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Dr. Laura | Acupuncture, Fertility & Women’s Health

@dr.lauraerlich

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‘Modern Medicine Woman’ 25+ years as a TCM fertility expert, acupuncturist, herbalist and doula, author and educator. Online & in person
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Fertility support is rarely ONE thing.

Not a single supplement, a single appointment, or a single “fix.”

It’s a combination of approaches that work together to support the systems your body relies on.

In my work, that might include:

✨acupuncture to regulate the nervous system and improve circulation

🪴 herbal medicine to support hormonal signalling and cycle regulation

🔥moxa or cupping to warm and move where needed

🧘‍♀️breathwork and guided meditation

🍲 nutrition that builds Blood and supports metabolic health

and just as importantly — rest, recovery, and consistency over time

From a biomedical perspective, we’re using several different holistic modalities to support:
• ovarian blood flow
• mitochondrial function
• hormone communication
• inflammation and oxidative stress
• nervous system regulation

From a Chinese Medicine perspective, we’re energetically strengthening:
• Qi and Blood
• Kidney reserves (Jing)
• the smooth flow of Liver Qi
• the body’s ability to nourish and sustain

Different tools. Same end goal.

The environment that your eggs mature in, the process of ovulation, and the likelihood of succesful pregnancy outcomes are never isolated events-
they are reflections of how well the body is functioning as a whole.

This is why the work is layered.

And why it often looks quieter and more gently consistent than people expect. We’re not about quick fixes and forcing the body to a place it’s not ready to be.

If this sounds like the fertility support you need, just reply ‘READY’ to explore working with me.

Dr. Laura x by @dr.lauraerlich

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5 months ago

I’ve kept this quiet- but it’s time…

For 25 years my work has lived in two places —
supporting women trying to conceive, and mentoring the practitioners who care for them.

✨This month, BOTH doors open wider✨

For women on the fertility journey ⤵️

💜The Fertility Sanctuary — my fertility community will be re-launching on February 17th (Lunar New Year!), but this time it will be a FREE community where you can ask real questions, learn what actually matters for your body, and stop carrying this alone.

For practitioners ⤵️

🌿 The Yin Commons — a free clinical community to discuss cases, deepen understanding and connect with colleagues who also value the practice of harmony and exchange with their peers, not isolation. Also opening on February 17th.

🌿 The Yinstitute for Women’s Medicine — a year-long mentorship + teaching program for acupuncturists & herbalists ready to truly specialize in fertility and women’s health. We move with the seasons, and with gentle intention- this is not a ‘one and done’ rushed CEU weekend. It’s a clinical home for you to nurture and grow your skills. Classes for the first program quarter start in March and enrolment is open NOW! (Ps- The first 20 to sign up also receive a complimentary 1:1 with me! 🤫)

I’m opening the doors to these new services because my mantra is simply this:
Better supported practitioners create better supported patients.

And no one (on either side of the treatment table) should have to figure this out alone.

Links to both the Fertility Sanctuary register (for patients), and The Yinstitute enrolment (for professionals) are in my bio, so you can take a look and join the space that’s meant for YOU ✨

I cannot wait to see you inside!! 💕

Dr. Laura x by @dr.lauraerlich

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8 months ago

Today is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day.

And I don’t think there is a ‘correct’ way to speak about this, because there is no single path when it comes to grief.

For some people, today may feel important.
For others, it may feel unbearable.
For some, the loss is recent. For others, it may have happened years ago and still live very close to the surface.

There may be sadness, anger, numbness, relief, guilt, longing, tenderness, disbelief… or feelings that are much harder to name.

None of it needs to look a certain way.

You do not owe anyone a particular version of grief, healing, remembrance, or “moving forward.”

For those who would like their loss to be acknowledged today, I am holding space for you.

For those who would rather step away from the conversation entirely, that is okay too and you’re in my heart.

There is no correct way to carry something this personal.

Your way is the only way 🩵

Laura x

#waveoflight2026 by @dr.lauraerlich

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15 hours ago

October is #menopauseawarenessmonth and in Traditional Chinese Medicine we actually refer to the menopause as a ‘Second Spring’.

So I’m here to remind you that this transition is NOT about losing yourself. It’s actually a time where your Qi returns back to you- a time of gaining strength, because you’re no longer giving your energy away in your blood.

This power was always yours. It just got diluted along the way… here’s your chance to reclaim it 🌷

Older? Yes.

Wiser? Heck yes.

Tolerant of nonsense? Absolutely not 😉 by @dr.lauraerlich

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3 days ago

There’s an important nuance here: East Asian women do not universally have an “easy menopause,” and research does not prove that TCM practices are the sole reason for the differences we see between populations. Cross-cultural studies show considerable variation, and genetics, diet, lifestyle, socioeconomic factors, culture and even how symptoms are perceived and reported may all play a role.

But I find the Chinese Medicine lens fascinating.

