Acupuncture for IVF Support
Is it taking longer than you would hope to get pregnant? Are you trying to avoid IVF?
"We have been trying for 4 years before we started the treatment with Eca . Her treatments prepared my body and my mind for a very easy and healthy pregnancy. A year on we have a beautiful baby girl"
Going through IVF is one of the most physically and emotionally demanding things a person can do. Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) offer a deeply supportive, evidence-informed complement to your fertility treatment — helping to prepare your body before stimulation begins, supporting you through each stage of the cycle, and nurturing you in the days around embryo transfer.
I'm Eca Brady, a TCM practitioner and acupuncturist based in Marylebone, London. I work closely with women and couples navigating IVF, offering personalised care at every stage of your journey.
How IVF Acupuncture Can Help
Research suggests acupuncture may support IVF outcomes by:
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Improving blood flow to the uterus and ovaries
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Supporting a receptive uterine lining for implantation
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Reducing the impact of stress on your hormonal balance
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Supporting egg quality in the months before retrieval
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Easing the side effects of fertility medications
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Regulating the nervous system during the two-week wait
'In my opinion, nothing is more important than creating the right environment for your unborn baby giving them the best start in life' Eca Brady
IVF Acupuncture: Before, During and After Transfer
Both Acupuncture and Chinese herbs have been shown to be very helpful when nothing shows up on blood tests or scans. Its principle's
Phase 1 — Before Stimulation (Ideally 3 Months Ahead)
The 90 days before your IVF cycle is a critical window for egg quality. Regular acupuncture during this preparation phase focuses on nourishing blood and Yin, regulating your cycle, and building the foundation your body needs for the best possible response to stimulation.
Phase 2 — During Your IVF Cycle
During stimulation and leading up to egg retrieval, acupuncture aims to support your body's response to medication, manage side effects such as bloating and discomfort, and keep your nervous system as balanced as possible during an intense time.
Phase 3 — Around Embryo Transfer
This is where the evidence is strongest. Many patients choose to have an acupuncture session in the 24 hours before and after embryo transfer. The focus here is on relaxing the uterus, improving blood flow to the endometrium, and supporting your body — and mind — through the two-week wait.
Each Acupuncture or Chinese Herbal Medicine treatment treatment is individually tailored for you, based on unlocking the key to your specific imbalance. This treatment plan will help you:
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Regain a sense of control in the process.
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Reduce the pressure you may current feel.
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Feel less stressed as we move towards helping you become pregnant
All of these things will help you balance your reproductive system towards becoming and remaining pregnant.
'With an 85% success rate, I have helped hundreds of women in London achieve their dream of finally getting pregnant and having a healthy, beautiful child' Eca Brady
How can acupuncture help with fertility?
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Our fertility success are based on modern Chinese medicine diagnostic system using BBT charting, medical pulse diagnosis, and tongue diagnostic system. Arriving at the correct diagnosis will further enhance and increase fertility success.
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Acupuncture helps lower cortisol (the stress hormone)
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Balances hormones (HPA Axis)
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Increase blood flow to the endometrium to help achieve a healthy uterine lining.
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Improves egg quality. It to helps relax the uterus and improve blood flow to the uterus and surrounding tissues.
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Increased pelvic blood flow is responsible for maintaining regular menstruation cycles and healthy ovaries.
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Helps keep you balanced and improve success rates through IVF treatments
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Working with and tracking your monthly hormonal cycle to create optimum fertility.
"Eca helped us get pregnant after we have been trying for a very long time and almost give up hope. My pregnancy was very easy and I delivered a few days before the due date having a short, easy, pain free birth. She supported us all the way, helping conceive, throughout pregnancy and at birth. She was our guardian angel." Emma Haiden
This Fertility program is for you
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You are struggling with getting pregnant
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You’ve tried other types of reproductive therapy, including IUI, IVF or taking clomid without success (or with miserable side effects and worsening hormonal symptoms or you’re in the process of undergoing these treatments and would like additional support).
