Fertility gets a boost with the help of traditional Chinese medicine

Research links herbal remedies and acupuncture to more live births

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      The odds of having children seemed to be stacked against Lower Mainland research scientist Rajwinder Panesar-Walawege.

      Over the phone, she told the Georgia Straight that she had twice conceived naturally. “But I had ectopic pregnancies, which means that I ended up losing both my tubes,” Panesar-Walawege said.

      She recalled that she then tried in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and it didn’t work. But after hearing someone tell her that she should try acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), she decided to visit Lorne Brown, clinical director of Acubalance Wellness Centre. It’s the first B.C. TCM clinic focused on reproductive health and fertility.

      “He recommended starting with a cleanse and then eating whole foods and then doing acupuncture and Chinese herbs,” Panesar-Walawege said.

      Along the way, they discovered that she had fibroids in her uterus, which needed to be removed before she could become pregnant. “He helped with doing acupuncture and preparing with Chinese medicine for my body to go through surgery,” she said. “I had the herbs after surgery, too, to help me heal faster.”

      Throughout this process, Panesar-Walawege exercised with a personal trainer and engaged the services of a dietitian. These steps, along with Chinese medicine and acupuncture, were taken to prepare her body for the implantation of a blastocyst in her uterus after an in-vitro fertilization treatment. (MedicineNet.com defines a blastocyst as a “thin-walled hollow structure in early embryonic development that contains a cluster of cells called the inner cell mass from which the embryo arises”.)

      “Implantation is a process doctors can’t help you with,” she stated. “They can only put the blastocyst inside the uterus, and then that’s it. Then the body has to do what it has to do.”

      On December 15, 2014, at the age of 41, Panesar-Walawege gave birth to twin boys. When asked how they’ve affected her life, she replied: “It’s great. It’s amazing.”

      Rajwinder Panesar-Walawege didn't give up after IVF failed the first time.

      A Portland, Oregon–based doctor of acupuncture, Lee Hullender Rubin, is one of North America’s leading advocates of using acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine to complement IVF treatments.

      In a phone interview with the Straight from her clinic, Hullender Rubin said that she will publish a cohort study in June on this topic in Reproductive BioMedicine Online. It involved 1,231 women who went through IVF treatments between 2005 and 2010. Of those, 119 received what she called “whole-system traditional Chinese medicine intervention” as part of their prenatal care.

      “It could include acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, Chinese-medicine-based dietary recommendations, and Chinese-medicine-based lifestyle recommendations like qigong, tai chi—that sort of thing,” she said. “It could have also included dietary supplements.”

      In the study, research subjects were divided into three groups: women who chose IVF alone, women who had two treatments of acupuncture on the day blastocysts were placed in their uterus, and a third group who received the whole system well before IVF treatments began.

      What Hullender Rubin discovered is that whole-system traditional Chinese medicine was associated with more live births and fewer “biochemical pregnancies”, which she defined as testing positive but with virtually no likelihood of the embryo being viable.

      “This is good preliminary evidence that suggests TCM as it’s practised in the real world may positively impact IVF outcomes,” Hullender Rubin said. “And we don’t have a lot of evidence about that.”

      She added that the study is significant because there had been concerns that traditional Chinese medicine might have a negative impact on women who receive IVF treatments. “While more research is clearly needed, this paper reports that whole-system TCM did not harm IVF outcomes,” she said.

      When asked why traditional Chinese medicine might be effective, she replied that it may calm down the nervous system and enhance blood flow to the uterus and ovaries. In addition, she suggested that it could have an effect on neurotransmitters, which assist the “endocrine balance of the body”.

      “The third thing is that we’re helping to release endogenous opioids—your body’s natural painkillers—and that helps mitigate the stress response,” Hullender Rubin said. “Women who report having high stress have a twofold increased risk of infertility.”

      One thing Panesar-Walawege said she learned through her experience is that women shouldn't be afraid to seek help from different experts. She also emphasized that infertility is not a woman’s problem but an issue that should be confronted by the family.

      “It’s teamwork,” she said. “You need the support of your partner as well. Then, together, you go and get the support of whoever you need externally.”

      Lee Hullender Rubin will speak at the Integrative Fertility Symposium, which will be at SFU Harbour Centre from April 30 to May 3. For more information, see the If Symposium website.

      Comments

      2 Comments

      Kirsten Karchmer

      Apr 22, 2015 at 3:39pm

      Impressive story that goes to show how very important a fully integrated approach to treating infertility is. Im so delighted that Rajwinder not only got pregnant but delivered such gorgeous twins!!

      Lee is doing remarkable work in the field of infertility. She is making such a powerful contribution.

      Dorothy Pang, L.Ac., Fertility Coach & Acupuncturist

      Apr 22, 2015 at 6:01pm

      What an inspiring story. It's such an honor to be able to use Chinese medicine principles to help women to have the babies that they've been dreaming of.