Why we love working with fertility clients over 30 years old

Are you over 30 and concerned about your chances of falling pregnant?

Age may certainly play a factor; however, we believe this need not be a significant barrier.

Yes, our bodies, eggs, and ovaries do age, and males may produce less high-quality sperm due to poor health.

However, with the right tweaks in lifestyle and nutrition, the correct fertility plan, and good guidance through the process, your chances of having a baby may be improved.

And at our clinic, we LOVE working with you if you:

• Are over 30 ( but under 30’s always welcome too!)
• Have a history of some health issues, such as thyroid issues, PCOS or PCO, and endometriosis
• Have previous chemical pregnancies or miscarriages
• Tried IVF, or IUI, or are thinking about it 

Are we a fertility clinic?

It is important to understand that we are not an IVF clinic, we are not IVF practitioners (or gynecologists), and the term ‘fertility acupuncture’ is a bit of a misnomer.

What this means is that there is no way the needles make you pregnant! (Although this would be great if they could, wouldn’t it?).

What we may be able to do is help you be in the best shape you can be for conception to occur with holistic approaches.

Infertility affects approximately one in six people globally over the course of their reproductive lives, according to the World Health Organization’s most comprehensive prevalence report to date. [A] In Australia, the estimated prevalence is around one in six couples. You are far from alone in finding your way here.

An update from research in July 2022 shows that online fertility education material can increase their ability to make better fertility decisions [3]. Imagine having your very own fertility coach through the whole process and into pregnancy!

Chances are if you are reading this, you would love to know more about how acupuncture works. As health professionals, it is our duty of care to help you understand what is, and what is not possible, with acupuncture and conception- so read on.

 

How may acupuncture help pregnancy?

Research using data from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health found that women experiencing infertility show significantly higher rates of psychological distress over time, with effects that persist across multiple years — not just at the point of diagnosis. [B] We see this in the clinic every day, which is why emotional wellbeing is central to how we structure care, not an afterthought.

At Qi Medicine Acupuncture Melbourne, our fertility focus is to provide therapy that may help couples and individuals through the confusion, stress, and pain that comes with any fertility journey. 

This includes natural fertility treatment, surrogacy, same-sex couples, and individuals, plus ICSI, IUI, IVF, and other assisted reproductive technologies.

Acupuncture may do more than improve blood flow and skin health. It may also help to prepare our body in several ways for optimum fertile health (such as reducing the emotional pain and physical stress that inevitably comes with these processes).

This may help give you an edge that contributes to your overall success.

What causes infertility?

Getting pregnant can sometimes be a rocky road; there are many known factors that can affect your ability to start a family.

More well-known factors that contribute to difficulties in conceiving naturally include stress, diet, environmental toxins, age, and sperm issues.

There also may be other factors at play that need to be investigated including polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), endometriosis, NK cells, sperm antibodies, thyroid issues, ovulation issues, and autoimmune problems, just to name a few.

Fertility issues may only sometimes be better understood when a deeper investigation takes place.

Our team works with research and evidence-based approaches from Western medicines. We then marry these approaches with the balanced wisdom of traditional Chinese medicine.

Of course, there is also what is known as unexplained infertility. Unexplained infertility can be quite distressing to couples who are ready to start a family.

We want to help you understand how these factors affect you, so you might be able to overcome them in the most natural, easiest way possible. 

Supporting you through pregnancy loss and recurrent miscarriage

For many people, the path to parenthood includes loss. Miscarriage, chemical pregnancies, and recurrent pregnancy loss affect far more women and couples than is openly talked about, and they can make the next step feel both urgent and terrifying at the same time.

At Qi Medicine, we work with many people who are navigating fertility after loss, and we understand that this requires a different kind of care.

We do not rush the process or skip past what has happened. We take time to understand your full history, acknowledge what you have been through, and build a plan that feels supportive rather than pressured. You are not starting from zero, and we will not treat you as if you are.

 

 

What makes us so good at understanding infertility?

Here in the acupuncture clinic, we don’t like to leave things to chance.

In order to get really clear about what may be standing in the way of you reaching your goal of natural fertility, our acupuncturists perform a fertility 150-point check before and during your initial consultation with us, and throughout your treatment timeline.

This is why we ask you to complete a comprehensive initial consultation form, plus ask a ton of questions before we even begin treatment!

But our point of difference is being extremely thorough, and getting clear of all the potential factors at play.

In addition, we will ask you for a list of blood tests, scans, and tests from other fertility services, to help get a clearer picture of your likely success rate.

