Fertility, Chinese Medicine
Julie Eckert
Enhancing Implantation with Chinese Medicine

For a pregnancy to occur, an embryo must burrow into a woman’s healthy, receptive uterine lining and connect to the blood supply. Her immune system must allow this invasion, and the blood flow to the developing fetus must flow well enough to sustain its development.

Enhancing Implantation with Chinese Medicine
Pain Management, Chinese Medicine
Julie Eckert
Managing PMS with TCM

While awareness of PMS (Premenstrual Syndrome) is widespread, most do not fully understand the condition. The undesirable physical and psychological symptoms that women of reproductive age may experience during their luteal phase, around ten to fourteen days before their period, are attributed to PMS.

Managing PMS with TCM
Fertility, Research
Julie Eckert
PGS Testing in a Nutshell

Patients undergoing a cycle of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) have the option of screening embryos using a process called Preimplantation Genetic Screening. PGS testing involves analyzing the number of chromosomes in a few cells of an embryo to determine if it contains the correct number of chromosomes (normal or “euploid”) or the wrong number (abnormal or “aneuploid”).

PGS Testing in a Nutshell
Fertility
Julie Eckert
The Basics of Egg Freezing

On average, women in developed countries are delaying childbearing until later in life. Many modern women are waiting until their 30s and early 40s to start a family in order to focus on their careers, gain financial stability and find the right partner.

The Basics of Egg Freezing
Support, Fertility
Julie Eckert
How to Talk to Someone Struggling with ...

Struggling to conceive can sometimes be the toughest challenge a couple goes through. Having the right support from friends and family can make a difference in quality of life during the journey. The following blog was written by Mary for the national blog MindBodyGreen.

How to Talk to Someone Struggling with Infertility

Fertility

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Why Working with an Acupuncturist Creates Better Live Birth Rates in an IVF

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Why Working with an Acupuncturist Creates Better Live Birth Rates in an IVF

Many studies demonstrate that acupuncture helps improve outcomes when performed during IVF retrieval cycles and embryo transfer cycles. It also helps manage the intense stress and anxiety that can go along with struggling to conceive. The potent combination of IVF treatments, which increase the odds of creating and transferring chromosomally healthy embryos and using acupuncture to support each stage, improves pregnancy rates. But as demonstrated in Dr. Hullender Rubin’s study, working with an acupuncturist in the months leading up to and including IVF retrieval and embryo transfer cycles helps those pregnancies turn into healthy babies and mothers. For patients who need more in-depth nutrition/meal planning, bodywork, and talk therapy to manage their journey, Lily + Horn also has an in-house fertility-focused nutritionist, massage therapist, and talk therapists.


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Creating a healthy, clean, skincare routine that supports glowing skin, fertility and pregnancy

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Creating a healthy, clean, skincare routine that supports glowing skin, fertility and pregnancy

Many women like to re-evaluate their skin care routine while trying to conceive in preparation for pregnancy. It’s a great time to start transitioning away from products that might work well but may also have ingredients that can negatively impact fertility or a healthy pregnancy. Do you need to immediately throw out everything and start from scratch? Probably not, but if you are preparing for an embryo transfer or are already pregnant, you may need to make some changes asap. Otherwise, we encourage you to read this blog, checkout some of the resources we suggest to investigate available research on your products, and speak with your doctors to decide what is safe for you. If needed, make different purchases when it’s time to refill or replace a product you’ve used up.

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Superfoods to Snack on for Fertility and During IVF Cycles

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Superfoods to Snack on for Fertility and During IVF Cycles

We’ve compiled a list of superfoods and snacks to emphasize to enhance fertility, especially during IVF cycles as they are packed with nutrients like antioxidants, selenium, collagen, Omega 3 oils, choline, vitamins and minerals. Stock your home/office with these delicious snack foods as your go-to treats between (and with) meals.

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Can Entertainment Affect A Fertility Journey or IVF cycle?

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Can Entertainment Affect A Fertility Journey or IVF cycle?

When we are laughing, our brain chemistry changes, increasing chemicals that make us feel happy. This also shifts our nervous system from the stressy “fight or flight” sympathetic-dominant state to the “rest and digest” parasympathetic-dominant state.  It’s hard to feel stressed when you are laughing! Acupuncture also helps shift the nervous system to the parasympathetic state, which is one of the reasons it is so helpful for fertility, especially IVF cycles and embryo transfer. While we are in a parasympathetic-dominant state, blood flow is naturally prioritized to the reproductive organs. So use your mirror neurons to your advantage by limiting your exposure to stressful stimuli and increasing your exposure to ones that make you laugh!

