Lea Papworth Acupuncture

The only Adelaide clinic exclusively caring for reproductive health and hormonal issues. Now also consulting at Port Victoria, Yorke Peninsula.

Lea Papworth Acupuncture is

• Well Respected
• Experienced, Knowledgeable and Empowering
• Gets Results. (Advertising laws mean I can’t publish ‘success rates’, but you don’t earn a reputation in this industry if you don’t get results).

Established in 2005, incorporating Prof Caroline Smith’s clinic in 2008.

COVID 19

Keeping everyone safe is of utmost importance, and so is minimizing disruptions to services, being unwell will make me unavailable to assist you, and that’s the last thing I wont to see happen. In order to reduce any possibility of you being infected, or infecting anyone else I have made some changes:

1. Reception is temporarily closed.

2. Please bring a fresh laundered sheet and 2 towels to your appointment.

4. Initial Fertility interviews will be via phone. This is because we need longer to chat at this interview, to go though your history, discuss your treatment plan and any advise, without time constraint.(Unfortunately Telehealth is not recognised by health funds for acupuncture).

About Lea Papworth

Lea offers 22 years of experience as an acupuncturist, the last 15 exclusively working with pregnancy and fertility cases. Previously she was a midwife and general nurse (no longer registered or practicing as).

Respected and referred to by fertility specialists and nurses, midwives, private and public obstetricians, other allied health professionals and doulas… and treating them in their own pregnancy journeys.

Your care is completely individualised, based on your signs, symptoms, and diagnosis. Care is only provided by Lea, no other practitioners or staff. She is there to support you all through your journey, and is always available via text to answer any questions.

Fertility and acupuncture

Advertising restrictions make it difficult to explain my work to support fertility, currently it can be stated that we may offer support to clients in assisting IVF and western medical fertility treatments. Chinese herbs have also been shown to support natural fertility. However, in Chinese Medicine we don’t treat your western diagnosis, i.e. we don’t treat endometriosis. We treat you, we listen to and observe you to make our own diagnosis. This diagnosis will take in aspects of your western condition in as much as we observe your signs and symptoms, like period pain, but it is an individualised assessment of your whole body functioning, physical and emotional. So often a casual comment becomes a key to treatment and my experience as an acupuncturist has taught me to pick on these subtleties. If you have questions about how Traditional Chinese Medicine may support your fertility journey, please contact me on 0422 044 259 and we can discuss this further.
Experience definitely comes to the fore when working with western fertility treatments like IVF as it requires an understanding of the drugs , the protocols and patients’ individual responses to them. Some women will respond quickly to the stimulation while others require slow, gentle stimulation to grow eggs capable of reaching maturity. Different protocols create different instances to assist. This means the type or timing of your acupuncture needs to be suited to your situation.
Although I no longer work as a midwife, the knowledge I gained from studying and working in that field allows me to “stand on 2 feet”. 1 foot understanding your western medical approach and aims, the other foot applying the skills of traditional Chinese Medicine to smooth the journey.

Let’s not forget the men either. The male provides 50% of the DNA and energy for the process as well

Read more about the research and my work supporting:

• IVF and stress
• Early Pregnancy Support
• Endometriosis
• Male infertility

Acupuncture supporting pregnancy

Pregnancy is a time when most women do not or cannot take drugs to alleviate or reduce common symptoms of pregnancy and prepare for birth. Pregnancy acupuncture, being drug free, is well suited to assist. It is used in many Asian countries for pregnancy care, and now in some western hospitals in Britain, Europe and New Zealand. The list of conditions addressed in these overseas clinics is not a list of the conditions treated in this clinic. It is provided to give perspective on how other countries are integrating medicine.
Advertising restrictions in Australia mean I can tell you very little about Traditional Chinese medicine, if you have any questions about your pregnancy please contact me on 0422 044 259.

Read more about my work to support:

• Nausea and vomiting
• Back, hip and pelvic pain
• Other Musculoskeletal problems

Scientific research of acupuncture

A surprising amount of scientific research has been conducted to determine the effectiveness of using acupuncture to assist fertility and pregnancy.

Most of my patients prefer to be informed, so I have provided a solid collection of research reports that provide summaries of the research undertaken and the results.

Yes this can be heavy reading for those who don’t have a background in medicine, but I would be happy to answer any questions in regards to the research during my consultations.

Locations

14 Halifax Street, Hilton (near Mile End). Positioned between Henley Beach Rd and Sir Donald Bradman Drive.

34 Lawhill St, Port Victoria (Opposite the police station).

The clinic is located in a private location, with easy parking.

Please note that I no longer work at Hawthorn (despite web directories I cannot control claiming I do).