David D. Cherry, O.M.D., L.Ac.

Fertility Care

Hi! This is Dr. David Cherry, and I want to let you know that you are not alone in your fertility journey. Infertility can be the most devastating and stressful diagnosis a person or couple can receive. Most of us assume, from the time that we are children, that we will eventually have our own children, and grow our family over time. When told that the likelihood of that is diminished in some way, it is stressful and disheartening. I am here to help you on your fertility journey, as I have done with hundreds of families before you. I use acupuncture and traditional Asian herbal medicine to improve fertility, calm nerves, alleviate depression and anxiety, and generally make you healthier and more ready to conceive. I’m here to help. 

Acupuncture and traditional Asia Medicine have been in use for the treatment of infertility since approximately 300 BC. The treatment of infertility in ancient China was the purview of the highest nobility and of the physicians whom they employed. It was incumbent on the wealthy and powerful citizens of the “Middle Kingdom” to produce an heir for the inheritance of wealth and power, and to maintain family lineages that would survive for generations. Much like present times, efforts toward reproduction could consume considerable resources of time, money, and energy.

We are not so different from the people of those times. The need to procreate is deep in our DNA. Even now, in the presence of amazing technical advances in medicine in general, and in reproductive sciences in particular, acupuncture and traditional Asian medicine thrive because of their efficacy and relatively low cost. Acupuncture may be used in combination with Assisted Reproductive Care, as in IVF, or as a stand-alone modality for enhancing the reproductive potential for a person or couple suffering from marginal fertility or “subfertility”. 

Acupuncture and traditional Asian medicine are among the oldest, and most effective, medical systems in the world today. Acupuncture is frequently used in the treatment of almost any functional disorder in the body, ranging from headaches to foot swelling. In the instance of fertility care, acupuncture balances the function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis, thereby regulating all sex hormones, improving sexual and reproductive function. Acupuncture and Asian herbal medicine also may be used to improve pelvic blood flow, easing and regulating the menstrual cycle, eliminating menstrual cramps and PMS discomfort. This same improvement in pelvic circulation may be useful in the treatment of endometriosis, poor egg quality, premature ovarian failure, and polycystic ovarian syndrome. Many times, the practitioner may utilize a few, or perhaps many, traditional Asian herbs to enhance the effect of acupuncture in some cases. Sometimes, I like to say that the acupuncture is the mechanical work while the herbs and nutritional supplements are the parts. Difficult to effect a repair without both. 

Generally, for several reasons, infertility treatment focuses on the female. However these same principles hold true in male infertility or subfertility as well. I contend that no sperm can be too good, to strong, too well shaped, or too active. Therefore I am happy to treat both males and females with fertility issues. Over the last thirty five years, I have concentrated my efforts on studying, learning about, and utilizing the principles of traditional Asian acupuncture and herbal medicines in the treatment of infertility and subfertility. I have had great success in this, due to my own perseverance and the cooperation of my teachers, and of those great fertility doctors that I have had the privilege of working with in our area. 

In 2007, I began utilizing the Day of Embryo Transfer protocol developed by the research team of Wolfgang Paulus, et. al., as published in the journal Fertility and Sterility that year. In the Paulus research, they found that acupuncture improved IVF success rates by at least 16.8 percent. Since that time, the Paulus protocol has become probably the most and best studied acupuncture protocol ever. Results generally remained consistent at about a 16-20 percent improvement in IVF success rates for several years, but in May of 2023, a new protocol was published in the Journal of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, Fertility and Sterility. This new protocol, based on a modified version of the old Paulus Protocol but significantly altered, showed a remarkable 55% improvement in live birth rate over non-acupuncture frozen embryo transfers. Obviously, I have switched my day of transfer protocol over to this new, even more successful protocol.

I you would like to take advantage of acupuncture for infertility, please call me at 916-789-1007, or contact me via email at 916-789-1007, or visit me on the web, at www.rosevillefertilityacupuncture.com