How acupuncture support can your pre-conception and fertility journey:

• Nourishing Kidney Jing (Essence) — the root of reproductive health

• Ensuring adequate Blood and Qi to nourish the womb (uterus = “Zi Gong” or “Palace of the Child”)

• Harmonizing Yin and Yang throughout the menstrual cycle

• Supporting the Spleen and Liver to ensure blood production and flow

• Cultivating emotional calm and grounding via the Heart-Uterus (Bao Mai) connection

Acupuncture promotes hormonal balance by regulating the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) Axis and the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Ovarian (HPO) Axis. In TCM, this is known as the heart and kidney axis (Bao Mai). There are specific acupuncture points which enhance blood flow to the ovaries and uterus, which I tailor to you individually.

Acupuncture supports fertility by regulating the menstrual cycle, and promoting consistent ovulation, leading to a healthy cycle of 28 to 35 days with a normal bleed. In Chinese Medicine, the menstrual cycle reflects your overall hormonal health and fertility.

At a minimum, three-months of preconception care before planning to conceive is ideal and recommended. Research has demonstrated that preconception care improves the quality and motility of sperm, the quality of a woman’s eggs and the health of her reproductive hormones to ensure healthy gestational development and birthing outcomes.

Preconception and Fertility - acupuncture frequency

For preconception and fertility support treatment expectations are of a minimum of 3 months. Treatment remains weekly for the first month, and then fortnightly for the two months following. This is then reviewed according to the individual.

Preconception tips :

1. Nourish Kidney Essence (Jing)

In TCM, Kidney Jing (Essence) is the foundation of fertility, egg/sperm quality, and reproductive longevity.

How to support it:

Rest well (avoid overwork and burnout)

Eat Jing-nourishing foods: black sesame seeds, walnuts, bone broth, cooked dark leafy greens, seaweed like kombu

Use warming foods : cinnamon, ginger, lamb, leeks

Herbal support: The Herborium online sell fertility chinese herbal sachets - which you can add to soups and stews

2. Regulate Liver Qi

Liver governs the smooth flow of Qi and blood — essential for ovulation, menstruation, and hormone balance.

Support it by:

Avoiding emotional stagnation/suppression (stress, frustration)

Gentle exercise (yoga, walking)

Acupressure: LV3, GB34, PC6

3. Warm the Uterus

A cold uterus is thought to hinder implantation and conception.

Warming practices:

Avoid walking barefoot on cold floors

Keep the lower back and abdomen warm

Drink room-temperature or warm beverages

Use moxa on Ren4, Ren6, SP6 in luteal phase (Lucy can provide a moxa stick and instructions)

Just as a farmer must enrich and prepare the soil to ensure a healthy harvest, a person must prepare their internal environment — physically, emotionally, and energetically — to support conception and pregnancy.

This philosophy underlies the TCM emphasis on a 3-month preconception window: time to build a healthy, receptive internal environment — fertile “soil” — before trying to conceive.