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You are serious and committed to treating underlying health issues and transforming for the sake of reclaiming your fertility.
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If you have had success getting pregnant but have difficulty holding the pregnancy
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You are over 35 and trying to get pregnant
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You are freezing your eggs to preserve your future fertility success
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You are planning on trying to get pregnant in the next 6-12 months and a natural approach to conception and pregnancy intuitively makes sense to you.
Recent studies showed that:
* women who received acupuncture treatments before their IVF transfer were 65% more likely to have a successful transfer, compared to those who had a placebo treatment or no treatment;
* acupuncture increases the chances of conception with IVF from 27% to 47%.
* fertility acupuncture can help with a host of fertility-related medical conditions, from sluggish sperm in men to cysts, irregular menstruation, PCOS and lack of ovulation in women.
Research shows that Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine works for fertility because...
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Improves blood flow to the uterus, which helps the lining grow strong and healthy enough to support an embryo.
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Reduces and prevents cramping, a common occurrence during period or after an IVF transfer. Cramping is very disruptive to conception, as it can prevent the embryo from implanting in the uterine wall.
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Stimulates egg production, for women who can’t, or don’t want to use fertility medication helping them get pregnant.
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Improves egg quality, for women with low AMH, fertility is even more challenging and that follicles being produced are of the best quality.
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Regulates and stabilize hormone levels, which can be problematic from being on hormonal birth control and with PCOS, or low progesterone.
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Reduces the chance of and help prevent miscarriage.
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Reduces stress and promote deep relaxation, which are absolutely critical if you’re trying to get pregnant, especially if you’re undergoing any kind of traditional fertility treatment such as IVF or IUI.
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Increases the quality of sperm in men, the concentration and motility.
Conditions that can affect infertility
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Irregular menstrual cycle
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Chronic colds and allergies
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Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS is the most common cause of infertility in women; it affects about 1 in 10 women of childbearing age)
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Thyroid conditions
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Elevated follicle stimulating hormones
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Low AMH (low ovarian reserve)
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Chronological and biological age (they’re not the same for every woman!)
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Use of birth control
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Weight problems
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Smoking
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Sugar imbalances
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Emotions and stress
'The cause of infertility can be at times hard to pinpoint, numerous conversations with some of the best fertility doctors reach often this barrier. From Western Medicine point of view it may seem like everything is just fine, and yet you are still struggling to get pregnant. Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine can help.' Eca Brady
How will my TCM program help you?
At your first fertility support session, we will take a good look at “the big picture” – your health history, your history of fertility and conception, your current fertility treatments, and much more. Together will create a treatment plan tailored uniquely to you: your body, your needs, your unique pregnancy challenges.
Your treatments will always be in alignment with whatever treatment you’re currently working with. Because working with acupuncture is not about neglecting or rejecting Western medicine. It's about collaboration and going above and beyond traditional treatments.
Western Medicine is just catching up to what Chinese medicine practitioners and acupuncturists have known for centuries: stress, emotional state, weight management, lifestyle plays an important part in getting pregnant.
'I will be there to support you and help you get pregnant. I will guide your through your pregnancy so you can experience a smooth, symptom free 10 months of blissful pregnancy . I will prepare and help you experienced a quick and easy , (at times pain free) birth. I have done it with hundreds of patients, I can do it with you!' Eca Brady
How many treatments will you need?
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It is essential to start treating 3 months prior before beginning any western treatments. This will help increase the odds of conceptions when combined with both treatments.
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There is a 3-4 month window in the preconception time period before a cycle in which egg quality and reserve can be influenced.
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Hormones fluctuates on a weekly/monthly period we generally work to correct underlying imbalances which will take 3-9 months to create an optimum fertile environment
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Since everyone situation is different we will need a Chinese medicine diagnostic before recommending a personalised plan.
Other Treatments Available
I also offer the following services that might be of interest to you: