A 37 year old client of mine had severe endometriosis and an AMH 1.8 (meaning a low egg reserve). She was going to do one round (she was not going to attempt this twice) of IVF at Genea, miraculously they got one precious fertilised embryo. I treated her pre and post transfer. The embryo implanted successfully!
From week 4, she suffered from severe nausea and vomiting, anxiety, cramps. Initially she thought the symptoms were related to her endometriosis returning. Fortunately the blood tests showed a positive pregnancy. Vomiting and nausea is often do to "Rebellious Qi", so i used points to redirect the energy down to reduce the nausea and stop the vomiting. I used a special Kidney point, known as the "beautiful baby point' to reduce her painful uterine cramping.
At 9/40 weeks she had some spotting and was very upset. I did some moxibustion (a special Chinese medicine technique using the herb Mugwort) over a special Spleen point; when the Spleen is weak it can't contain the blood) and also a threatened miscarriage acupuncture treatment to secure the pregnancy. She reported that the next day the bleeding had stopped.
Fortunately, the 12 week nuchal scan went very well. At week 13 she suffered from more cramping and bleeding, her obstetrician, Dr Krishnan, said she had a haemorrhage/ tear in capsule, due to the stretching of the scar tissue related to the endometriosis.
At 24/40 she was told she had placenta praevia and at 30/40 diagnosed with gestational diabetes. I focused her weekly treatments on nourishing the Spleen (which relates to 'sinking' placenta and helps with regulating her blood sugar levels).
At 32/40 she was vomiting blood, had heart burn, and a red skin rash. She also reported having extreme fatigue. I focused on settling rebellious stomach Qi, and boosting her Kidney and Spleen energy.
From 36/40 she had to stay at RPA hospital due to more bleeding and high insulin levels. I treated her at the hospital and did points to regulate her insulin, reduce anxiety and help secure the pregnancy.
At 37/40 she had an emergency C-section and Dr Krishnan found velamentous insertion of cords as well as vasa praevia (meaning a high risk of still birth). Luckily precious little 'Ike' came out alive and kicking.
Chinese medicine helped speed up her C-section recovery time, helped to regulate her hormones, boost her energy, well being, blood and milk supply.