TCM does not see menopause as a problem that suddenly appears at 50. It sees the transition in the context of the reserves a woman has been building — or spending — for decades.

Kidney Yin represents part of that deep, cooling, nourishing reserve. When that reservoir is already depleted, the natural hormonal transition may feel louder: more Heat, poorer sleep, agitation, dryness, night sweats and a body that feels less able to regulate itself.

This is not about blaming women for their symptoms. And we shouldn’t over-simplify this to suggest that hot flashes can be prevented simply by eating differently or resting more.

But it IS an invitation to think much further upstream.

What if menopause care began years before the final period?

What if we treated nourishment, sleep, recovery, stress regulation and the preservation of our reserves as part of women’s healthcare throughout life?

You can begin tending that reservoir at any age.
And perhaps that is one of the most useful lessons Chinese Medicine has to offer us about this time in a woman’s life that’s known as the ‘Second Spring’.

Dr. Laura x

#MenopauseAwarenessMonth #YinNourishment #MenopauseSupport #ChineseMedicineDoctor by @dr.lauraerlich

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9 days ago

Di Er Chun- “The Second Spring” 🦋

And I love that language, because it changes the emotional landscape entirely.

Menopause is so often spoken about as loss.

The end of fertility.
The end of youth.
The beginning of decline.

But Chinese Medicine has always understood the body seasonally.

There are times of growth, times of outward expansion, times of harvest, and times when energy begins to turn inward.

Menopause is one of those thresholds.

Yes, the body changes. Hormones shift. Cycles end. Sleep, temperature regulation, mood, metabolism, bone health, libido, and energy may all need more support.

But this transition is not simply about what is ending.

It is also about what becomes available.

More space.
More discernment.
More creative energy.
More wisdom.
A deeper relationship with the self.
A body no longer organised around reproduction in the same way.

In TCM, this is not framed as the body declining.

It is a reorganisation of resources.

A different season.

A Second Spring.

Of course this doesn’t mean we romanticise difficult symptoms or expect women to simply “embrace” discomfort. Menopause can be challenging, and modern medicine has important tools to support it.

But I do think we need a better story than:

“It’s all downhill from here.”

Because it isn’t.

For many women, this chapter can be a profound time of renewal… one that asks for different nourishment, different rhythms, different support, and a different relationship with the body.

Follow along for more conversations on women’s health through a lens that bridges modern medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Dr. Laura x

#MenopauseAwarenessMonth #SecondSpring #MenopauseTCM #MenopauseSupport by @dr.lauraerlich

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11 days ago

Fall belongs to the Lungs and the Metal element in Traditional Chinese Medicine.

It’s the season when the air becomes cooler and drier, and the body can start to feel that shift too … dry skin, dry throat, constipation, cough, thirst, tightness in the chest, or that general sense of needing a little more moisture and softness.

This is where pears become such a beautiful seasonal food 🍐

In TCM, pears are traditionally used to moisten the Lungs, nourish fluids, and ease dryness.

But there’s one important detail:

They’re best eaten gently cooked rather than cold or raw.

Why?

Because while pears are naturally moistening, raw fruit can be cooling and harder on the digestive system for some people - especially if Spleen Qi is already a little depleted.

Stewing them creates the best of both worlds:

warmth for digestion
moisture for the Lungs
gentle sweetness
easy nourishment
and a breakfast that actually feels supportive as the weather changes

You can keep it simple with cinnamon, ginger, a little honey, oats, or black sesame depending on your constitution.

From a modern nutrition perspective, pears also bring fibre, vitamin C, and polyphenols- so they’re doing plenty of work outside the TCM framework too!

Fall is not the season for forcing things.

It’s a time for moistening, nourishing, warming, and conserving.

Sometimes seasonal medicine really can be this simple.

Dr. Laura x

#tcmfoods #foodsforfertility #pearsforbreakfast #spleenqi by @dr.lauraerlich

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14 days ago

Fall is a beautiful season to stop pushing and start gathering.

In Chinese Medicine, this is the time of the Metal element- the season connected with the Lungs, breath, boundaries, letting go, and turning inward.
And for fertility, that seasonal shift can be deeply supportive if you know how to use it!

This isn’t about one perfect “fertility routine” that you should be sticking to- often the body responds best to the basics: warmth, regular nourishment, better sleep, steadier blood sugar, gentle movement, good circulation, and enough space for the nervous system to actually come down from high alert.

Traditional Chinese Medicine has always known that the small things matter, and the importance of living in alignment with the seasons.

Keeping the lower back and abdomen warm. Choosing cooked meals over cold, raw foods when digestion feels vulnerable. Taking slower walks. Using warming spices. Breathing more deeply. Letting evenings become quieter. Eating with the season instead of fighting it.

In TCM, we’re always thinking about preserving Qi, supporting Blood, protecting the digestive system, and helping the body move into the next season with enough reserves.

So consider this your gentle Fall Fertility Maxxing era.