Sometimes, other fertility consultants may wait until a number of failed assisted reproductive cycles before they request these vital tests.

At our acupuncture clinic, we like to be on the front foot, ruling out factors as early as possible so you can get the most out of your fertility treatment.

We don’t like to wait until after three miscarriages to do a deeper investigation.

Only once we know what could be causing your infertility, do we then give you an action plan you can put into place straight away.

This may help you feel more in control of your fertility health. 

 

How do we work with your primary healthcare provider and fertility clinicians?

Our Chinese medicine practitioners have great respect for your primary and ancillary healthcare providers.

We believe in providing integrative medicine by collaborating with your IVF clinician, fertility consultant, GP, gynecologist or physiotherapist. We work together with your healthcare providers to ensure we provide you with the best treatment possible.

As an acupuncturist for fertility health, we certainly do not take an either/or approach to medicine types.

We believe that all therapies have something great to offer. So why not use the best bits from all of them?

We think this is the best approach for you and your family, and we are always open to incorporating other therapies you may want to try.

 

Let us help you take control of baby overwhelm.

When you meet with one of our acupuncturists for fertility reasons, we assess your general health from all angles. Just some of the factors we take into account include both male and female reproductive health, diet, lifestyle, and emotional and environmental factors.

As with all medicine (IVF included!), we can never guarantee or make promises as to your outcomes, which of course is mostly up to nature.

What we can do is help set your body up for potential success. This may look like better health for natural conception or through IVF and acupuncture services.

The focus of our trained Chinese medicine practitioners at our Melbourne acupuncture clinic with fertility is to help you achieve the highest level of wellness possible.

We work to minimise the stress and pain of fertility treatments, and to keep you balanced through IVF treatments.

The journey to success is never straightforward and can take time. Our compassionate therapists aim to support your physical and emotional health each step of the way.

 

Why would you use acupuncture and Chinese medicine as an adjunct therapy to fertility treatments?

Women’s health is so important to natural fertility and IVF treatments.

There have been good quality research papers to suggest that the health of mums and dads during fertility treatments has a large role to play in the health of the conceived child.

Maternal and paternal health before and during pregnancy may affect several risk factors. These include the risks of childhood obesity, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and even the mental health of a child.

It is also well understood that the health of mums and dads may affect their ability to conceive. Factors such as smoking, diet, stress levels, alcohol, and nutrient intake may affect your chances.

Making positive habit changes and reducing stress isn’t always easy to do on your own. Sometimes you need extra help to regulate your system or reduce your stress levels before thinking about having children.

This is where we feel that our offerings, when used as an adjunct to fertility treatments or IVF, really shine.

We take into account gynecological issues, urogenital issues, nutrient issues, psychological and emotional and lifestyle factors and habits. One of our goals is to help you reduce stress and pain and find greater balance in your life.

Think of us as the team in your corner, your acupuncturist for fertility fitness, helping you get some perspective and guiding you through the process. 

 

Male infertility and sperm health

Currently, there is a laser focus on women’s health when it comes to issues with reproduction. And even though this is important, the father’s health, which is also equally important tends to be ignored.

How do you discuss fertility with guys? Find out how in our post on male infertility here.

One good example of a man’s health affecting fertility is research showing us that male smokers have a low sperm count and have shown sperm abnormalities. This could potentially prevent conception.[1]

Partners of male smokers are also likely to have more difficulties before they get pregnant and they tend to suffer more miscarriages.[2]

Looking at sperm motility and morphology and advising men about their diet, nutrition, lifestyle and stress levels are among the many ways we strive to support men’s health. This may in turn lead to healthy sperm and a healthy papa!

 

Should I be worried about male fertility?

A traditional Chinese medicine perspective on reproduction.

Compared to some Western medicine, the Chinese medicine approach is to spend time addressing issues that may be impacting your overall health.

Did you know that it takes around four months for a sperm to reach maturation? Although women ovulate monthly, chronic hormonal imbalances (such as high stress levels and adrenal burnout) may negatively affect a woman’s cycle.

Time spent on pre-care may help to reduce problems such as high stress, improving your health and vitality when it comes time to start trying.

Our experienced Chinese medicine practitioners work to educate you to help you understand your cycle and the process of conception.

There is a delicate interplay of hormones that is good to get your head around, so you feel better prepared for fluctuations.

