May 1, 2026

Rachel Beth Dorfman, licensed acupuncturist and founder of SpringRoot Acupuncture & Wellness in Woodbury, has spent more than 20 years treating women’s hormonal health and fertility care.

How has the treatment of women’s hormonal health evolved over your 20 years of practice?
Years ago, I primarily treated menstrual cramps. Now I see women of all ages, menarche through menopause, for all different reasons. It’s exciting to be practicing within this cultural shift where women are talking about what’s happening at every age with our bodies. Women are more empowered now and want to know that they have choices when it comes to their healthcare.

So many women are told painful periods are normal. What do you say to that?
They don’t have to be. There are solutions. I love acupuncture as an option because it looks at the whole picture and balances the cycle naturally without the side effects of birth control pills or symptom management, like over the- counter medications. With frequency and consistency of treatment, women’s cycles often regulate naturally.

What is Life Fertility BioTherapy™?  
I have worked with fertility patients for years, but adding Life Fertility BioTherapy™ to my practice has been a game-changer. It is a renowned fertility program that has helped couples worldwide conceive and have successful pregnancies, naturally or with the help of reproductive medicine like IUI and IVF. Acupuncture has a long history of supporting reproduction, but Life Fertility BioTherapy™ is a refined approach that integrates the time-tested science of acupuncture with modern medical solutions. I have seen remarkable results since adding it to my practice.

You also treat male infertility. What do couples most misunderstand about that?
The understanding of male factor playing a role in a couple’s ability to conceive is definitely gaining traction. Studies acknowledge that men contribute to 40 to 50 percent of infertility cases. Unlike previously thought, there is a male biological clock, and semen quality is shown to decline with age. Lifestyle, environmental pollution, and psychological and oxidative stress all affect count, motility, morphology, and the genetic integrity of sperm. Life Fertility BioTherapy™ incorporates care for both partners. Especially when combined with proactive lifestyle changes, sperm quality can improve rapidly.

Can you explain the connection between chronic stress and fertility, and how acupuncture can help?
It is my understanding that stress has not been shown in studies to be a causal factor of infertility. Despite this, a recent study showed that 69 percent of women seeking fertility care believed that stress could reduce their success with fertility treatment, 29 percent believed that stress could cause their overall infertility, and 31 percent believed that stress could cause a miscarriage. There’s no denying that we live in stressful times, or that stress has been shown to negatively impact biomarkers. Chronic stress can also contribute to lifestyle choices that hurt fertility: we tend to sleep poorly, eat too much, exercise less, and turn to substance use. One of the things I love about Life Fertility BioTherapy™ is that sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system balancing is built into the program. Over time, we nourish and support resilience at a biological level. Acupuncture does this even when not focusing on fertility.  —springrootacupuncture.com