Less optimisation.
More nourishment.
Less depletion.
More warmth.
Less forcing.
More rhythm.

Because fertility support does not always have to be about doing MORE.

Sometimes it’s as simple as helping the body feel safe enough to receive.

Dr. Laura x by @dr.lauraerlich

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7 days ago

Of course partners matter in this conversation.

But when women are still waiting close to a decade for an endometriosis diagnosis, research remains underfunded, and pain is still being dismissed as “just bad periods”…

maybe, just maybe, we could centre any available time and resources towards the people actually living in the body with the disease.

Endometriosis is not a relationship inconvenience.

It is a whole-body, life-altering, fertility-impacting, pain-generating condition that deserves earlier diagnosis, better funding, better research, and better care.

On average, it takes 4 years longer for a woman to be diagnosed and treated for a disease, than a man. ..

Women’s pain is not a subplot.
And I will always fight our corner.

Dr. Laura x by @dr.lauraerlich

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18 days ago

Most women that are trying to conceive are not lacking in information.

They are drowning in it.

They have the tracking app, the saved posts, the podcast episodes, the supplement drawer, the lab results, the Reddit threads, the fertility forums, the bookmarked studies, and the late-night search history to prove it.

And still, they often feel no closer to understanding what their body actually needs.

Because more information is not always the answer.

Sometimes what you need is experienced interpretation.

Something like low AMH means something different depending on your age, cycle, inflammation, ovarian response, health history, and goals.

Spotting before your period means something different depending on progesterone, lining, stress physiology, Spleen Qi, Blood, inflammation, or structural factors.

Painful periods mean something different when endometriosis, Blood stasis, pelvic inflammation, immune activation, or years of dismissal are part of the story.

In Chinese Medicine, we are always listening for the pattern underneath the symptoms. We’re looking at the WHOLE terrain — the cycle, digestion, sleep, labs, history, nervous system, inflammation, nourishment, Blood, Qi, and the life the body has been living inside.

This is the heart of “The Fertility Roadmap”

It’s not another generic protocol.

This is a 1:1 deeper read of your particular body, your particular history, your particular soil.

And this is also why I’m launching my YouTube channel soon— so I can go deeper into your fertility, hormone, pregnancy, postpartum, and women’s health questions that deserve more than a 30-second answer.

➡️ Comment ‘FERTILITY’ to get started with 1:1 fertility support.

Dr. Laura x by @dr.lauraerlich

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16 days ago

I know it can feel like your body is rejecting the thing you want most… 💔

I want to be very clear: this is not a personal failure.

But if implantation keeps failing, I’m not just thinking about the quality of the embryo…

I’m thinking about the environment that your little embryo is trying to land in.

Implantation is actually a complex process. It involves the embryo, the uterine lining, the timing, the hormonal environment, inflammation, immune signalling, the transfer process, the shape of the uterine cavity, and the wider health of the body.

So when I’m looking at repeated implantation failure, I’m not only thinking, “What happened at transfer?”

I’m thinking about the terrain the embryo is trying to land in.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, that means looking at multiple factors and taking a holistic approach to consider things like blood flow, warmth, lining quality, Spleen Qi and the body’s ability to hold, Kidney energy, Liver Qi movement, inflammation, Dampness, Blood stasis, digestion, sleep, stress physiology, and the nervous system.

Not because TCM replaces reproductive medicine. It doesn’t.

But because the body is not separate from the transfer.

‘The Fertility Roadmap’ is where we slow down and look at your whole story during a 1:1 consultation— your cycle, labs, history, IVF timeline, symptoms, constitution, and most importantly, the terrain beneath the pattern.

I’ll also be going deeper into topics like this when my new YouTube channel launches next month- So be sure to follow my page for updates 🩵

Dr. Laura x by @dr.lauraerlich

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21 days ago

Patterns like Cold in the uterus, Qi stagnation, and Blood deficiency are not conventional medical diagnoses.
They are part of a traditional medicine framework that helps us understand how the body is functioning as a whole.

One person may need warmth and circulation.

Another may need support moving stress and constraint through the system.

Another may need deep nourishment after years of heavy bleeding, depletion, illness, birth, loss, or under-eating.

This is why fertility care should never be generic.

Because “trying to conceive” can rarely be reduced to one simple pattern.

A painful, clotty cycle is different from a light, depleted cycle. A late ovulation pattern is different from a short luteal phase. A body running cold is different from a body showing heat and inflammation.

In The Fertility Roadmap, this is exactly what we look for: the deeper pattern underneath the symptoms, labs, cycle changes, diagnoses, and fertility history.

Your body is not a protocol.

It’s a story of interconnected systems, patterns and pathways that need to be understood.

And the right care begins by listening to the whole thing.

➡️ Comment ‘FERTILITY’ to get started with personalized 1:1 online fertility support.

Dr. Laura x

#onlinefertilitysupport #tcmandfertility #chinesemedicinefertility #solvinginfertility by @dr.lauraerlich

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23 days ago