Acupuncture clinic helps fertility problems

A GALWAY woman who experienced great difficulty conceiving a second child has used her own personal experience to open a dedicated fertility medical acupuncture clinic in Oranmore.
Brenda Aylmer didn’t have any major difficulty getting pregnant for her first child, who is now six years of age, but found herself unexpectedly among 60% of couples who experience difficulties conceiving again, despite having one or two more children.
Brenda recalls she went through an extremely difficult period when she realised it wasn’t going to be plain sailing second time round.
“It was a shock to the system and it took a while to come to terms with. We had no problems with the first and when you have one child and you see the joy that it brings, you want a second one. This presented its own challenges when difficulties emerged having spent about two and a half years trying to get pregnant.
“Mentally, it was a very tough, frustrating and challenging time. You need something to keep you positive. It can be hard to stay positive. I started having acupuncture as a complementary medical treatment in 2008 and in 2009, we got lucky and were blessed with our second child who is now two years of age,” she explains.
Another common misconception among people is that alternative medicine such as acupuncture can’t be used with conventional medical procedures.
However, Brenda insists it is not an either-or situation and firmly believes the two forms can work hand in hand to help couples with fertility problems.
Having qualified as a general and paediatric nurse, the former senior Pfizer Ireland pharmaceutical manager, who was based in Dublin, decided to embark on a career change when she took redundancy due to the recession.
She is a licensed practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Ireland as well as a member of the Acupuncture Foundation Professional Association of Ireland.
She enrolled in the College of Acupuncture in Shannon where one of her lecturers and college directors was Dr John Burke, who is a GP based in Newmarket, County Cork, who also is involved in ongoing training about the benefits of acupuncture for GPs.
“This is a sign of the great progress in healthcare. Acupuncture has been used in Eastern societies for thousands of years and is now becoming a common and helpful addition to treatment in several traditional fields of medicine in the West. It is a case of East meeting West,” says Brenda.
Oranmore Genesis Fertility Acupuncture provides a range of acupuncture treatments aimed at boosting male and female fertility.
Brenda points out that males also can have fertility problems with up to 40% of difficulties associated with a male factor such as low sperm count.
She aims to use her medical qualifications and personal experience to give realistic hope to couples that a lot can be done to try and address their fertility problems.
“Almost one in six Irish couples experiences difficulty when trying to conceive, making infertility a widespread problem. Fertility issues affect people of any age. The reasons may be extremely complex, especially when the problem cannot be identified making the treatment even harder,” she explains.
“Recent studies have revealed that traditional Chinese medicine, and specifically acupuncture, can improve blood flow, enhance the immune system, and boost both male and female fertility 
Brenda recommends acupuncture to support infertility treatment programmes such as naprotechnology as well as assisted reproductive techniques (ART), where various medications are used to improve follicular development and help ovulation to occur.
“By improving blood flow to the reproductive organs and balancing key hormones such as progesterone and oestrogen, acupuncture can help the treatment to be successful and lead to a pregnancy,” Brenda adds.
Acupuncture has also been shown to be a valuable complement to IVF, helping to substantially improve the chances of success.