Your acupuncturist for fertility health aims to help you understand the best time of your cycle to conceive naturally ( as with BBT tracking, cervical mucus, etc). In addition, we work to educate you on what relaxation methods, exercise, and nutrition could be of benefit.

 

Irregular menstrual cycles interfere with fertility

When looking to conceive, it is always prudent to address cycle issues that may be causing problems. Sometimes your issue may be that you fail to ovulate (anovulation) have irregular periods (oligomenorrhea), or even have no period (amenorrhea).

On occasion, your fertility may be affected by conditions such as PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) or endometriosis.

Endometriosis and fertility is a major issue for many Australian women. Many women worry about the connection between endometriosis and infertility, or endometriosis when pregnant.

Fortunately, Chinese medicine has a unique view and understanding of how to diagnose endometriosis. Acupuncture may be useful in treating endometriosis symptoms such as pain. 

Of course, we cannot make you fall pregnant with needles alone with fertility acupuncture in Melbourne. However, we aim to educate and empower you, and change that which we can control!

Read more about acupuncture for endometriosis pain here.

If you are having issues conceiving, it is always recommended you visit your GP or fertility clinic to undergo standard Western medical testing. These tests are essential to see if there may be an underlying issue, particularly if you have one of the above conditions.

For women, this may be a test for blocked fallopian tubes, a pelvic exam or laparoscopy, and a blood test. For men, this may be a sperm test, blood test, andrology check and a physical examination.

 

How our therapists support you each step of the way

At Qi Medicine, our fertility acupuncturists do not follow a one-size-fits-all approach.

We understand that everyone’s needs and medical conditions are different. Because of this, we do all we can to find the best treatment method for every couple.

Our care plan may include the following:

• Working with your GP for a health screen to check for infections, tubal blockages, adenomyosis, endometriosis, and hormonal health
• Detoxification, diet, and nutrition
• Management of stress and exercise
• Tracking and understanding your cycle (BBT charting)
• Pain relief
• Education on the natural fertility process and the success rates of ivf treatments
• Environmental and lifestyle changes
• Being your acupuncturist for fertility wellness and helping you control what you can

Once we have determined which areas of health and wellness you need support for, we will create your individual treatment plan with the intention of you achieving a successful pregnancy with our help.

We have a strong focus on emotional well-being through this process. Your acupuncturist uses acupuncture and Chinese medicine to help reduce stress and pain throughout your journey. This naturally makes the whole process much easier to manage.

As your acupuncturist for fertility wellness, we take a holistic and thorough approach, help you control what you can, and make peace with what you cannot.

 

Acupuncture: supporting IVF in Melbourne

We understand how worrying and tedious the IVF process can be. We know how difficult it is to keep numerous appointments, scans, and the burden of ‘not knowing’.

Add to this the financial burden and the emotional strain this can place on you and your family.

A 2023 systematic review and meta-analysis published in Healthcare, which analysed twelve randomised controlled trials involving nearly 2,000 participants, found that acupuncture may significantly improve anxiety and depression scores in women with infertility compared to control groups.

[C] The authors note that further well-designed trials are needed to confirm these findings, and we present acupuncture as a complementary approach alongside, not instead of, your medical care.

IVF is a very different process from natural conception/ natural fertility.

In the process, there is a regime of special drugs to assist in the maturation of the follicle to create a viable egg (blastocyst). This process stimulates egg growth over and above what your body would produce naturally.

In addition, you may undergo ICSI (Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection) to help the sperm fertilise the egg outside of the uterus.

The state of health of both you and your partner/ donor during this process could impact the overall success rate of IVF.

 

The IVF process

In the IVF process timeline, your fertility cycle is managed with medications and close monitoring.

It is often a game of wait-and-see, to tell if you are a good candidate for egg retrieval.

Because each person is different, individuals react differently to medications. Our fertility clinic may need to experiment with different combinations of medications to get it right.

This may mean several IVF injections and can increase the cost of IVF.

IVF in Melbourne is growing in popularity, so much so that fertility clinics can barely keep up with demand.

Unfortunately, this may mean that sometimes you are not taken through the process and IVF success rates as thoroughly as they could be. This may result in an increase in the cost of IVF with multiple rounds and egg retrievals.

Your fertility acupuncturist at Qi Medicine will have a solid understanding of the fertility and IVF process and can act as your guides to help fill in the gaps.

This can help you get a better understanding of your fertility groundwork. IVF in Melbourne can be costly, and we want you to have as few rounds as possible!

