Acupuncture for Surrogacy

Guest post by Amanda Kinnard-Fuchsgruber

Acupuncture has been around for at least 2,500 years.  Originally a Chinese practice, acupuncture is used for balancing the energy within one’s body and for overall general health, focusing on preventing and treating sickness or disease. And, yes, there are needles, VERY small, thin needles, put into specific spots on the body connected with meridians (or pathways) within the body.

So what does that have to do with surrogacy? As with anything during the surrogate’s journey, nothing is guaranteed to work, but here are a few sources that encourage acupuncture in order to help with pregnancy, infertility, surrogacy – all things to help make that baby!

First of all, my own, personal testimonial:

I started using acupuncture when trying to get pregnant with my first child, and it worked! We really hadn’t tried for that long, but I was impatient and wanted to do all I could to help get my body ready and move things along.  I used it during pregnancy to deal with any discomforts and it helped. I enjoy acupuncture, pregnant or not, so I used it through my second pregnancy as well. Therefore, as a surrogate it only made sense to me. I did acupuncture as I started meds, a day before transfer (had to travel for transfer so couldn’t do day of), when I came home after transfer and throughout the pregnancy. I even used acupuncture after the baby was born to help flush out hormones and regulate my body.  I would recommend trying it in general, especially for surrogacy, as long as your doctor agrees.

The American Pregnancy Association, a national health organization that works for pregnancy wellness, has this to say about acupuncture and pregnancy:

“….an individual could still benefit from acupuncture and herbs because of the potential effect of improved ovarian and follicular function. Additionally, acupuncture can increase blood flow to the endometrium, helping to facilitate a thick, rich lining.”

Many fertility clinics encourage the use of acupuncture for embryo transfer and other times of pregnancy. The University of Colorado Advanced Reproductive Medicine clinic in their support materials calls for acupuncture to “promote implantation and prevent miscarriage” and for embryo transfer day to “calm the mind and relax the uterus, relieve discomfort while at the same time supporting implantation.”

These are just a few resources, so talk to your RE and do what works for you.  Depending on the clinic that your IP(s) use, they may have an acupuncturist on staff and have a schedule they like using for surrogacy.  You can also use www.nccaom.org (National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine) to find a certified provider in your area.