Women’s Health
Acupuncture and herbal medicine offer women a natural, gentle and effective way to restore balance and health.
Women may face gynaecological issues at any stage of their lives. In most cases the body will function properly, as it is naturally programmed to do. However, the female hormonal (or endocrine) system can be easily disrupted by a number of factors, such as high stress levels, fatigue caused by overwork, medications, poor diet, and exposure to pollutants and toxins in food and the environment. Women who live and work in busy urban centers where there is an increased prevalence of these factors tend to have an increased risk of problems.
The female hormonal and reproductive systems are complex and delicate. A normal, healthy, fertile state is actually a collection of many physiological processes working in harmony. It only takes one of these processes to be out of step to cause major declines in health and fertility.
We find that women with menstrual problems and infertility often suffer other health problems, such as insomnia, fatigue, weight gain, low libido, or emotional imbalances such as irritability, anxiety or low mood. If you are experiencing these kinds of symptoms, we strongly urge you to seek treatment so you can avoid declines in your health and fertility. This is where we can help you.
Acupuncture and herbal medicine gently calm the body to regulate and correct hormonal imbalances. Our treatments prompt the body to re-establish normal cycles, reduce stress hormones, encourage rest, and settle your emotions. The body usually knows best, and it should be given a chance to direct its own function. This is why, to complement our acupuncture and herbal medicine treatments, we place a large emphasis on lifestyle factors – what you eat, how much you exercise, and how you minimise and manage stress.
When we consider a woman’s health, we care about her whole health. This means that we not only consider your gynaecological problem – we want to know if there are imbalances in other areas of your health. Rather than see a woman’s gynaecological problem in isolation from other bodily systems, we look at her whole health picture and make connections you may not have been aware of – this is the essence of a truly holistic health care system.
There are times of course when the body doesn’t know best (such as inherited and congenital conditions), has forgotten (such as when coming off the pill), or is temporarily being controlled by outside factors (such as medication). In these cases we can help to manage the symptoms and provide the best quality of life possible by reducing side effects of medication, correcting disharmony, increasing energy and reducing stress.
We offer three main areas of treatment:
1. Fertility Support Programs for women who are trying to conceive
2. Treatment for the symptoms of menstrual problems
3. Treatment for a range of other gynaecological and obstetric conditions.
Fertility Support Programs
Our popular Fertility Support Programs provide a structured approach to treatment to help women to improve their fertility so that they can increase their chances of falling pregnant.
We offer three types of Fertility Support Program:
1. Pre-conception Fertility Support Program
Women who are planning to start trying to conceive naturally in the near future – say within the next 3-6 months – and want to optimise their health and fertility select this program. There may be no reason to suspect infertility. A natural conception is the expected outcome for these women.
2. Natural Conception Fertility Support Program
This program is designed for women who have been trying to conceive naturally but are having difficulty falling pregnant. These women may or may not have been medically diagnosed with a gynaecological problem which is affecting their fertility, or may have been recommended to consider IVF and want to try other options first. A natural conception is the desired outcome for these women.
There are many reasons why women have difficulty falling pregnant. Some of the more common situations we see are:
- Hormonal imbalances
- Women who have recently stopped taking the pill or other hormonal contraceptive and their period hasn’t returned
- Gynaecological conditions such as PCOS, endometriosis or fibroids
- Cases of ‘unexplained infertility’
- Age-related reduced fertility
- Immune imbalances
- IVF failure
- Stress
3. IVF Acupuncture Fertility Support Program
Women who want natural support for their upcoming or current IVF cycle choose this specialised program. The priority for these women is a successful IVF cycle with minimal side-effects from IVF drugs and procedures. For more on our IVF support program, click here.
Menstrual problems
We regularly treat women for the following conditions:
- irregular periods
- painful periods (dysmenorrhoea)
- very heavy periods (menorrhagia)
- absence of periods (amenorrhoea)
- very light periods (oligomenorrhoea or hypomenorrhoea)
- pre-menstrual tension
- menopause-related problems
- regulating cycles for women coming off the pill
Other gynaecological conditions
We also treat uterine prolapse, hormone imbalances, abnormal vaginal discharges, thrush, and obstetric conditions including morning sickness and breech baby.
Women’s health is an extremely broad and complex area and there is too much to discuss in a brief introduction such as this. Please don’t hesitate to ask if you would like more information.
