Fertility acupuncture support can help to encourage optimal ivf outcomes. If you've made the huge decision to undergo IVF then our practitioners can help to use evidence based techniques to improve your chances of success.
For thousands of years, Chinese couples have used acupuncture for fertility. We’ve helped hundreds of couples in Brisbane get pregnant with the help of acupuncture outside of, as well as during, IVF cycles. Our experience at Shift Brisbane is that acupuncture prior to IVF can significantly increase your chance of falling pregnant, and the science backs this up.
Book your IVF Acupuncture with one of our team here.
Fertility acupuncture techniques we use for our treatments
Our acupuncturists use specific fertility acupuncture techniques and have helped hundreds of Brisbane couples undergoing IVF to IUI to improve their chances of becoming pregnant. By stimulating specific points that are associated with reproductive organs, it is possible to promote the flow of qi, which means more balanced energies within the body. In other words, a more harmonious environment for conception. For more information head here.
We support women who are undergoing IVF and other fertility treatments with their overall health and with techniques that can lead to more positive outcomes for their cycles.
What can IVF & fertility acupuncture treat & help with
The way that we approach fertility care with acupuncture is to help to support your body’s natural fertility. Acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine are a powerful combination. Helping you to conceive naturally is our main goal. But whether you’re undergoing IVF or trying to conceive naturally, our Shift acupuncturists are highly skilled to help enhance your results. We will be right there with you in:
Improving fertility in women
Stimulating reproductive organs
Aiding wellbeing
Supporting mental health
Reducing stress
Boosting sperm motility in men
Our fertility acupuncture treatment process
Our fertility and pregnancy acupuncturist Georgie Smith was previously a midwife and is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to your fertility journey. Georgie will first take your medical history and discuss where you are with your infertility treatment right now. She will then develop a treatment plan that works on the underlying issues that can contribute to infertility and insert fine needles into specific points that can help enhance fertility and support optimal IVF outcomes.
Georgie will talk about your menstrual cycle and the treatment is planned around where you are in your IVF cycle to give the most impact.
Georgie's treatments are gentle and relaxing. When you fall pregnant treatment will shift to support this.
Why choose Shift for IVF & fertility acupuncture in Brisbane?
Georgie has the clinical experience and background in mainstream reproductive health to support you through your fertility journey. We have convenient clinic hours and a central Brisbane location. Health fund rebates and HICAPS are available.
We are conveniently located in Milton - just one suburb from the city and a short drive from most of the IVF clinics in Brisbane. Seeing a specialist practitioner for fertility acupuncture is important, as not all practitioners have advanced training in this area, instead relying only on traditional Chinese medicine for fertility.
Book your IVF Acupuncture with one of our team here.
What to expect from your first fertility Acupuncture session at our Brisbane clinic
An initial fertility acupuncture Brisbane session is $149 and one hour in length. Consequent appointments are $125 each.
We recommend arriving at least 5 minutes before your appointment so that you can arrive, grab a cup of tea and settle in before your first session.
Your session will be with Georgie, who has been a fertility specialist acupuncturist for over 15 years, and a midwife for 12 years.
Most of our clients will see Georgie weekly in the active stages of treatment. For IVF cycles and frozen embryo transfers there is very specific timing that needs to happen to get the most benefit. At Shift we will do our best to have someone available when you need them (even if it is out of hours).
Georgie will lie you down on our comfortable treatment table and insert tiny needles in specific points in the body. You’ll then have some time to relax and let the treatment do it’s magic. Georgie may also recommend herbal medicines or use moxibustion or other techniques in your treatment.
Most of our clients leave the treatment room feeling like they are on cloud 9! We recommend taking a moment to sit and centre yourself in our relaxing clinic space before going off to the next part of your day.
What our clients say...
