When I was trying to get pregnant with my first, I turned to acupuncture. I should clarify that I turned to acupuncture in addition to (most importantly) seeing a fertility specialist (a doctor). I also: purchased and wore a fertility bracelet (how can it not be legit if it’s featured on Real Housewives of NJ!?), signed up for a yoga for fertility course, read countless books about infertility, and tried to meditate. In sum, I desperately wanted to get pregnant.

Although stressful at the time, I now have very fond memories of my acupuncturist. She was very close to my (then) home in southern California, close to downtown. She burned herbs during the treatment session so I always left smelling like I had just smoked weed. Once the acupuncture needles were in place, she lay some of the herbs on the acupuncture needles and burned them (or something of the sort). I don’t quite know because my eyes were closed the entire time, as I was trying to both meditate/unwind while also trying not to freak out about the needles.

I got pregnant after one such session. It was a Thursday in February and we had just finished our in-service exam (a test all dermatology residents across the US have to take to prepare for the actual boards). I fit in an acupuncture session before flying up to northern California, where my husband lived. I was pretty sure I was going to ovulate because the ovulation stick had shown a solid smiley face, which is different, apparently, than a blinking smiley face.

I parked my car in the downtown area, where they happen to have a farmer’s market on Thursday evenings. I completed my acupuncture session only to find that my car had been thisclose to getting towed. That would have put a real damper on the conception plans. In any case, to make a long story short: I made it to NorCal and our baby was conceived that night. When I am feeling particularly dramatic, I’ll say to my husband: “I got pregnant thanks to acupuncture” or “I got pregnant thanks to my fertility bracelet”, to which he’ll reply “I’m pretty sure you got pregnant thanks to medicine – aren’t you a doctor?” This is when I’m most proud of him, because I did get pregnant because of medicine, although I’m sure everything else helped a little bit.