Collaborative Care (Pasadena) — An Honest Editorial Review

Among fertility clinics in California, plenty of patients pair their reproductive endocrinologist with a licensed acupuncturist for the weeks around retrieval or transfer. Collaborative Care, a small Chinese-medicine practice at 1442 E Washington Blvd in Pasadena, is one of the Los Angeles-area options clinicians send patients to — a wellness clinic, not a medical fertility center, with a 5.0-star Google rating across 51 reviews.

This is a solo, women's-health-focused acupuncture and herbal-medicine practice. It does not diagnose infertility, prescribe fertility medications, or perform IUI or IVF. What it offers is complementary support intended to run alongside conventional care — not a substitute for it.

Practitioner and Credentials

Collaborative Care is led by Jacqueline "Jackie" O'Neill, MS.TOM, L.Ac. She holds a Master of Science in Traditional Oriental Medicine and is a California-licensed acupuncturist (L.Ac.). Per her practice bio, she is Nationally Board Certified in Acupuncture and Chinese Herbology by the NCCAOM, an active member of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, and a Fellow of the American Board of Oriental Reproductive Medicine (ABORM) — the specialty credential most fertility REIs look for when referring to an acupuncturist. She has been in practice for close to two decades with an emphasis on fertility, pregnancy, and menopause.

She is not a physician. For anyone reading carefully: "Dr." is not a title she uses, and nothing on the Collaborative Care website claims medical treatment of infertility.

Services Offered

Typical offerings at a practice like this, and consistent with what Collaborative Care advertises, include:

• Fertility-focused acupuncture cycles (often weekly, 8–12 weeks pre-cycle)
• Pre- and post-transfer acupuncture timed around IVF embryo transfer
• Chinese herbal medicine protocols (discontinued during stimulation and after transfer per standard fertility-acupuncture practice)
• Support for PCOS, endometriosis symptoms, and unexplained infertility
• Stress, sleep, and HPA-axis support during ART cycles
• Pregnancy and postpartum acupuncture, including labor preparation and breech presentation

How Acupuncture Fits Into a Fertility Plan

The evidence base for acupuncture in fertility is mixed but not empty. Meta-analyses of acupuncture around embryo transfer have shown small, inconsistent effects; most REIs treat it as reasonable adjunctive care if the patient finds it helpful, particularly for stress and sleep during stim. ABORM-credentialed practitioners like O'Neill are the subset most likely to coordinate timing with an IVF calendar and to pause herbs appropriately. For the clinical side of the picture, our IUI guide and how to read IVF success rates primer are good starting points before committing to an ART cycle.

Pasadena patients already working with an REI — SCRC, HRC Pasadena, or Reproductive Fertility Center — commonly layer in an acupuncturist like this one for the 8–12 weeks leading up to retrieval.

Patient Experience

Collaborative Care's public reputation is unusually strong: a 5.0-star Google average across 51 reviews. Recurring themes cite attentive listening, long appointment times, and coordination with patients' IVF calendars. This is a quiet single-practitioner office, not a high-volume wellness chain.

Considering At-Home Insemination?

For patients with no known fertility diagnosis — often LGBTQ+ couples and single parents by choice with donor sperm already lined up — at-home intracervical insemination is a reasonable first step before escalating to clinical IUI, and acupuncture support can run in parallel.

At-home insemination kits from MakeAMom are a one-time purchase, reusable until conception, and arrive in plain, discreet packaging. If you have a known diagnosis, have been trying 12 months (six if you're over 35), or your physician has recommended IUI or IVF, a board-certified reproductive endocrinologist is the right next step.

Insurance and Cost in California

Acupuncture is typically not covered by medical insurance for fertility indications, and IVF-adjunct acupuncture is almost never reimbursed. Some California commercial plans cover acupuncture for pain or nausea under separate benefits; fertility acupuncture usually comes out of pocket or through an HSA/FSA.

The broader California coverage picture did shift with SB 729, signed in 2024 and phased in starting 2025, which requires large-group state-regulated commercial plans to cover diagnosis and treatment of infertility including IVF. That mandate applies to medical fertility care, not acupuncture. See our fertility insurance mandates by state guide and IVF cost by state breakdown for the clinical-cost picture.

Location and Contact

Address: 1442 E Washington Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91104 Phone: (626) 790-1813 Website: collaborativecare.health

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Collaborative Care do IVF or IUI? No. This is an acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine practice. IVF, IUI, and all medical fertility treatment are handled by a reproductive endocrinologist.

Is Jackie O'Neill a doctor? She is a licensed acupuncturist (L.Ac.) with an MS in Traditional Oriental Medicine and ABORM fellow status — not a physician.

Can I use acupuncture during my IVF cycle? Many REIs are comfortable with ABORM-credentialed acupuncture alongside IVF. Clear the plan with your REI, and let the acupuncturist know your stim and transfer dates.

Editorial note: Independently written by the Fertlo editorial team; not sponsored. See our editorial policy.