Megan Usher2024-03-27I can’t speak highly enough of Katherine and her team. Since my husband and I have been seeing Katherine, our physical and mental health has rapidly improved. Which has impacted our relationships and the general mood of our household. I have personally seen many doctors for my symptoms, but it wasn’t until I started to see Katherine that I truly began to understand my body and start the healing process. I have experienced a dramatic improvement after taking the herbal medicines. My husband had been told by every doctor and specialist that he was totally healthy, and yet he was severely struggling with his symptoms. Katherine was able to identify the reasons for his symptoms very quickly, and he too has experienced a big improvement. I know we still have a way to go, and changing habits can take time. But we are so grateful to have found the Shift Clinic and to finally feel like we are getting somewhere with our health. Katherine’s podcast ‘The Shift with Katherine Maslen’ is also an eye opener and very informative! I have learned so much about the women’s body through listening.Di Bailey2024-01-29My daughter referred me to Vanessa Coben as I was experiencing gut issues and was unable to detect or remedy my problems. Vanessa advised me to take on challenges in gut testing and bloods to determine the direction I needed. Vanessa's regular appointments, diagnosis and herbal formulas have exhalted my confidence in a healthy gut. Vanessa is professional, caring, understanding and a very gentle soul. I recommend her to anyone experiencing same problems as I had. I also recommend Shift at Brisbane Natural Health as their staff and administration are warm and friendly inviting a welcoming atmosphere to clients. All the best to everyone at Shift.Michon van Staden2024-01-12Katherine and the team at The Shift Clinic were super supportive, friendly and welcoming. After 6 months of treatment with Katherine, my energy is back and my immunity is stronger!Vicki Machan2023-10-22I stumbled across Katherine Maslen and her aptly named Shift Clinic through a podcast by Shelly Craft of The Aging Project. Katherine spoke with passion about gut health, which was an area I have struggled with for over a decade. I looked her up and booked an appointment for an assessment and couldn’t get there fast enough ! I was excited and confident that this time I was going to see a change. I wasn’t wrong. The most amazing thing about the Shift Clinic is their team, who are embracing and supportive and work as a collaborative unit. I was ‘project managed’ through months of healing, both physically and holistically. I was introduced to a form of ‘therapy’ I’d never even considered when I met Jess, the clinics Intuitive Healer, who helped me unpack and resolve some personal issues that were roadblocking my emotional progression forward. This complemented my gut healing progress that was being managed so well by both Katherine and Vanessa. I would never have found Jess if not for Katherine, or entertained the idea of something so ‘left field’ for me. The whole experience of being with Shift has been healing, nurturing and uplifting. I’ve progressed on a physical and spiritual level, they’ve educated me on myself, and the team are now an integral part of my life I won’t be leaving behind. I enjoy immersing myself in the tranquility of the clinic, the genuine warmth of the girls at reception when I arrive, the soft music, the herbal tea brewing. It’s like a big, warm hug. I can’t thank them enough or recommend them to enough people. They have changed my life !Nicole Ann2023-07-28There probably isn't enough space to write the long review that Katherine and the whole team at The Shift Clinic truly deserve but I'll start with this. You saved my life. Words will never be enough to express how grateful myself and my family are for the journey that I continue to be on with my healing and growth. The Shift membership is one of the best health models on offer in the world and when things were incredibly dark at my lowest, I was able to receive the help needed from all of my practitioners at the clinic who all knew my history at every appointment without having to continually tell my story from the beginning. It is so beneficial as a patient that all of you work together to heal people. Not only have you all helped lead me towards the light of health, you've been giving me the tools needed to understand how to grow and heal myself. The added bonus I wasn't expecting is how I'm now healing my own home too. The work you all do is changing lives. Thank you for changing mine. I am eternally grateful. XxSteven Creevey2023-04-18I started seeing Shift during the Covid pandemic and I was struggling with my overall health. I found the team to be very supportive and focused on the job of assessment, ongoing regular support and providing me with the best supplements and advice for my various health challenges. Thank you Shift and Vanessa for all of your help and guidance.Brendan Vasen2022-12-09Katherine is wonderful and helped me get on the right track with my diet and healthy eating definitely RecommendIzzy Tanzer2022-12-05I couldn’t recommend The Shift clinic and especially Dr Vanessa. After being diagnosed with an auto-immune disease my body felt like it was crashing and I needed help. I would not be where I am today without the help from Dr Vanessa and the knowledge she has passed onto me. She made the process easier and was always there for support when I needed it. The clinic is such a beautiful space and you feel calm as soon as you walk in. The receptionists were always so lovely and helpful and explained the membership process easily. Thank you so much Shift Team xCath 712022-07-04It would be fair to say that the last two years, in particular, have been a challenge for me personally. After battling with any number of illnesses over a long period of time, my partner of six years entered a period of rapidly declining health and was deemed a multimorbidity patient. As a result, our planned wedding happened much quicker than expected & I gave up my job to become his full-time carer before he passed away. During his decline my sole focus was him, in some ways to the detriment of my own health and whilst I acknowledge that grief played a major part in some of my weight gain, I also know that I’d developed bad habits over many years; snacking, emotional eating, convenience eating, living a mostly sedentary lifestyle to name just a few. If the loss of my husband taught me anything it is that life is too short and that our health matters! I needed to find something to help me rediscover joy in my life and to help me feel like my old self again. Following a personal recommendation and some google research of my own I came across The Shift Clinic. Having always been an advocate of natural therapies I thought this could be just what I needed to help me find my way back to lightness – physically and emotionally. I joined the 8-week weight loss challenge and I’ve not looked back. My appointments with Hypnotherapist, Rebecca and Naturopath & Nutritionist, Carolyn have provided me with the tools to; identify self-sabotaging behaviours, acknowledge all parts of me, start small, set realistic and achievable goals, feel supported, get back up when I fall, move – even if it’s only for 10 mins at a time, celebrate small wins, stick to the plan and remember that anything is possible. 8-weeks down the track I’m just under 10kg lighter physically. I’ve still got more weight to lose but for the first time in a long time, I know I’ll achieve it because the biggest ‘shift’ for me has been in how I think and how I feel, the routines & rituals I’ve put in place and the way I speak to myself. The Shift Clinic really can help you ‘shift’ you just have to be willing to let it.
The evidence behind fertility & IVF acupuncture
There have been several studies done on the link between fertility acupuncture and pregnancy. A study done in Germany in 2002 on a group of 160 women undergoing IVF and acupuncture treatment showed that 42% of the group had successful pregnancies – compared to 26% for just IVF. This was just the first of many such positive results; a later Danish study showed specifically that treatment on the day of the embryo transfer was best of conception. In early 2014, the NIH (US) published a comprehensive overview of acupuncture for fertility studies which concluded that there is significant data showing that pregnancy acupuncture can improve female reproductive functioning – future studies will hopefully determine exactly what mechanisms are involved.
Acupuncture has helped hundreds of our patients realise their dream of becoming pregnant.
How does it work?
There are specific times during your IVF cycle that acupuncture will be used, like pre and post-embryo transfer. Better still, having a period of treatment before your IVF cycle will allow the acupuncture time to affect the health of your ova (eggs) and improve quality, which further improves the likely hood of pregnancy. Our acupuncturists work alongside our fertility naturopaths to ensure that you are getting all of your nutritional requirements leading into your IVF cycle.
It takes two to tango!
Our fertility treatments are not just for women, either – acupuncture can also help improve male fertility by boosting both sperm count and motility. Motility means the ability of the sperm to move around; if they’re sluggish, they won’t be able to make it all the way to the egg. This means that older men, or those with diagnosed fertility issues, can use the treatment as a complementary treatment. Specific acupuncture points are used to unblock pathways and promote the kind of environment within the body that sperm need to develop properly. During your initial fertility acupuncture appointment, you will have plenty of opportunities to ask about the treatment strategy and how it’s designed to help promote your fertility.
Book your IVF Acupuncture with one of our team here.
Our expert team of fertility acupuncturists in Brisbane
Qualified Acupuncturist and Chinese Medicine Practitioner
Georgie Smith
Qualified Acupuncturist and Chinese Medicine Practitioner
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Support your IVF treatment at Shift Clinic Brisbane
At Shift our fertility acupuncturists are dedicated to helping you improve your changes of conception. Whether you're unsure about your fertility outcomes, have health concerns, are worried about not falling pregnant, want your hormone levels and hormonal health investigated or have painful periods - we are here for you.
Our acupuncturists use traditional Chinese medicine and offer both fertility and pregnancy acupuncture treatments in Brisbane. We can see both partners but can also treat individuals. Our team will give you the knowledge and experience to help improve your chances of conception, whether you’re using acupuncture as a primary or complementary treatment.
Our acupuncturists will be happy to answer any questions you have about your fertility, acupuncture techniques, and boosting your general wellbeing as you prepare to become parents.
Simply call the clinic on 07 3367 0337 to schedule your initial acupuncture appointment.
Ready to book? Book online here.
Fertility Acupuncture FAQs.
Your initial appointment will be $149 and follow-up appointments will be $125.
This depends on your individual needs, but most of our fertility patients will visit us every 1-2 weeks to help to balance and correct any issues.
At a very minimum, studies show getting acupuncture pre and post-embryo transfer or FET to be helpful. However, the effects of acupuncture are cumulative, which means you’ll gain the most benefit from coming even before you enter the cycle, if possible.
This depends on a number of things but yes, we have had a lot of success with patients not undergoing IUI and IVF with getting pregnant with the support of acupuncture.
Yes! As long as you have extras that cover acupuncture you can claim on the spot with HICAPs.
We have strong relationships with several fertility centres in Brisbane, and we can also work alongside your current specialist. If you need a referral to someone we can also offer some options.
You should never be in pain when you receive acupuncture at Brisbane Natural Health. We use a gentle Japanese style of acupuncture which uses very fine needles. Most patients leave feeling incredibly relaxed. Your comfort is our number one priority and the insertion of the needles should never be painful.
Absolutely! Our acupuncturists are trained in extensive reproductive and pregnancy techniques and your treatment will only support your pregnancy, not hinder it.
Book your IVF Acupuncture with one of our team here.
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