Nutrition, acupuncture, and Chinese herbal medicine are often used to support underlying imbalances that can interfere with fertility. While outcomes vary from person to person, many patients seek integrative care for conditions such as:
Thin uterine lining
A healthy, well-nourished uterine lining is important for implantation and placental development. Acupuncture has been shown to support uterine blood flow, which may help improve endometrial thickness and overall uterine receptivity.
Poor egg quality
Egg quality can be influenced by circulation, metabolic health, inflammation, and oxidative stress. Over several months, acupuncture, herbal medicine, and targeted nutrition are often used to support ovarian function and overall egg health.
Recurrent miscarriage
When miscarriage is not due to chromosomal factors, Chinese medicine has a long history of supporting pregnancy maintenance. Care is often focused on hormonal balance, circulation, and uterine support prior to conception and in early pregnancy.
Elevated FSH or diminished ovarian reserve
From a functional and Chinese medicine perspective, elevated FSH is often viewed as a marker of underlying imbalance rather than a standalone diagnosis. When menstrual cycles are still regular, integrative care may help support ovarian responsiveness and cycle quality.
PCOS, amenorrhea, or irregular ovulation
Acupuncture, nutrition, and herbs are commonly used to support hormonal regulation, ovulation, and cycle regularity. In people with PCOS, this approach may also help reduce miscarriage risk and support safer use of assisted reproductive technologies when needed.
Luteal phase concerns
When the time between ovulation and menstruation is consistently short, care may focus on supporting progesterone production, circulation, and uterine stability using acupuncture, nutrition, and herbal therapy.
Unexplained infertility
When standard testing appears normal but conception remains difficult, integrative care often focuses on subtle patterns affecting circulation, hormonal signaling, stress physiology, and overall reproductive resilience.
Care is always individualized, and these approaches are often used alongside conventional medical evaluation or treatment when appropriate.
Acupuncture supports female fertility by influencing several interconnected physiological systems involved in ovulation, hormone regulation, circulation, and stress response.
Research suggests that acupuncture may help fertility by:
Supporting hormonal signaling
Acupuncture has been shown to influence neurotransmitter activity in the brain, which can affect the release of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). GnRH plays a central role in regulating the menstrual cycle, ovulation, and overall reproductive hormone balance.
Improving blood flow to reproductive organs
Acupuncture may help reduce excessive sympathetic nervous system activity, allowing for improved blood flow to the uterus and ovaries. Adequate circulation is important for follicle development, endometrial health, and implantation.
Regulating the stress response
Acupuncture stimulates the release of endogenous opioids and other neurochemicals that help calm the nervous system. By reducing physiological stress signals, acupuncture may help normalize hormonal communication between the brain and reproductive organs.
Through these combined effects, acupuncture is often used to support cycle regularity, ovulation, uterine receptivity, and overall reproductive resilience, either on its own or alongside conventional fertility treatments.
Source: Cochrane, S., et al. (2014). Acupuncture and women’s health: an overview of the role of acupuncture and its clinical management in women’s reproductive health.
Male factor infertility is more common than many people realize. Reproductive endocrinologists generally estimate that up to 50% of infertility cases involve a male factor in some way.
More specifically:
About 30–35% of infertility cases are due to male factor alone
About 30–35% are due to female factor alone
An additional 15–20% involve a combination of both male and female factors
Because male factor infertility is so common, evaluating and supporting sperm health is an important part of fertility care. Even when a basic semen analysis appears “normal,” other factors such as sperm DNA integrity, inflammation, oxidative stress, and overall health can still influence fertility️ fertility outcomes.
A standard semen analysis looks at basic sperm characteristics such as count, motility, and morphology. While this information is helpful, it does not always capture the full picture of sperm health or reproductive potential.
There are important aspects of sperm quality that are not assessed by routine testing. One example is sperm DNA fragmentation, which refers to damage within the genetic material of the sperm.
Research has shown that:
High sperm DNA fragmentation may not interfere with fertilization or early embryo development
Embryos can reach the blastocyst stage even when DNA fragmentation is present
Pregnancy loss may occur later, when the paternal genome becomes active
Elevated DNA fragmentation is associated with lower pregnancy rates and higher miscarriage rates in IUI, IVF, and ICSI cycles
Men with otherwise normal semen parameters can still have high levels of DNA fragmentation
DNA fragmentation is more common in subfertile men
For these reasons, male factor infertility can still play a role even when routine sperm testing appears normal. A more comprehensive, whole-body approach to male reproductive health often looks beyond basic parameters to factors such as inflammation, oxidative stress, hormonal balance, and overall health.
Assisted reproductive technologies (ART), such as IVF or ICSI, are sometimes necessary when structural, genetic, or long-standing physiological factors make natural conception unlikely. In these cases, ART can play an essential role in achieving pregnancy, often with the best outcomes when combined with supportive, whole-body care.
