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Acupuncture support through every stage of IVF

IVF asks a lot of you. I plan calm, focused visits around your clinic's calendar, from the weeks before stimulation through retrieval, transfer, and the two-week wait.

Book IVF supportCall or text 484-547-4756

Jason Rinker, L.Ac., Dipl. O.M. · Practicing since 1999 · Columbia, PA

Jason Rinker treating a patient lying face-up by the big garden window

For you if you're preparing for IVF or already in a cycle

Some people come to me months before their first cycle. Others call the week stimulation starts. Both are fine.

What most of them share is a full calendar, a lot of uncertainty, and a wish to feel steadier while it happens.

  • Preparing for a first IVF cycle
  • Going through stimulation now
  • Approaching retrieval or transfer
  • In the two-week wait
  • Starting again after a cycle that didn't work
  • Partners who want care of their own
Jason Rinker listening to a patient seated on the treatment table

If this sounds like you, let's talk about where you are.

Book online, or call or text me with a question first.

Book IVF supportCall or text 484-547-4756

How I support an IVF cycle

Your fertility team runs your IVF. I work alongside them, timing visits to your protocol and focusing on what acupuncture can reasonably help with: stress, sleep, and how you feel in your body through a demanding few weeks.

Your history
Your reproductive and menstrual-cycle history, how long you've been trying, and anything that has happened along the way.
Testing and labs
Previous fertility testing, a semen analysis where one is available, and any relevant lab results you'd like me to see.
Medications
What you're taking and what your clinic has planned. I follow their instructions, and I never change your medications.
Daily life
Sleep, stress, work, exercise, and food. These are the things you can actually shape, so we talk about them honestly.
Herbs and lab review, when appropriate
For some people I may suggest Chinese herbal medicine or a closer look at functional lab work. I only offer these when they're clinically appropriate and coordinated with your medical team.

Your first appointment

Bring your clinic's calendar if you have one. We'll look at it together and decide where visits will help most.

A patient resting face-down on the treatment table, facing the window onto the garden

  1. We talk first

    Your first visit is 80 minutes. We start by sitting down and going through your history, where you are on your fertility journey, and anything your doctor or clinic has asked of you.

  2. Then you rest

    You lie down in a warm, quiet room while the needles do their work. Each one is as thin as a strand of hair. If anything feels sharp, tell me and I'll adjust it.

  3. You leave with a plan

    Before you leave, I'll suggest how often to come in, based on where you are and what's coming up.

Visits planned around your protocol

I time visits to your clinic's schedule and adjust when dates move, which they often do.

Before your cycle
In the weeks before a cycle, we work on stress, sleep, and a steady routine.
Stimulation
Visits fit around your medications and monitoring. Your fertility team runs stimulation and makes every medication decision.
Retrieval
Sessions focus on rest and are timed to your retrieval date and your clinic's instructions.
Transfer
Whether your transfer is fresh or frozen, sessions stay gentle and quiet. I don't use electrical stimulation as a routine part of transfer care.
The two-week wait
This is often the hardest part. Visits are about rest and getting through the days, not about changing the outcome.

What the research shows about acupuncture and IVF

Here is what published studies have found about acupuncture during fertility care, in plain language. The sources are listed below if you'd like to read them.

Calmer through treatment

  • A 2022 review of clinical trials found that acupuncture lowered anxiety for women going through IVF.
  • In a large IVF trial, women who had acupuncture reported less anxiety right after embryo transfer than women who had a sham treatment.

During stimulation

  • A 2024 review of 38 trials with 5,991 women linked acupuncture during stimulation with higher pregnancy rates in fresh IVF cycles.

PCOS

  • In a randomized trial, women with PCOS who had acupuncture with gentle electrical stimulation ovulated more often than women in the comparison group.
  • A review of four trials in women with PCOS going through IVF found higher pregnancy rates and a lower risk of ovarian hyperstimulation with acupuncture.

Studies vary in size and quality, and everyone responds differently. I'll always tell you honestly what I think acupuncture can do for you.

Sources

Jason Rinker and a patient talking and smiling in his brick-walled treatment room

Care from Jason Rinker

I'm Jason Rinker. I'm a licensed acupuncturist and a Diplomate of Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM), and I've practiced since 1999. Over those years, I've cared for many people going through IVF, FET, IUI, and other fertility treatments.

Every visit is with me from start to finish. I listen, I pay attention to how you're holding up, and I adjust as things change.

Every day, your body is repairing, healing, and renewing itself. It can even grow a whole new person. That's life's way, and it still amazes me. You don't have to do this alone.

  • L.Ac., Licensed Acupuncturist
  • Dipl. O.M., Diplomate of Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM)
  • Practicing since 1999
  • Private practice in Columbia, PA

Questions people ask me

Have a cycle coming up?

Book your first visit online, or call or text me with your dates and I'll tell you how I'd plan around them.

Book IVF supportCall or text 484-547-4756
Riverside Acupuncture453 Cherry Street, Columbia, PA 17512484-547-4756info@riverside-acu.com