Fertility Series🌸 Endometriosis and Fertility: Can Acupuncture and Herbs Help You Conceive?

If you’ve been diagnosed with endometriosis and are trying to conceive, you may feel like the odds are stacked against you. Between inflammation, hormonal imbalance, and possible scarring, endometriosis can affect everything from ovulation to implantation.

But there’s good news

.Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine offer natural, evidence-informed ways to support your fertility, whether you’re trying to conceive naturally or with IVF.

🌿 What Endometriosis Does to Fertility

Endometriosis can interfere with conception in several ways:

• Chronic inflammation may disrupt hormone signalling

• Scar tissue can block the fallopian tubes or interfere with egg release

• High prostaglandin levels can cause uterine contractions that hinder implantation

• Immune imbalances may affect the uterine environment or embryo acceptance

This complex condition calls for a whole-system approach. That’s where Chinese medicine excels.

🪡 How Acupuncture Supports Conception with Endometriosis

Acupuncture works by helping your body regulate itself more effectively. For those with endometriosis, it can:

✅ Reduce pelvic inflammation – calming an overactive immune response and supporting a healthier reproductive environment
✅ Improve blood flow – enhancing egg quality and endometrial receptivity
✅ Modulate hormones – supporting more regular cycles and balanced progesterone/estrogen ratios
✅ Alleviate pain – decreasing stress hormones that can interfere with ovulation
✅ Support IVF outcomes – studies show acupuncture may improve implantation and pregnancy rates in people with endometriosis undergoing assisted reproduction

🧪 One study (Yan et al., 2010) found that acupuncture significantly reduced pain and lowered CA-125, a blood marker associated with endometriosis. Other research shows improved outcomes when acupuncture is started 3+ months before IVF.

🌱 Chinese Herbs: A Complementary Ally

Chinese herbal medicine can be used alongside acupuncture to further support fertility and manage endometriosis-related symptoms.

Common herbal goals include:

• Moving blood and resolving stagnation → to reduce clotting, pain, and tissue build-up

• Nourishing the Kidneys and Liver → associated with hormonal and reproductive health in TCM

• Clearing damp or cold → often seen in endometriosis patterns with cramping and sluggish cycles

Formulas are customised based on your symptoms, cycle, and pulse diagnosis. Herbal treatment often improves:

• Menstrual regularity

• Ovulation quality

• Lining thickness

• Cervical mucus production

• Emotional wellbeing

All herbs are prescribed safely and professionally and can be taken when you're preparing to conceive.

🕰️ When to Start Treatment?

We recommend beginning acupuncture and herbal medicine at least 3–6 months before trying to conceive. This matches the developmental window of ovarian follicles and allows time to:

• Reduce inflammation

• Improve egg and endometrial quality

• Regulate ovulation

• Prepare the body for implantation

💬 What We See in Clinic

At On the Pulse Clinic, we support women with endometriosis, including those trying to conceive. Many report:

• Fewer days of pain or reduced need for medication

• More predictable cycles

• Improved energy and mood

• Better quality cervical mucus

• Healthier scan results (e.g. endometrial lining)

And most importantly: pregnancies where they once felt hope was running out.

🤍 A Compassionate, Evidence-Informed Approach

If you’re navigating endometriosis and fertility, we’re here to help — without judgment, and with the kind of care that’s grounded, personalised, and calm.
We combine acupuncture, herbs, and lifestyle support to give your body the best possible conditions to conceive — naturally or alongside medical care.

👉 Curious if this approach is right for you?
Book a consultation to learn how we can support you.