PREGNANCY ACUPUNCTURE IN ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
Feel Good Throughout Pregnancy and Give Your Baby the Best Start
Whether you're managing first trimester nausea, navigating a high-risk pregnancy, or simply want to support your body and baby throughout each trimester, SoCal Family Acupuncture helps pregnant women feel their best and prepare for a healthy delivery without relying solely on medications or just hoping symptoms pass.
For 30+ years, we've supported women through healthy pregnancies, from first trimester symptom relief to third trimester labor preparation.
You did it. You're pregnant!
But between the nausea, exhaustion, back pain, and anxiety about every twinge and symptom, pregnancy doesn't always feel like the glowing experience you imagined.
Your OB appointments are every 4-6 weeks. In between? You're Googling symptoms at 2am, wondering if what you're feeling is normal or something you need to tell the doctor about, trying to figure out how to manage discomfort without medications you're worried about taking.
Your body is doing incredible work
Building a placenta, growing a baby, adapting to massive hormonal shifts. And you're supposed to just push through the nausea, the exhaustion, the discomfort, and hope everything's progressing normally.
Your OB checks the basics at appointments—heartbeat, measurements, routine labs. But they don't have capacity to help you manage daily symptoms or answer the hundred questions that come up between visits.
You want to feel good during pregnancy, not just survive it. You want to know your body is supporting your baby optimally. You want to address symptoms naturally without worrying about what medications might affect your baby.
What If You Felt Fully Supported Throughout Your Pregnancy?
Imagine having regular check-ins throughout your pregnancy—someone monitoring how you're feeling, addressing symptoms as they come up, letting you know if a certain symptom or sign is normal or requires immediate OB attention, helping you navigate each trimester's unique challenges.
Imagine being able to:
✓
Support healthy placental and fetal development through increased blood flow to the uterus
✓
Have someone monitoring your symptoms between OB appointments—helping you know what's normal and what needs immediate attention
✓
Manage morning sickness, nausea, and pregnancy discomforts naturally and safely
✓
Prepare your body for labor without unnecessary interventions
Does Acupuncture Help During Pregnancy?
Yes. Acupuncture during pregnancy is safe and effective for supporting healthy fetal development, managing symptoms, and preparing your body for labor. Research shows acupuncture can reduce nausea, improve sleep, relieve pain, and even help turn breech babies.
Pregnancy Acupuncture That Supports You and Your Baby at Every Stage
We work alongside your OB or midwife, providing the continuous care and natural symptom management that helps you feel good throughout pregnancy.
IVF/IUI Acupuncture That Works With Your Medical Protocol
Our IVF/IUI Acupuncture Support program coordinates with your REI's protocol and timeline to optimize your body at every stage - from preparation through early pregnancy.
We address what medications alone can't: blood flow to your reproductive organs, your body's stress response, inflammation that affects implantation, and the overall environment your embryo needs to thrive.
Starting IVF Soon? It's Not Too Late.
Many women contact us just days before their cycle starts, thinking they've missed their chance to benefit from acupuncture. You haven't. While we see the best results when patients do all three phases (preparation, active cycle, and early pregnancy support), you'll still get full benefits of active cycle support even if you skip the preparation phase. You just won't have had time to optimize egg quality beforehand, but we can still support your body's response to medications, uterine receptivity, and implantation.
Our 3-Part Support
We recommend starting at Part 1, the Preparation phase, for the best results. However, you will get results regardless where you are in your journey. We will adjust the treatments to help you get the best results wherever you are in your journey.
-
This includes improving egg quality, improving uterine environment, regulating baseline hormone levels, and reducing inflammation. The better prepared your body is, the better it responds to your protocol - and the fewer cycles you may need.
Part 1: Preparation
(Recommended 2-3 Months Before Your Cycle)
Part 2: Active Cycle Support
-
For IVF:
Stimulation Phase: Support follicle growth, egg quality, and medication response
Retrieval: Optimize egg maturation and strength
Transfer Preparation: Build uterine lining, improve receptivity, enhance uterine environment
Post-Transfer: Support implantation and early embryo development
For IUI:
Stimulation Phase (if using meds): Support follicle development and medication response
Pre-IUI: Optimize ovulation and uterine environment and receptivity
Post-IUI: Support implantation during the two-week wait
Part 3: Early Pregnancy Support
-
We continue treatments to support healthy fetal growth and development, prevent complications, and ensure healthy progesterone levels as the placenta takes over progesterone production
Ways We Support Your Unique Journey
Every IVF and IUI cycle is different. Here's how we customize support based on where you are:
⚘
COORDINATED TREATMENT TIMELINE
We work directly with your cycle calendar, timing acupuncture sessions around key phases for maximum benefit.
⚘
PROTOCOL-SPECIFIC SUPPORT
Whether you're doing fully medicated IVF, modified natural cycle, medicated IUI, or natural cycle IUI, we adjust treatments based on your specific protocol, your lab and ultrasound results, and how your body is responding.
