Posts Categorized: Pregnancy

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Guest Post: Fueling Fertility: How Athletes Can Prepare Their Bodies For Conception Through Nutrition

October 16, 2025

This is part one of a series of posts on how athletes can prepare their bodies for conception. Special thanks to Registered Dietician Rebecca Jaspan for sharing her knowledge and expertise! To learn about the East Asian Medicine Perspective, you can check out my article here.

A Guest Post by Rebecca Jaspan, MPH, RD, CEDS, CDCES

For athletes, peak performance is a way of life. But when it’s time to shift focus from podiums to parenthood, the same dedication to training can be a powerful asset—especially when it comes to fertility. Preparing your body for conception isn’t just about tracking cycles; it starts long before that with what’s on your plate.

Whether you’re a competitive runner, a HYROX enthusiast, or a recreational athlete, your nutritional needs are unique—and so are the steps you should take to support reproductive health. In this post, we’ll explore steps athletes, both female and male, can take to optimize their fertility, ensuring that their bodies are not just strong and fit, but also ready to support a healthy pregnancy.

Why Athletes May Struggle with Infertility

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Acupuncture For Nausea During Pregnancy- Plus 3 More Tips

April 02, 2019

Nausea and vomiting during pregnancy is often called “morning sickness”. In reality, most women probably wish it only happened in the morning-  around 98% of women who have nausea feel it at various points throughout the day! Researchers estimate that between 50-90% of women experience nausea during pregnancy.

For most women, nausea resolves around 13-16 weeks, but for others it will continue throughout the pregnancy. In addition, for some whose nausea did stop after the first trimester, it returns about a month before the due date. Frustrating, but totally normal.

Aside from the awful sensation that nausea brings, you can end up feeling confused about what’s triggering it and what you can do about it. This article will give you some concrete ways to feel more in control and simply bask in your newfound pregnancy glow. Read more

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Acupuncture and Moxibustion for Turning Breech Babies: An Update

March 04, 2018

My Approach As a Practitioner…

In my practice I’ve had really good success with turning breech babies using moxibustion in combination with acupuncture. It’s something that I see very regularly and I’m always happy that women and their health care providers are becoming more aware that moxa can help, and recognize the importance of using any intervention possible to try and turn the breech baby and increase chances of a vaginal birth. When a woman comes to me with this issue, on the first visit I perform an acupuncture session to try and facilitate movement and space in the hips and pelvis as well as address any other issues such as anxiety, insomnia, back pain or digestive issues in pregnancy. After the acupuncture comes moxibustion. I teach the patient in great detail how to perform this technique and send her home with written instructions and the moxa sticks. 4-5 days later, she returns for another acupuncture session to try and help the process.

This is something that’s great to try before your doctor attempts an ECV Read more

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Is Acupuncture Safe During The First Trimester? Here’s The Evidence…

January 21, 2018

Many women who are newly pregnant ask me whether acupuncture is safe during pregnancy- specifically during the first trimester. They really want to try or continue acupuncture for a variety of reasons, but are quite mindful of avoiding anything that could put the pregnancy at risk.  I can say it is safe without hesitation, not only from my nearly 10 years in practice but from all the years of experience of my teachers and mentors. However I completely understand that women, their doctors and midwives want more than just anecdotal evidence. So without further ado- here are the studies which I feel should put your mind at ease. Read more