Health Tips for Women

Last Updated on April 4, 2024

One of our key specialties is the set of services we provide women to help them to achieve and maintain healthy bodies. By alleviating imbalances and resolving PMS, menstrual related migraine headaches, excessive menstrual cramping and stress and fatigue we help women feel great and live healthy lives.

The experts at Inner Gate Acupuncture are trained and experienced in using Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture to successfully support fertility and healthy pregnancies and to manage menopause issues and many menstrual problems.

With Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture you can:    

• Enhance fertility

• Increase energy

• Promote healthy, pain free cycles

• Relieve PMS

• Relieve migraines

Menstrual Cycle Health

Women face many challenges in establishing and maintaining healthy menstrual cycles. We treat women with issues such as pre-menstrual pain, painful cramping, excessive bleeding and irregular cycles.  At Inner Gate Acupuncture we also deal with more complicated problems such as polycystic ovaries and endometriosis.

There are many Chinese herbs which can aid in correcting painful or irregular periods. Herbs that alleviate the pain of PMS also support regular cycles and control excess bleeding.

Fertility/ Infertility

Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture have been used for centuries to help women successfully achieve pregnancy. In order to build a healthy endometrial lining and naturally balance hormone levels the acupuncturist you work with will examine both your menstrual cycle and take a complete health history. The acupuncturists at Inner Gate Acupuncture are comfortable supporting women during IVF and IUI protocols to help increase success rates.

When evaluating fertility, the menstrual cycle is always taken into account. As acupuncturists, we look at the length of the follicular and luteal stages of the cycle. We then work to balance these two phases to promote strong and regular ovulation. We help promote implantation by using herbs and acupuncture points, which foster healthy uterine linings.

Pregnancy Support

The symptoms women experience throughout pregnancy vary with each trimester. During the first trimester women come to Inner Gate Acupuncture for support with the nausea and vomiting associated with morning sickness.

Some foods that can help with morning sickness:    

• BRAT diet: bananas, rice, applesauce and toast

• Ginger tea, mint tea

Women also come for the low energy and fatigue experienced during the first trimester. During the second trimester complaints are fewer and woman often feel better. They tend to return to our clinic during the third trimester where they find relief from low back pain, neuropathies down the arms and swollen ankles. Moxibustion is used between week 34-36 to turning breech babies.

At our SE Portland acupuncture clinic we buy herbs from trusted and tested sources. You can be sure that the herbs you get from our acupuncturists are free of heavy metals and are safe to take during pregnancy. There are specific formulas in Chinese medicine that effectively address morning sickness, habitual miscarriage and low energy.

Labor and Delivery Support and Preparation

Cervical ripening techniques are performed from week 36-40 to prepare the mother and regulate contractions so that inductions can be avoided.  These gentle techniques naturally encourage the ripening of the cervix.  

All of the acupuncturists at Inner Gate Acupuncture have attended births and aided in healthy deliveries using acupuncture.  If labor induction is necessary, acupuncture is a much less harsh than the synthetic hormone pitocin. Acupuncture is the best natural way to induce labor.

Menopause

When hormones begin to decline the menstrual cycles can become erratic, and women can experience hot flashes and night sweats. Many women are now thinking twice about taking replacement hormones due to the associated health risks. Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture can help balance hormones and reduce the impact of hot flashes and night sweats, sometimes eliminating them completely.