Acupuncture and IVF Success with Hannah Pearn

Can acupuncture really support IVF success? When should you start fertility acupuncture if you’re trying to conceive? And how do you know whether an acupuncturist is truly trained in fertility care, or just really confident with a sign on the door?

In this episode of Brave & Curious, Dr. Lora Shahine welcomes Hannah Pearn, a fertility acupuncturist based in London and host of the Don’t Tell Me to Relax podcast. Together, they explore how acupuncture, traditional Chinese medicine, and Western fertility treatment can work side by side to support patients through IVF, embryo transfer, egg quality concerns, endometriosis, PCOS, recurrent pregnancy loss, male factor infertility, and the emotional stress of trying to conceive.

Listeners will learn what to expect at a first fertility acupuncture appointment, how acupuncture treatment may change during different stages of IVF, what questions to ask when choosing a practitioner, and why the evidence around acupuncture and fertility is promising but still complicated. 

Dr. Shahine and Hannah also answer listener questions about needle fear, PGT-A testing, microbiome testing, follicle count, and the balance between doing everything you can and remembering that infertility is never your fault.

In this episode you’ll hear:

[1:09] Fertility acupuncture basics

[7:28] Hannah’s acupuncture path

[11:18] Finding specialists and Questions to Ask

[29:46] Acupuncture meets IVF

[34:34] Needle fear

[36:58] PGT-A testing

[42:43] When to start

[47:31] Can you boost your egg count?

[50:38] Microbiome testing

[54:46] Evidence and acupuncture

Resources mentioned: 

donttellmetorelax.coc.uk

@donttellmetorelax on IG

Dr. Shahine’s Weekly Newsletter on Fertility News and Recommendations

Follow @drlorashahine Instagram | YouTube | Tiktok | Her Books

Join the Learn at Pinnacle app to earn FREE CE Credit for listening to this episode!

This episode was produced by Audiotocracy Podcast Production.

Lora Shahine, MD

Dr. Lora Shahine, reproductive endocrinologist at Pacific NW Fertility and Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Washington in Seattle, completed her residency in OBGYN at the University of California in San Francisco and fellowship in reproductive endocrinology at Stanford University. She is dedicated to educating and advocating for increased awareness of infertility, miscarriage, and the impact on environmental toxins on health through an active social media presence, teaching, clinical research, and authoring multiple blogs and books including best selling, ‘Not Broken: An Approachable Guide to Miscarriage and Recurrent Pregnancy Loss.’

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