented on this and the other pages will be helpful in navigating this emotional condition. Please let us know if there are other topics we should cover. Also, let us know if this has helped you.
