Women’s Health
Menstrual health, fertility, pregnancy, and menopause, treated as one body over time.
Chinese medicine does not treat a symptom in isolation. It looks for the pattern behind it, then uses acupuncture, herbal medicine, and nutrition to bring the body back toward balance. For women, that means one practice can follow you through a painful cycle, a pregnancy, and the transition into menopause.
Dr. Susan G. Schiff, A.P., DOM, has concentrated on gynecology and reproductive wellness for most of her more than 25 years in practice, and works alongside the OBGYNs and reproductive endocrinologists her patients already see.
Reviewed by Dr. Susan G. Schiff, A.P., DOM. Last reviewed October 2026.
Understanding
Women’s Health
More and more women are including acupuncture in their overall approach to health, for concerns that range from menstrual problems and infertility to the symptoms of menopause. It has become common enough that many insurance plans now cover select treatments, and acupuncturists are often found on the staff of conventional medical departments.
Our practice specializes in women's health: menstrual disorders, fertility, pregnancy, and menopause, along with general wellness and prevention. Each of those has its own page on this site. This page is about the way we work across all of them.
In Chinese medicine, health depends on the balanced flow of Qi and blood through the body's organ systems. When that flow is disrupted, symptoms follow, and the same underlying pattern can show up differently at different stages of life: as painful or irregular periods in one decade, as difficulty conceiving in the next, as hot flashes and broken sleep later on.
So every case begins the same way, with the whole picture. We go through your history, your cycle, your sleep, digestion, energy, and stress, and use the diagnostic methods of Chinese medicine, such as reading the tongue and pulse, to look at the person as a whole. From that pattern we build a plan of acupuncture, herbal formulas adjusted to your symptoms, and nutrition, and we adjust it as your body responds.
The aim is not to mask a symptom, but to help the body find its own balance.
PMS, painful or irregular periods, missed periods, endometriosis, fibroids, and cysts. Treatment is designed to support the glands that balance estrogen and progesterone, the circulation that carries them, and the liver, where they are broken down. Our Menstrual Disorders page goes into detail.
Natural conception and support before, during, and after IVF, tailored to your fertility type. Dr. Schiff is board certified by the American Board of Oriental Reproductive Medicine (ABORM) and works with reproductive endocrinologists in South Florida. See our Fertility page.
Acupuncture and specific herbs have long been used for nausea, fatigue, low back pain, headaches, and heartburn during pregnancy, and for recovering energy in the weeks after birth. See our Pregnancy page.
Hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia, headaches, and moodiness, in the years before periods end and after. We first determine where the imbalance lies, then treat it with acupuncture and herbs. See our Menopause page.
Whatever stage you are in, we start with the pattern behind the symptom, not the symptom alone.
Six of the reasons women come to the practice, each of which Dr. Schiff has treated for over 20 years. The first four each have their own page with more detail; the last two run through all of them.
Painful or irregular periods
PMS, cramping, missed periods, endometriosis, fibroids, and cysts. Read more on our Menstrual Disorders page.
Trying to conceive
Natural conception, or preparing for an IVF cycle, with a plan timed to your body and your clinic's protocol. See Fertility.
Pregnancy and postpartum
Nausea, fatigue, back pain, and heartburn during pregnancy, and restoring energy after birth. See Pregnancy.
Perimenopause and menopause
Hot flashes, night sweats, sleep, and mood, including the changes that begin in the years before periods end. See Menopause.
Stress and sleep
Acupuncture provides a deep relaxation that helps calm the mind, and insomnia is one of the conditions it has long been used for, whatever else brought you in.
Wellness and prevention
You do not need a diagnosis to come in. Acupuncture may be used preventatively, to keep a body that feels well feeling that way.
Questions women askbefore their first visit with us.
Our specialties are menstrual disorders, fertility, pregnancy, and menopause, along with general wellness and prevention. Each has its own page on this site: Menstrual Disorders, Fertility, Pregnancy, and Menopause. If your concern does not fit neatly into one of those, call or text and we will tell you honestly whether we can help.
As part of the team. Dr. Schiff works closely with reproductive endocrinologists, OBGYNs, and internists, and treatment is planned around the care you are already receiving rather than in place of it. Acupuncturists are now commonly found on the staff of conventional medical departments for the same reason.
No. Many patients arrive with a diagnosis and a plan from their physician. Others come with a set of symptoms and no clear answer yet, or simply to stay well. Chinese medicine works from your pattern rather than from a label, so the first visit is the same either way.
A long conversation and, where it fits, a first treatment. We go through your health history, your cycle, your sleep, digestion, energy, and stress, and use the diagnostic methods of Chinese medicine, such as reading the tongue and pulse, to look at the person as a whole. From that we identify your pattern and put together a plan of acupuncture, herbal medicine, and nutrition.
The tools are the same: acupuncture, herbal formulas adjusted to your symptoms and diagnosis, and nutrition. What changes is the pattern we are treating. Painful periods in one decade, difficulty conceiving in the next, and hot flashes later on may be the same underlying imbalance showing up in three different ways, which is why we treat the whole person rather than the stage.
Yes. Many insurance plans now cover select acupuncture treatments, but coverage varies, so we can verify your benefits before you arrive. Complete the online form on our New Patient Forms page and we will contact you as soon as your benefits are established.
Where to next?
PMS and Mood Swings
Common concern
The week before, made livable.
Start from the concernStress, Anxiety, and Low Mood
Common concern
Rebalance the chemistry behind the feeling.
Start from the concernWhat happens at a first acupuncture visit for women's health?
Learn More
A first visit runs 60 to 90 minutes: a full history, a review of your labs, tongue and pulse examinations, and usually a first treatment of 20 to 30 minutes.
Read the answer
Every stage,
one practice.
Over 25 years of practice in South Florida. Call or text, tell us what is going on, and we will take it from there.
All visits are by appointment only, in the office, at your clinic, at home, or by video.