This post was authored for the Fertile Kitchen website and I’m sharing it here as well!

For more information on Nutrition for enhancing fertility, I highly recommend

http://fertilekitchen.com/ and co-authors Cindy Bailey and Pierre Giauque of the The Fertile Kitchen Cookbook.

This book is an integral part of my program for all of my fertility patients
As an acupuncturist and herbalist in Mill Valley, CA specializing in fertility, I often receive questions about how acupuncture helps women struggling with infertility. Recent research shows that women undergoing fertility treatment who receive acupuncture have improved reproductive outcomes. In the last 14 years, there have been many publications and studies on acupuncture in scientific, peer-reviewed journals. Two of the best-known studies were done in 1996 by Stener-Victorin and then by Paulus, et al in 2002.
The Stener-Victorin study showed that the resistance of uterine artery blood flow reduced following electro-acupuncture. This mechanism is of great value in allowing for an egg to implant more easily. The Paulus study showed that In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) patients treated before and after embryo transfer demonstrated improved pregnancy outcomes.

Since 2003 the acupuncturist, Diane K. Cridennda, and reproductive endocrinologist, Dr. Paul C. Magarelli, MD, PhD have conducted 5studies combining acupuncture and ART (Assisted Reproductive Techniques). Their amazing research shows that with acupuncture, poor prognosis patients are more likely to fall pregnant, have lower miscarriage rates, fewer ectopic pregnancies, fewer multiple pregnancies, and more take-home babies than without acupuncture.

The research also shows that women have a greater sense of active control and involvement by adding acupuncture to their ART. Acupuncture will add an estimated 15% more pregnancies to an IVF series, which can make the difference in couple creating a family. Reducing miscarriages, ectopics and multiples is precious to a woman’s health and reduces health care costs and risks.

We know that acupuncture improves how the brain communicates with the reproductive organs and we also know it helps regulate stress hormones and induces relaxation. Acupuncture also increases nutrients and blood flow to the uterus and helps to balance hormones. All these elements are important to conception.

I do hope that providing some insight into the research and science behind using acupuncture in conjunction with ART has been helpful. In my practice women consistently share with me that acupuncture helps them weather the side effects of IVF medications more easily, calms their mind and spirit, and gives them a sense of well-being amid what is a storm in life when falling pregnant is a challenge.

Karen Reynolds specializes in the treatment of both male and female fertility, women’s health, and functional endocrinology. Drawing from her 22 years of experience as an ICU RN, she makes extensive use of lab testing, acupuncture, Chinese herbs, antioxidants, dietary changes and nutritional supplementation to optimize health, wellness and vitality for the amazing women and men who she has the great honor to treat.

If you have questions, please feel free to contact her at:kreynolds@balancerestored.com or at 415.381.8500 Ext. 4.

As chance would have it or more accurately as the Universe perfectly orchestrated it,

I happened to see an old 60 Minutes interview with Lena Horne. Lena recently died at age 92 and she was a powerful female presence in an era in which she was blacklisted for it.

She’s probably best known for her vocals of the original song Stormy Weather.

In 1943, she performed that well known mesmerizing melody as a fresh faced girl among an all African American cast. That was the only way in which African American artists could participate in a venue.

The interview was conducted when Lena was in her 60‘s. A striking thing throughout was her natural sex appeal, her easy exquisite smile, her low rumbling voice and a magnetism which beckoned the listener toward her. Her charisma manifested itself without being garrish, lewd, or disrespectful. The now deceased interviewer, Ed Bradley, had moments of obvious intrigue.

During the conversation Lena spoke about how it was very hard for her to try and perform Stormy Weather as she had as a young girl. The difficulty wasn’t about her voice quality or the words or the music. The broadcast cut to scenes of her one woman show Lena Horne: the Lady and Her Music. She was belting out blues, unafraid of how the sounds contorted her lips and face doing so, and gliding about the stage like a queen. She sang about love, lust, being proud of her curves, her wrinkles and her still smoldering sexual desires. Of course she couldn’t sing Stormy Weather as she had in 1943 because she was a woman who had blossomed, fought against bigotry and open racism and she was fully embodied Mojo. The girl from Stormy Weather was just a babe with no hollows in her sweet round face and no life challenges to have molded Lena Horne into the powerful strong woman that she was.

So here’s to Mojo with growing power, Mojo that amplifies, expands and recreates itself joyfully throughout women’s lives.

I suspect Ed was waiting at the Pearly Gates with flowers and a bottle of wine and a

“Hey, baby I’ve been waiting for exactly you. It’s been some Stormy Weather up here.”