According to the principles of Chinese medicine, women do not need to suffer through painful, heavy, irregular or erratic periods each month. Nor do they need to be plagued by monthly headaches, nausea, and so on. Rather, each of these symptoms is indicative of an imbalance in a woman’s body that can be brought back into balance by acupuncture and/or herbs, thereby eliminating the symptoms. Menopause is viewed as a natural transition of a women’s jing or essence, it is NOT A DISEASE. Fertility issues are seen as an extension of treating menstrual imbalances.

Terrie particularly enjoys working with women to balance their bodies in order to regulate menstrual irregularities, to relieve the symptoms of menopause or to conceive a child. She used Chinese medicine years ago to successfully address her own menstrual issues and, of course, is firmly convinced of Chinese medicine’s ability to treat a woman’s reproductive health.


Acupuncture Treatment & Fertility

It is well known in the fertility community that acupuncture can enhance a woman’s ability to conceive whether on her own or with assisted reproductive technology. Terrie, a member of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, works regularly with women who are seeking to conceive a child. Many of her patients attend one of the fertility clinics in the area, Cooper, Delaware Valley, and South Jersey, or a clinic in Philadelphia. Some women opt to pursue fertility solely with Chinese medicine. In either case, women typically see Terrie on a weekly or bi-weekly basis for treatment. Terrie also regularly works with women who travel from around the country to Cooper Center for embryo transfer. Most of these women typically receive acupuncture on a regular basis at home and seek acupuncture during their stay here as well as before and after embryo transfer.

Terrie recommends to all of her fertility patients Randine Lewis’s book,
The Infertility Cure: the Ancient Chinese Wellness Program for Getting Pregnant and Having Healthy Babies. This book does a wonderful job of explaining Chinese medicine and how it works, especially with respect to menstrual and fertility issues. Terrie has studied with Randine.

Terrie also works with couples when male factor is their issue. A significant body of research in China over the last several years has shown that acupuncture can improve sperm count and motility.


Acupuncture Fertility Research:

 Acupuncture on the day of embryo transfer significantly improves the reproductive outcome in infertile women: a prospective, randomized trial. Fertility and Sterility. Vol. 85, No. 5, May 2006. pp.1341-1346.

Influence of acupuncture on the pregnancy rate in patients who undergo assisted reproduction therapy. Fertility and Sterility. Vol. 77, No. 4, April 2002. (The German Study).

Reduction of blood flow impedance in the uterine arteries of infertile women with electro-acupuncture. Human Reproduction. Vol. 11, No. 6, 1996. pp. 1314-1317, 1996.