In 2007, my partner was diagnosed with a lymphoma, which required powerful chemotherapy treatment. I was 41 years old and we had only decided in the preceding year or so that we wanted to try for children – rather late, I know. Apart from all of the other obvious implications of the diagnosis, it was also no longer going to be possible to conceive naturally because my partner would become infertile as a result of the treatment.
I went blindly into my first IVF/ICSI cycle, not really appreciating what was involved, placing myself into the hands of the fertility unit of the hospital where my partner was being treated. I was too busy worrying about my partner and my father (also being treated for cancer at the time) to investigate what I could be doing to improve my statistically slim chances of conceiving by IVF.
Following the failure of that cycle, I decided to be more proactive. I consulted an IVF specialist from one of the top London teaching hospitals with a renowned fertility clinic. He seemed to be a traditionalist in his approach to fertility treatment, so I was very surprised when he recommended that I try acupuncture. He said that there was scientific evidence to show that acupuncture improved the chances of conceiving and having a successful pregnancy.
I was given the details of Olivia’s practice and contacted her.
I found Olivia to be professional yet friendly, calm, thorough, knowledgeable and reassuring. Even though I had never previously contemplated using Chinese medicine, I felt totally at ease, safe and not at all apprehensive about the treatment.
Olivia asked questions about my lifestyle, diet and how my body generally functioned. She also wanted to be kept informed about the progress of the IVF cycle “hormone levels etc.“ so that she could adapt the treatment accordingly at each session. Olivia explained what each treatment session was trying to achieve, e.g. to improve blood supply to the uterus, etc.
I found the acupuncture itself to be very relaxing and very effective for shutting out external stresses. I felt relaxed and positive after each treatment. I genuinely feel that it helped me a lot at a very stressful time of my life.
More importantly, I have become pregnant twice since discovering acupuncture, at age 42! The first time, I had excellent eggs and embryos, but, unfortunately, the pregnancy was ectopic, which sometimes happens. Only three months later, however, I became pregnant again. I am now past my first trimester and hoping to have a healthy baby in the summer when I will be 43 years old!
I would have no hesitation in recommending Olivia and would now be willing to try acupuncture for other purposes as well.