People come to me mid-IVF cycle all the time and ask some version of the same question: Does this actually work, or is it just something people do to feel like they're doing something? Acupuncture during IVF is not magic. It doesn't override a poor stimulation response or turn a chromosomally abnormal embryo into a healthy one. What it does do, and what the research has been increasingly clear on, is improve the biological environment in which IVF is happening. Better circula

Each journey to parenthood is unique, and some include the need for a surrogate. From time to time, intended parents ask surrogates to...

One of the most common situations I see in the clinic is a woman who just came off the pill after years, sometimes a decade or more, and is waiting for her body to figure out what to do next. Sometimes the period comes back within a month. Sometimes it doesn't come back at all. And very often, it comes back the timing is unpredictable, the flow is different, there's more pain, or new symptoms have shown up that weren't there before. If this is you, know that this is not unusu

Thin uterine lining is one of those things that comes up on a monitoring ultrasound and sends people straight to Google at midnight. Your RE says the number, you don't fully understand what it means, and suddenly you're trying to figure out if your transfer is going to be cancelled and what you can possibly do about it in two weeks. I see this a lot. Let me try to actually explain what's going on, what the options are, and where acupuncture and Chinese herbs fit in — because

Egg quality matters for fertility. Women are born with all the egg cells they will ovulate in their lifetime, & the ovarian reserve...

Thyroid hormones play vital roles for fertility. Which is why at taproot, all our fertility patients are asked to get a thyroid panel...

Making babies is a two-person's job. At taproot acupuncture & herbs, we help countless women at any step of their fertility journey....

Chinese medicine says the 3 treasures of life are Qi (energy, your gasoline) Shen (mind, or spirit) and Jing, life essence, your battery....

Endometriosis is one of the conditions for which I feel Chinese medicine has the most to offer, partly because of how badly it gets managed in the conventional system. Unfortunately, many patients never even find out about the other tools that are accessible to them. The average time from first symptom to diagnosis is seven to ten years. Seven to ten years of being told your pain is normal, being put on the pill to manage symptoms, being dismissed, being sent home with ibupro

Recurrent pregnancy loss is devastating and frequently under-investigated. Here is what the workup should include, what Chinese medicine addresses, and what realistic support looks like.

Fertility acupuncture for IVF goals: Boost ovarian response to improve your egg quality and follicle quantity Support the uterine lining...

Many underweight, overweight, or obese women have no problem getting pregnant. But others will have troubles conceiving, most often due...

At taproot, we see patients trying to conceive, either naturally or through IVF and IUI every day. And I like to remind all of them, even...

BBT stands for Basal Body Temperature. It measures your oral temperature in the morning, before you start your daily routine. We use...

Have you ever wondered why Chinese grandmas or your acupuncturist always rant about not drinking cold water, especially to women during their menstrual periods? The cold can penetrate in the deeper layers of your body, namely your uterus, and cause a "cold womb". It is a quite common phenomenon in the USA, where most people tend to indulge in iced beverages, raw foods like salads and sushi, and stay in air-conditioned rooms for long hours. These lifestyle habits may eventuall

You know the clock is ticking, but are not quite sure if you are ready for a $20,000 IVF cycle that you are told yields less than 50%...

September is Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) Month with the National Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Association PCOS is a complex endocrine...

When you are trying to plant and grow a seed... eat seeds! Seeds are nutritious superfoods, especially rich in lignans, a precursor to...

Celiac disease is sensitivity to gluten. According to the Celiac Disease Foundation, as many as 97 percent of sufferers are not aware...

If you are trying to conceive, you might have started tracking your cycles. The most important date when trying to make a baby within one...