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!
The Best Tips for Supporting an Embryo Transfer
While an embryo transfer is a less intense procedure on our bodies compared to an egg retrieval, the stress is often much higher with transfers. So much energy, time and resources went into making an embryo, so it’s normal to feel some anxiety and to want to do everything possible to increase your chances of it working. There is a lot of information out there regarding advice for transfers, but not all of it is helpful. We want you to have the most accurate and effective tools to support your transfer cycles, so we put together our best tips based on current research studies and our 15 years of integrative experience supporting women through these cycles.
IVF & Egg Retrieval Side Effects…What to Expect and How to Manage them Naturally
Patients are often hesitant to start an IVF cycle because they are afraid of potential nasty side effects and not being able to cope with all the hormonal changes, injections, and symptoms that come along with it. We are here to tell you that for the most part, our patients are pleasantly surprised that it’s not as bad as they expected! There are some common side effects you can expect, but they are generally mild and we’ve got some tips for managing them naturally!