Fertility Acupuncture Melbourne: Your Questions Answered

Below are the questions we are most commonly asked by people navigating fertility, IVF, and natural conception at our Moonee Ponds clinic — whether you are just starting out or have been on this journey for a while.

Q: When should I start acupuncture for fertility? Ideally, we recommend beginning around three to six months before you want to start trying to conceive. This gives us time to assess any factors that may be contributing to difficulties — such as cycle irregularities, stress, or underlying conditions like PCOS or endometriosis — and to work on these before conception becomes the focus. That said, it is never too late to start. If you are already mid-IVF cycle or approaching a transfer, acupuncture can still be used as a supportive complement to your current treatment plan.

Q: How does acupuncture support IVF treatment? Acupuncture is commonly used alongside IVF as a complementary approach. At Qi Medicine, we work within your IVF timeline, timing sessions around stimulation, egg collection, and transfer where appropriate. We also support the emotional load of IVF — the waiting, the uncertainty, and the physical demands of the process — which is something many patients tell us matters as much as the clinical support. We always work in collaboration with your fertility clinic and will never recommend anything that conflicts with your medical team’s plan.

Q: Can acupuncture help with unexplained infertility? Unexplained infertility is one of the most frustrating diagnoses to receive, because it offers no clear path forward. At Qi Medicine, we approach it by looking at the full picture — cycle health, hormonal patterns, stress, sleep, nutrition, and your partner’s health — to identify anything that may be contributing, even when standard testing has not found a cause. We cannot make promises about outcomes, but we can offer thorough, structured support alongside your medical care.

Q: Do I need a referral from my fertility specialist to book? No referral is needed. You can book directly online or by calling the clinic. We do ask that you bring any relevant test results to your initial consultation — including hormone panels, semen analysis, and any scans — as these help us understand your full fertility picture from the first appointment.

Q: Can acupuncture help after a failed IVF cycle? Yes. Many of the people we work with come to us after one or more unsuccessful IVF cycles. We take time to understand what has happened, review the information available, and work with you to support your physical and emotional recovery before the next attempt. We always collaborate with your fertility clinic and encourage open communication between all members of your care team throughout this process.

Q: How many acupuncture sessions do I need for fertility? This varies significantly depending on your situation, your diagnosis, how long you have been trying, and what your goals are. We will give you a clear, realistic assessment at your initial consultation — including a treatment timeline with milestones — so you are never left wondering what to expect or how long to commit. We do not put people on open-ended programmes without a clear plan and regular check-ins.

Q: Is fertility acupuncture safe during an IVF cycle? Yes. Acupuncture during IVF is safe when performed by a qualified, AHPRA-registered practitioner experienced in fertility care. Our practitioners are trained in fertility-specific protocols and are familiar with the IVF process, including the medications involved. Acupuncture does not interfere with IVF medications and is used as a complement to — not a replacement for — your medical treatment.

Watch our video on why your IVF is not working, and what you can do about it.

Acupuncture IVF: How acupuncture works with IVF

It is generally accepted amongst health professionals that high stress can adversely affect IVF success rates. Acupuncture is a useful and powerful tool you may use to potentially help manage this factor.

Acupuncture IVF support works to help reduce your stress and pain. In addition, acupuncture does not usually interfere with IVF drugs in any way.

We provide acupuncture IVF support by helping you understand how Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture may work alongside the IVF procedure.

Our experienced practitioners aim to educate and empower, you whilst supporting your health as much as possible with natural medicine.

We will look at your fertility diagnosis and consider your current state of health. We then work to rebalance your system from a Chinese medicine perspective.

This gentle approach may be a useful adjunct therapy to IVF. It is also a great stress-buster when things get a little overwhelming.

We naturally want you to have a little bundle of joy as much as you. We then do what we can to help you through the IVF process!

So, even though Melbourne fertility acupuncture isn’t actually a thing (we can’t make you pregnant, with needles alone), there is still so much we do to support you in many other ways.

 

Which assisted reproductive IVF fertility clinic is best?

We take acupuncture referrals from and recommend a number of Melbourne IVF clinics. These include; Monash IVF, Centre for Infertility (Dr Nicholas Lolatgis), City Fertility, Melbourne IVF, and other obstetricians and midwives working privately. 

 

We also recommend a number of Melbourne IVF fertility practitioners/ fertility clinicians:

ooking for an IVF fertility clinic in Melbourne? Here are just some of those with IVF treatments we recommend.

