As women age, egg reserves naturally diminish and ovarian response to hormonal stimulation weakens. Other factors that inhibit pregnancy later in life come from environmental, social, and dietary stressors that make up the very fabric of modern society. People work more and rest less than in generations past. Our foods are more processed and depleted of many vital nutrients. Our bodies are subjected to chemical, hormonal, and toxic influences from the food supply and the environment. All of these factors can converge to inhibit the reproductive system, making it difficult to conceive or carry a baby to term.

In the practice of Chinese Medicine, a distinction is drawn between Chronological Age and Biological Age. Chronological Age refers to the passing of calendar time, whereas Biological Age describes how effectively each person’s body continues to function as they progress in years. Every 40 year old person, for example, shares the exact same chronological age. But any given group of forty year olds, there is a tremendous amount of variation in health and efficiency of body function. This is because a person’s Biological Age is not necessarily determined by that individual’s Chronological Age. Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine cannot do anything to “turn back the clock” and reverse a person’s Chronological Age. However, acupuncture and Chinese Medicine have long been recognized for their ability to powerfully transform a person’s Biological Age, improving the functional relationships between the organs, glands, and hormones and helping to restore the reproductive system, dramatically improving its function.

By combining, acupuncture with Chinese herbal medicine, nutritional consulting, lifestyle counseling, and stress management, our clinic has amassed a tremendous success rate in treating women with advanced maternal age. We recognize that reproduction is a delicate synthesis of many systems working together, and our treatments focus on harmonizing the reproductive system with the endocrine, nervous and digestive systems, and on improving overall health.

In response to this holistic approach, our patients usually experience a marked decrease in FSH level, improvement in egg quality, improvement in the number and quality of follicles produced, and improved quality of cervical discharge. Other common effects from treatment include a reduction menstrual complications – like erratic cycles, PMS, and menstrual pain.

Treatment for Advanced Maternal Age is customized. We treat each person individually based on their health history, symptoms and clinical presentation. However, there are a few guidelines in treatment that we apply to every patient. These include:

• Improving digestion and absorption in order to produce better quality eggs and blood
• Improving blood flow to the uterus and ovaries
• Balancing the hormones to strengthen ovarian receptivity and uterine implantation
• Managing stress to decrease cortisol levels and regulate FSH

At The Texas Center for Reproductive Acupuncture, about half of the patients we see are past their 35th birthday. Most of these women come to us as a last resort after being diagnosed with elevated FSH, poor ovarian reserve, premature ovarian failure, or diminished egg quality. Many have been told that their only hope for getting pregnant is the use of donor eggs. Don’t let your diagnosis determine your fertility future! Despite the severity of such a diagnosis, we have achieved an uncommonly high rate of success in helping these patients to become pregnant and carry their babies to term.