⚘
PERSONALIZED ACUPUNCTURE SESSIONS
Treatments tailored to your cycle phase. Different protocols for stimulation vs. insemination/transfer vs. early pregnancy.
⚘
CUSTOM HERBAL MEDICINE (WHEN APPROPRIATE)
Traditional formulas to support egg quality or uterine environment during preparation. We coordinate timing with your physician’s protocol.
⚘
ONGOING MONITORING
We track your progress alongside your monitoring appointments, adjusting treatments based on follicle growth, lining thickness, and lab results.
⚘
EMAIL
SUPPORT
Questions between appointments? We're here to help you navigate the process.
Can I Start Right Before My Cycle?
Yes. While we recommend 2-3 months of preparation for optimal results, you can start acupuncture during your stim cycle or right before IUI/transfer. You'll still benefit from improved uterine receptivity and implantation support, you just won't have had time to optimize egg quality beforehand.
Our Treatment Methods
Acupuncture Coordinated With Your IVF Timeline
Red Light
Therapy
Custom Herbal Medicine
(When Appropriate)
Nutritional Guidance
Stress Reduction Support
Real Support Through Real Pregnancies
Supporting Your Pregnancy Investment
You've invested so much to get pregnant, whether through fertility treatment or months of trying. Now you want to feel good throughout pregnancy and give your baby the healthiest start.
You could manage symptoms on your own, searching for safe remedies, hoping everything's progressing normally between OB appointments.
Or you could have continuous support throughout pregnancy—natural symptom relief, regular monitoring, preparation for labor, and peace of mind that your body is supporting your baby optimally.
Ready to Feel Supported Throughout Your Pregnancy?
When Pregnancy Got Complicated
"I continued to see Dr. Lee through the first and second trimester of pregnancy to help support my baby. Unfortunately complications arose at 23 weeks and I had to be admitted to the hospital for a long term stay to make sure things with my baby were okay."
Throughout my 7 week stay at the hospital, Dr. Lee kept checking in on me and she even drove all the way from Irvine to Fontana for an in-hospital visit to provide my baby with acupuncture support. I was SO grateful that she took that extra time amidst her busy schedule to drive all the way to come care for us.
I am now at 30 weeks and my baby is stable. I plan to continue seeing Dr. Lee every week for the rest of my pregnancy to continue experiencing the benefits of acupuncture and prevent anymore complications.
— Former Patient
Our Commitment to Your Pregnancy
We can't guarantee a complication-free pregnancy—many factors are beyond anyone's control. What we can promise is evidence-based pregnancy care designed to help you feel your best, support optimal fetal development, and prepare your body for labor. We work with your OB or midwife, not in place of them, to give you comprehensive support throughout pregnancy.
“Dr. Patricia Lee has always been gentle, kind, and patient with answering all my questions. Her recommendations are easy to follow, and she is very responsive to email when I update her with lab results and plans from my OBGYN.”
30+ Years Supporting Healthy Pregnancies
For over 3 decades, our family practice has supported women through healthy pregnancies in Orange County.
Pregnancy Acupuncture Is For You If:
✓ You're pregnant and want natural support throughout your pregnancy
✓ You want to manage pregnancy symptoms without medications
✓ You conceived through IVF/IUI and want extra first trimester support
✓ You have a history of pregnancy loss or complications
✓ You're considered high-risk and want additional support alongside your OB/MFM care
✓ You want to prepare your body naturally for labor
This Might Not Be Right If:
✘ You're looking for a replacement for OB/midwife care (we work alongside your medical team)
✘ You're only interested in insurance-covered care (we don't accept insurance)
✘ You're only interested in insurance-covered care (we don't accept insurance)
✘ You prefer to manage pregnancy entirely through conventional medicine only
Common Questions About Pregnancy Acupuncture
-
Yes. When performed by a trained practitioner, acupuncture is safe throughout pregnancy. We use pregnancy-specific protocols and avoid points that aren't appropriate for pregnant women.
-
As early as you'd like. Many women start in the first trimester for symptom relief and preventative care, but you can begin at any point in pregnancy.
-
It depends on your trimester and symptoms. Typically weekly in the first trimester if you have nausea or history of loss, bi-weekly in the second trimester for maintenance, weekly again in the third trimester for labor prep.
-
Most OBs and midwives are supportive of acupuncture during pregnancy. We're happy to communicate with your provider if needed.
-
Yes. We treat nausea, insomnia, anxiety, swelling, breech positioning, and more. We can also support natural cervical ripening and labor induction when you're ready.
-
We have extensive experience working with high-risk pregnancies and coordinate closely with MFM specialists when needed.
-
No, we don’t accept insurance. This allows us to provide the personalized, frequent care pregnancy often requires without insurance restrictions. Upon request, we're happy to provide superbills you can submit to your insurance for potential reimbursement.
You deserve continuous support, natural symptom relief, and confidence that your body is supporting your baby optimally.
Feel Good Throughout Your Pregnancy
Don't wait until symptoms become overwhelming. Get the support that helps you feel your best throughout pregnancy.