Skip to main content

Areas of Expertise

Fertility Acupuncture

Acupuncture and East Asian medicine for fertility, through conception, IVF and IUI preparation, pregnancy, and the months after.

A practitioner's hands placing fine acupuncture needles along a pregnant patient's abdomen during a prenatal treatment session.
What fertility means here

Fertility means more than conception.

The work I do for fertility runs the full arc: trying to conceive, IVF preparation and support, IUI cycles, pregnancy, and the early months of motherhood. The work doesn't stop at a positive test.

How I frame it in my own writing:

Fertility isn't just about reproduction. It's about reproduction of energy. It's your body's ability to create, recover, and respond to life.

That broader lens is what I bring to every session. The cycle, the conception, the pregnancy, the postpartum: these are all expressions of the same underlying system. The work meets you wherever you are in it.

What people often feel

If any of this is familiar.

Many of the women who come to me for fertility work arrive somewhere on this list:

  • Tracking cycles, hoping, waiting, and sometimes feeling heartbreakingly alone.
  • Preparing for IVF or IUI and wanting to do the body work alongside the medical protocol.
  • Pregnant and dealing with symptoms that more rest alone isn't fixing.
  • Postpartum and not feeling like yourself yet, with reserves that ran dry somewhere along the way.
  • Cycle changes that aren't quite explained, energy that doesn't bounce back, sleep that broke.
  • Wired but tired, doing all the right things, and still not getting traction.
What this work covers

Specific areas I support.

  • Natural fertility
  • IVF preparation and support
  • IUI support
  • Egg quality optimization
  • Cycle regulation
  • Preconception health
  • Pregnancy support
  • Postpartum recovery
How I think about this work

Fertility as a system, not an event.

Fertility, in my practice, is treated as a system. The body's ability to conceive, carry, and rebuild relies on the same systems that govern energy, hormones, nervous system regulation, and rest. Treating one without the others rarely sticks.

Most of the women who come in worried about fertility are already exhausted. They've been tracking cycles, scheduling appointments, optimizing food, and trying everything they read about. The session work often starts by relieving some of that pressure. Restoration, not reaction.

I'm a scrunchy mom. I believe in good prenatal care, evidence-based support, nourishing food, strength training, and moving Qi.

Both, every time.

My work isn't a replacement for reproductive endocrinology, midwifery, OB care, or pelvic floor physical therapy. It runs alongside. The fertility work happens at the body level, with the nervous system and the cycle, while your medical team handles the protocols and procedures. Science and ancient wisdom sitting at the same table.

I came to this work in part through my own fertility journey, including secondary infertility. That experience shapes how I hold patients carrying something quietly. I'll mention it when it helps. I won't lead with it.

Nina Jung outdoors holding her young child, warm and at ease.
What to expect

What sessions usually focus on.

Fertility work is paced for the longer arc. Cycles shift over months, not weeks. Conception is its own timeline that nobody fully controls. The work compounds. Each session usually depends on where you are in the arc.

Trying to conceive

Cycle regulation, ovulation support, stress and nervous system work, sleep. Acupuncture and East Asian medicine run alongside whatever fertility tracking, supplements, or specialist care you're already doing.

IVF or IUI cycles

Sessions cluster around stim, retrieval, and transfer. Acupuncture doesn't replace the protocol your fertility specialist is running. It supports the body around it, so you go into each medical step a little more resourced.

Through pregnancy

The rhythm I generally recommend:

  • First trimester: weekly. Support the hormonal shifts. Help stabilize sleep and nausea before depletion sets in.
  • Second trimester: every other week. Maintain the gains. Support the nervous system and physical stress load as baby grows.
  • Third trimester: weekly again. Support swelling, aches, sleep, baby's positioning, and labor preparation.

The fourth trimester

Postpartum recovery, milk supply, sleep, and the emotional intensity that comes with becoming a mother. Most patients work weekly or every other week through the first three to six months.

You can start at any point. Ideally before conception. Realistically, whenever you find me.

When to see someone else

Where my work fits, and where it doesn't.

If you're working with a fertility specialist or reproductive endocrinologist, keep them. The acupuncture work runs alongside their care, not instead of it.

If you're in active medical management of a known condition (PCOS, endometriosis, hormonal disorders), the medical team leads. Acupuncture is supportive.

For specific OB or gynecological concerns during pregnancy, especially anything that's bleeding or sudden or worrying, call your OB or midwife first.

For postpartum mental health that feels like more than typical fourth-trimester struggle — postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety that isn't improving, intrusive thoughts — see a mental health professional. Acupuncture can be part of the care, but it shouldn't be your only support.

FAQs

Questions I get asked most.

Can acupuncture really help with fertility?

Acupuncture has reasonable clinical evidence for supporting fertility outcomes, particularly when paired with IVF or IUI protocols, and when used over months rather than weeks. The mechanism is partly through stress and nervous system regulation, partly through hormonal regulation, partly through circulation. It is not a magic bullet, and it works best alongside whatever medical care you are already doing.

When should I start acupuncture for fertility?

Ideally three to six months before you plan to conceive. The work compounds over cycles. If you have already started trying or are mid-cycle, start now: the body responds to support whenever it is offered.

Do I need to stop other treatments to work with you?

No. Acupuncture runs alongside whatever your fertility specialist, OB, or other providers are doing. The both-and framing is the heart of how I practice.

Is acupuncture safe during pregnancy?

Yes, when delivered by a trained, licensed acupuncturist who knows the points to avoid in pregnancy. I have extensive prenatal training and work with pregnant patients in every trimester. In California, look for the L.Ac. credential and a practitioner with specific prenatal experience.

How often will I need to come in?

It depends on where you are. Trying to conceive: typically weekly or every other week, paced around your cycle. Pregnancy: weekly in the first trimester, every other week in the second, weekly again in the third. Postpartum: weekly through the first months, then less often as you stabilize.

What does the first visit look like?

A 70-minute first visit, including a comprehensive intake covering your cycle, history, what is most active right now, and what you have already tried. Treatment is tailored to where you are in the arc, whether that is pre-conception, mid-pregnancy, or postpartum.

Related articles

From my writing on fertility.

Ready to start?

Book Fertility, Pregnancy & Postpartum Acupuncture — my primary session for the arc from before conception through the fourth trimester.

Nina Jung, Licensed Acupuncturist

Reviewed by

Nina Jung, L.Ac., Dipl. Ac. (NCCAOM)

Licensed Acupuncturist · Women's Health, Fertility, Hormones, Strength Coaching

This page describes my clinical approach to fertility through East Asian medicine and acupuncture. It is supportive care, not a substitute for reproductive endocrinology, obstetric care, midwifery, or fertility medicine. Continue working with your medical team alongside this work.

Read more about Nina →

Fertility isn't something to chase. It's something to rebuild and remember.