• Dr. Nick Lolatgis (Monash IVF): We have found Dr. Nick Lolatgis (also at the Centre for Infertility) to be a passionate, hardworking, and dedicated IVF clinician. At his fertility clinic, Dr. Nick works hard to think outside the box for fertility treatments and is especially adept at assisting with long-term unexplained infertility and Natural Killer (NK) cells.
• Dr. Lynn Burmeister (No.1 Fertility):  Lynn is a nearby fertility practitioner who is deeply acquainted with the IVF process. Her fertility clinic takes a holistic approach when needed and is an early adopter of potentially beneficial therapies.

• Dr. Manuela Toledo (Melbourne IVF): Manuela at Melbourne IVF fertility clinic is an extremely empathic and open-minded doctor, who regularly explores all options that could be leading to your infertility. One of the leading doctors of IVF Australia, Manuela should be a top consideration if you have had a challenging or complicated fertility journey.

• Dr. Melissa Cameron (Melbourne IVF) :  Dr. Melissa Cameron at Melbourne IVF Has an interest in working with women with endometriosis and fibroids and is extremely thorough in her investigations and fertility testing. Melissa is also keenly interested in helping same-sex couples, people who are transgender and gender diverse, and single women create a family through the Melbourne IVF donor programme.

Acupuncture treatment cost

See our pricing page here

Bookings

Book online here or phone the clinic on (03) 8394 7665 to book your acupuncture treatment today.

Are we easy to get to?

Find us on Google maps here

Looking for a fertility acupuncturist near you? The clinic is located at Suite 4, Level 1, 151 Pascoe Vale Rd, Moonee Ponds. (Please ensure you take the ground floor elevator to reach us on level one.)

Qi Medicine acupuncturist for fertility health is minutes away from Ascot Vale, Essendon, Avondale Heights, Maribyrnong, and Brunswick West. We are a short drive to Keilor, Niddrie, Oak Park, Pascoe Vale, and Glenroy.

We are also close to Travancore, Flemington, Aberfeldie, and Maidstone, and we are just 10 km from Melbourne City.

Follow Qi Medicine on Instagram and Facebook and stay up-to-date with all the latest news.

References

[1] Levine H, Jørgensen N, Martino-Andrade A, et al. Temporal trends in sperm count: a systematic review and meta-regression analysis of samples collected globally in the 20th and 21st centuries. Human Reproduction Update. 2023;29(2):157–176. Oxford Academic

[2] Cipriani E, Ricci E, Chiaffarino F, et al. Trend of change of sperm count and concentration over the last two decades: a systematic review and meta-regression analysis. Andrology. 2023;11(6):997–1008. Wiley

[3] Feng Y, He Y, Wang B, et al. The efficacy and mechanism of acupuncture in the treatment of male infertility: a literature review. Frontiers in Endocrinology. 2022;13:1009537. Frontiers

[1] Does Cigarette Smoking Affect Seminal Fluid Parameters? A Comparative Study; Zakarya Bani Meri, Ibrahim Bani Irshid, Mohammad Migdadi, Ayat Bani Irshid, and Somia A. Mhanna, MT, Oman Med J.: 12–15.

doi: 10.5001/omj.2013.03

[2] Paternal smoking and spontaneous abortion: a population-based retrospective cohort study among non-smoking women aged 20–49 years in rural China. Long Wang1,2,3, Ying Yang1,4, Fangchao Liu5, Aimin Yang3,6, Qin Xu1,2, Qiaomei Wang1,7, Haiping Shen7, Yiping Zhang7, Donghai Yan7, Zuoqi Peng1,4, Yuan H Acupuncture Melbourne fertility

[3] Research article, Fertility patients’ use and perceptions of online fertility educational material
Claire Ann Jones, Chaula Mehta, Rhonda Zwingerman & Kimberly E. Liu
Fertility Research and Practice volume 6, Article number: 11 (2020)

[A] WHO Global Infertility Prevalence (2023) Inzani et al. / WHO Infertility Prevalence Estimates 1990–2021. World Health Organization. 2023. https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/366700/9789240068315-eng.pdf

[B] Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health (ALSWH) Dépatie et al. Investigating the association between infertility and psychological distress using Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health (ALSWH). BMC Public Health. 2022. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9233672/

[C] Acupuncture for emotional problems in infertile women (2023) Kim et al. Acupuncture Treatment for Emotional Problems in Women with Infertility: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Healthcare. 2023;11(20):2704. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10606758/

https://fertilityresearchandpractice. 

biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40738-020-00083-2

By Dr. Sheena Vaughan ( Ba H Sc. Acupuncture)