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5 Simple Diet Changes to Improve Fertility

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5 Simple Diet Changes to Improve Fertility

When we support fertility patients in our clinics, we always customize diet plans to cater to their needs and goals. For meal planning, we refer to our in-house nutritionist and dietician, but our Acupuncturists always go over diet in the first session and make suggestions that can improve overall health and fertility in each patient. While these suggestions are based on how each patient’s body and cycles are functioning, there are some common themes that form the foundation for a good fertility diet. If you are looking to make simple quick changes to your diet with maximum impact on fertility and IVF outcomes, here are our 5 most consistent tips.

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Navigating the Holidays when Struggling to Conceive

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Navigating the Holidays when Struggling to Conceive

We know the holidays are typically sources of joy and gathering with loved ones. But when in the midst of a fertility struggle, these same gatherings and special days can be triggering and filled with anxiety and grief too. We joined together with our colleagues from The Calla Collective to give you some tips to make this time of year easier. Read on to learn diet tips, managing holiday stress and anxiety, and ways to use this time to prepare for getting pregnant in the new year.

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Impacts of Vaccinations and Pandemic Stress on the Menstrual Cycle

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Impacts of Vaccinations and Pandemic Stress on the Menstrual Cycle

Whether you’ve had a few irregular cycles during the pandemic already or are waiting longer than normal for a period, you are not alone. While we’ve known for ages that stress or changing times zones can temporarily shift the timing of the menses, so too can colds, flus, COVID and as it turns out, the COVID vaccine. While it can be weird, especially if your periods are like clockwork or you’ve not experienced this before, if you are trying to conceive naturally, this can be really frustrating.

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Tips for Managing Anxiety and Processing Emotions while Trying to Conceive

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Tips for Managing Anxiety and Processing Emotions while Trying to Conceive

Validating and processing emotions is far more important for optimizing fertility than faking positivity. Many of our patients feel guilt or shame for having negative emotions like fear and anxiety while trying to get pregnant or during an IVF cycle.

Struggling to conceive is hard on any person who experiences it and no matter how hard you, your doctor or any support person tries, we can’t control or force a pregnancy to happen exactly when or how we want it to. This is what makes infertility so tough, and it can create frustration, fear, anger, resentment, jealousy, shame, or despair. These emotions are normal! But they don’t feel very good, so we like to help our patients navigate THROUGH them, rather than resist or suppress them.

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Endometriosis…the Hidden Cause of Many “Unexplained Infertility” Cases. How an Acupuncturist Can Help

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Endometriosis…the Hidden Cause of Many “Unexplained Infertility” Cases. How an Acupuncturist Can Help

Johns Hopkins Medicine estimates anywhere from 24-50% of infertility cases might be due to underlying endometriosis. Luckily, there are things you can do with or without a diagnosis if you suspect you might have it contributing to your fertility struggles. Here are some tips from a fertility acupuncturist and herbalist to help you navigate trying to conceive with this condition in the mix.

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5 Tips for a Peaceful and Productive Egg Retrieval

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5 Tips for a Peaceful and Productive Egg Retrieval

You have prepared for months, done your injections, acupuncture and are filled with anticipation, angst, and probably some fear as retrieval day approaches. To minimize some of the negative thoughts running through your hormone-infused head, we have some suggestions (and reassurance). Read our 5 tips for a peaceful and productive IVF egg retrieval from our integrative fertility doctors.


Testimonials

“Mary Sabo is my miracle worker! It’s really incredible to think that I get to see my eastern doctor every week and have her really listen and do things that help. She is so warm and I feel like because of her, I can achieve my goals. I am not sure if this is the case for others, but my cycles have since gone from 60+ days to 35 days the first month, 30 the second and we’re on track for a 28 day cycle!!”

— T.S

I adore Mary. I have been seeing her for 4 years through a tough miscarriage, a roller coaster pregnancy, and every issue and ailment (fertility and other) along the way. She is so knowledgeable in both eastern and western medicine. I always leave her office feeling amazing, both physically and emotionally. She is kind, caring, patient, and seems to know everything about everything. Her skill in acupuncture is unparalleled - this is evident not only through my own experience, but also the doctors who work with her, the panels she's so often asked to speak on, and the incredibly successful business she so quickly grew. My visits with Mary are the highlight of my week. I cannot recommend her enough.

— M.J.

“Jessica immediately made me feel seen, respected, heard and cared for through active listening, asking varied questions, getting my pronouns correct immediately after my first request, sending email follow-ups to keep the healing going, and her clearly in-depth understanding of Traditional Chinese Medicine. As someone with chronic mental and physical pain who has dealt with my fair share sub-par bedside manner, I’m incredibly grateful to have Jessica on my team.”

— Ray