Women go through a number of key hormonal phases in their lives from the time their periods start, all the way through having periods, possible pregnancy, to the years of peri-menopause and menopause. Women's hormones are more complex than men's because of their menstrual cycle, which involves a complex cyclical interplay of various hormones which also interact with the other non-sex specific hormones.

When imbalances in the hormones happen, they can have a domino effect throughout the body and mind's systems. Imbalances can be caused or exacerbated by a variety of factors such as constitutional tendencies, illness, poor work/life balance, stress, diet, lack of sleep, too much or too little exercise, childbirth and hormonal contraception.

Moreover, these imbalances are more likely to arise at particular stages in a woman's life e.g. menarche (first period), pregnancy, child birth, breastfeeding, peri menopause, menopause and even at certain times in the monthly menstrual cycle.

Chinese medicine – through acupuncture and at times Chinese herbal medicine can help to promote hormonal balance and manage stress throughout all these stages so you can regain a better quality of life again. It looks to address the whole person not just isolated symptoms. Specific conditions that Fiona has had a lot of experience in dealing with include: