Egg Quality

Did you know that women are born with all the eggs we will ever have? Once we hit puberty, we usually ovulate one egg per month, but in that process, doctors think we lose about 1000 eggs each cycle. As we age, our egg quantity and quality diminishes, eventually leading to menopause.

We cant change the quantity of eggs we have left, but there's a lot we can do to improve egg quality. The life cycle of an egg, from initial recruitment to the moment of ovulation is about 85 days. Hormones are the main drivers of egg quality, but during this time, the egg can be impacted by things like stress, sleep, diet and hydration, which is why it is so important to focus on overall health and wellness before trying to conceive.

We like to call the 3 months before trying to get pregnant the "pre"mester. During this time, we focus on getting your body as balanced as possible to set the stage for a healthy pregnancy.

Several studies have shown that acupuncture can improve egg quality and lead to an increase in healthy pregnancies. In one study, scientists took several women undergoing IVF egg retrievals and tested markers of egg quality like insulin-like growth factor and beta-endorphins in the follicular fluid, and found that these levels increased in women undergoing acupuncture vs. the control group who didn't receive acupuncture. How cool is that?

Want to learn more? Check out our Hello Hormones courses!