Examples of situations where ART is commonly recommended include:
Pelvic adhesions and tubal conditions
Pelvic adhesions, hydrosalpinx, significant tubal scarring, or uterine polyps may require surgical intervention before pregnancy is possible. While surgery can address existing structural issues, it does not always address the underlying inflammatory or metabolic factors that contributed to adhesion formation. Integrative care using acupuncture, herbal medicine, and nutrition is often used alongside surgery to support healing and reduce the risk of recurrence.
Advanced maternal age
Age-related changes in fertility are real, but the concept of a strict cutoff in the late thirties does not reflect the full clinical picture. Many women in their forties conceive using IVF with their own eggs. Acupuncture, herbs, and nutrition are often used to support ovarian function, egg quality, and treatment tolerance when IVF is indicated.
Absent or medication-dependent menstrual cycles
When regular ovulation does not occur without hormonal medication, assisted reproductive technologies are often the most effective path to conception. In these cases, Chinese medicine and nutritional support are commonly used alongside ART to support hormonal balance, stress regulation, and overall reproductive health.
Complex or less common medical conditions
Some conditions typically require Western reproductive technologies and monitoring, including:
Severe fibroids affecting the uterine cavity or ovaries
Congenital uterine differences, such as a bicornuate uterus
Antiphospholipid antibody syndrome
Recurrent chromosomal abnormalities not responsive to complementary care
Thrombophilias, which require careful medical monitoring
In these situations, integrative care is often used to complement Western treatment—supporting overall health, reducing inflammation, and helping the body tolerate and respond more effectively to ART.
You should not go out of your way to get acupuncture around the transfer. Research has shown mixed results regarding acupuncture performed immediately before and after IVF or embryo transfer. The study most people are referring to found improved pregnancy rates when acupuncture was done on the day of transfer, but there are important details worth understanding.
In that original study, acupuncture treatments were provided on-site at the IVF clinic, and patients did not have to travel or experience additional stress. Several follow-up studies were not able to reproduce the same results, likely due to differences in study design, patient experience, and timing.
One important consideration is that acupuncture can have very different effects depending on whether someone is already familiar with it. Having a first-ever acupuncture treatment on the day of an IUI or IVF transfer is generally not ideal, as the body may respond unpredictably to a new stimulus during a highly sensitive moment.
If acupuncture is something you already find relaxing and your fertility clinic offers it on-site, receiving treatment before and after transfer may be supportive. If not, it may be more beneficial to focus on rest, stress reduction, and activities that help you feel calm and grounded on transfer day.
For many patients, acupuncture is most helpful when started weeks or months before IVF, allowing time to support hormonal balance, circulation, and nervous system regulation rather than introducing something new on a critical day.
Accordion Content
Yes. Environmental and lifestyle factors can play a significant role in fertility for both women and men. The food we eat, the air we breathe, our stress levels, sleep, movement, and exposure to environmental toxins all influence how the body functions and how reproductive systems perform.
These influences operate in part through epigenetic regulation. While genes provide the underlying blueprint, environmental inputs help determine which genes are turned on or off. In other words, lifestyle and environmental factors influence how genetic information is expressed—sometimes quite significantly.
Research increasingly shows that fertility can be affected by:
Nutrition and blood sugar regulation
Chronic stress and nervous system activation
Exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals
Inflammation and oxidative stress
Sleep patterns, circadian rhythm, and light exposure
Because of this, fertility care often extends beyond reproductive organs alone. Supporting the body’s overall environment can help improve hormonal balance, egg and sperm quality, and reproductive resilience.
Environmental factors and male fertility
Environmental influences are particularly important in male fertility. Sperm production is highly sensitive to oxidative stress, inflammation, and hormonal disruption. Even when standard semen parameters appear normal, environmental exposures can affect sperm DNA integrity, motility, and fertilization potential.
Research has linked male fertility challenges to:
Exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals such as BPA, phthalates, and pesticides
Air pollution and heavy metals
Chronic psychological stress
Poor diet and metabolic imbalance
Heat exposure and disrupted sleep
These factors are associated with increased sperm DNA fragmentation, reduced sperm quality, and lower pregnancy and live birth rates. Because sperm regenerate continuously, improvements in environment and lifestyle can sometimes lead to meaningful changes in sperm health within a few months.
For this reason, addressing environmental and lifestyle factors is often an important component of comprehensive fertility care for men as well as women.
Research references (for transparency)
Jeng, H. A. (2014). Exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals and male reproductive health. Human Reproduction Update.
Aitken, R. J., & Baker, M. A. (2006). Oxidative stress, sperm survival and fertility control. Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology.
Sharpe, R. M., & Irvine, D. S. (2004). How strong is the evidence of a link between environmental chemicals and adverse effects on human reproductive health? BMJ.
Santi, D. et al. (2018). Dietary patterns and semen quality. Andrology.
Eisenberg, M. L. et al. (2014). Air pollution and sperm quality. Fertility and Sterility.