Acupuncture with IVF: A Recipe for Success

Fertility clinics nationwide are starting to include acupuncture as a part of IVF treatment!

Especially in light of last month's latest published research, this makes a lot of sense. As practitioners of Chinese medicine, my colleagues and I are constantly working closely with women undergoing all types of fertility treatment and are aware of the many benefits Chinese medicine has to offer. Even so, it's exciting to see more and more connections being built between western and eastern fertility treatments.

Specifically as a support for IVF treatment, acupuncture boosts the chances of conception when given directly before and after the transfer of embryo into the uterus.

Last month, an analysis pooled results from seven studies on 1,366 women in the United States, Germany, Australia and Denmark who were having in vitro fertilization, or IVF. When the results from all the studies were pooled, researchers found that the odds of conceiving went up about 65 percent for women given acupuncture. IVF results in pregnancy about 35 percent of the time. Adding acupuncture might boost that to around 45 percent, the researchers said.

Results were published in the British medical journal, BMJ. In fertility treatment, acupuncture is able to increase blood flow to the uterus, relax the cervix and inhibit “fight or flight” stress hormones that can make it tougher for an embryo to implant.

Some fertility specialists say they are hopeful that this relatively inexpensive and simple treatment might ultimately prove to be a useful add-on to traditional methods.

“It is being taken more seriously across our specialty,” and more doctors are training in it, said Dr. William Gibbons, who runs a fertility clinic in Baton Rouge, La., and is past president of the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology.

Dr. Francisco Arredondo, who runs Reproductive Medicine Associates of Texas said he started offering acupuncture in October, after patients requested it and because some studies suggested it helped.

We're looking forward to hearing about more reproductive medicine clinics doing the same!

Read the entire article on msn here.

Find out more about Chinese medicine for fertility success on our website:

Fertility Success

Perinatal Care
Blood for Fertility

Acupuncture Research

posted by Jessica Silver, MAOM, L.Ac.