Acupuncture and Chinese medicine have a special place in the lives of women.  This medicine has the ability to re-educate the nervous and hormonal systems in ways that other systems don't.  Regulating these systems allow for all other systems to function more smoothly, and for women to be able to achieve not only better quality of life, but also to optimize their health, fertility, and hormonal transitions.

Here are some of the common things that are effectively treated:

Menstrual Health: many girls and women experience a litany of common symptoms of PMS, pain, and irregular cycles, to name a few.  Many doctors deem these symptoms as "normal" because they have become so common.  We disagree.  This is a natural part of life for women, and should not be riddled with disabling symptoms for several days of the month.  Acupuncture and herbs can help to regulate the system, smooth out those symptoms and allow for a more comfortable cycle.  We combine our treatments with diet and lifestyle changes to support the goals of the patient, and to maintain the improvements they achieve through treatment.

Fertility, IVF and IUI Support: We are here as a dedicated team to help support the nervous system, stress and anxiety that accompanies the ups and downs of trying to conceive.  Our initial goal is to identify and focus on removing any menstrual related symptoms that could be presenting as obstacles to a successful pregnancy, and to minimize the amount of medical intervention in the process.  We are also happy to support the IVF process to maximize the potential for not only conception, but also a healthy pregnancy moving forward.  We are all skilled at assessing the menstrual history, along with all other systems in the body, to resolve disharmonies and improve overall health and wellbeing.  We consider that how a women enters into pregnancy will correlate to how she feels once she is pregnancy and work to optimize that potential.

Pregnancy, Pre-Birth, and Postpartum Support: We have found that supporting the process of pregnancy will often allow for a more comfortable and symptom free pregnancy.  From nausea patterns, discomfort, and stress and anxiety, we address what presents in a pregnancy, every one of which is as different as the individual.  

Pre-Birth treatment helps to prepare the woman for labor, and includes helpful and practical information about how to work with breath to calm the nervous system, how to work with the partner/spouse during labor, and encouraging the natural progression of labor from onset to completion.

PostPartum Support allows for help with the hormonal changes a woman experiences after birth, challenges with diet, sleep, emotional lability, anxiety, etc..  Emphasis will also address the quality of the birth itself and any lasting physical symptoms that may remain.  Stress can impact milk production, sleep, and appetite which will all make the situation worse.  Each woman has an individual experience that we aim to support.
 
Perimenopause and Menopause: Unfortunately, historically there has been little understanding of and help for women going through these changes, which can last up to 10 years.  There is much more available now to educate women on what symptoms are common, and to validate that they are not going crazy. 

Common symptoms include:
Hot flashes and night sweats
Sleep disruption
Mood changes
Divestive changes
Weight and metabolic changes
Menstrual irregularity
Nervous system dysregulation

We work with you to support this process to make it less volatile and bumpy.  After assessing the main complaints, diet, and lifestyle patterns, and identifying those that could use improvements, we use acupuncture, herbs, diet and lifestyle recommendations to find those that will improve the situation and allow for resolution of symptoms.  It is an important shift in the lives of women, which we aim to make easier.  

Stress & Nervous System Dysregulation:  Our experience of stress, whether real (physical threat) or perceived (anticipated) can have an enormous impact on our nervous system.  It will activate the fight or flight reaction.  If we experience chronic stress we are less able to turn off this reaction and we can land in a place where lack of sleep and emotional lability rule our lives.  The ripple effect of these things can be life altering.  Acupuncture not only allows you time to rest and care for yourself, it also resets the nervous system, giving you the resources you need to be the person you want to be.

"You Cannot Pour From An Empty Vessel"