Acupuncture & Fertility

Infertility now affects 1 in 6 couples – and the number seeking help has risen by 55% in the last 5 years. 1 in 80 children born today were conceived as a result of IVF. IVF is approximately 30% successful. Chinese Medicine has been shown to increase success rates of IVF to up to 70%

Gynaecological conditions respond particularly well to acupuncture and are perhaps the single largest category of work that I do. For some time now I have been working closely with couples trying to conceive – whether that is naturally or through assisted reproduction techniques such as IVF or ICSI.

Acupuncture offers a natural way to increase fertility. There is a growing body of medical literature demonstrating the ability of acupuncture to:

Often couples find a course of acupuncture treatment is all they need to resolve their fertility problems. If, however, you require Assisted Reproductive Technology, acupuncture has been shown to increase chances of implantation, decrease miscarriage rate and improve the odds of a positive outcome.

Treatment

All acupuncture treatment plans are tailored to the specific needs of each patient and so the treatment protocol will vary depending on the individual case history. Generally speaking though, expect to be treated over a 3 month period. This will allow enough time to get you in the best possible health.

Most menstrual irregularities can be addressed in this timeframe, and your general health and fertility can be optimised.

Hormonal cycles in both men and women work on a 3 monthly basis – eggs are recruited about 100 days before ovulation, and sperm is produced to a similar time-scale – and so treatment (of you, your partner, or both – depending on the reason for infertility) over this time will increase your chances of conceiving a healthy baby and carrying it full term.

The IVF / ICSI Protocol.

If you are undergoing IVF or ICSI, once the cycle has started, I generally recommend coming for treatment twice during the down-regging phase, and then twice whilst on the stimulating hormones. When it comes to the day of your egg transfer the established protocol is to have acupuncture immediately before and after the transfer.

After this you will have a 2 week waiting period before you test to see if you are pregnant. It is recommended to have one final acupuncture treatment at the end of the first of these 2 weeks at about the time when implantation is likely to be taking place.

There is a host of information about people's experience of IVF on the website forum of the Bristol Repromed clinic. If you enter ‘acupuncture' into the search box on this site, you will find many comments from patients of mine describing their experience of acupuncture.

Click on the following link: http://www.repromed.co.uk/forum/default.asp

Whilst you are Pregnant

Acupuncture can be invaluable during pregnancy too. It can:

If you have any questions you would like to ask, please feel free to contact me.

For further information and comprehensive research on acupuncture and fertility, please click on the following links.

http://www.acupuncture.org.uk/content/Library/doc/infertility_short_bp1.pdf

Influence of acupuncture on the pregnancy rate in patients who undergo assisted reproduction therapy

Role of acupuncture in the treatment of female infertility

Reduction of blood flow impedance in the uterine arteries of infertile women with electro-acupuncture

Acupuncture Normalizes Dysfunction of Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Ovarian Axis

Effects of Electro-Acupuncture on Nerve Growth Factor and Ovarian Morphology in Rats with Experimentally Induced Polycystic Ovaries

Substitution of Acupuncture for HCG in Ovulation Induction

Relationship Between Blood Radioimmunoreactive Beta-Endorphin and Hand Skin Temperature During The Electro-Acupuncture Induction of Ovulation

Acupuncture Treatment For Infertile Women Undergoing Intracytoplasmic Sperm injection

Acupuncture on the day of embryo transfer significantly improves the reproductive outcome in infertile women: a prospective, randomized trial

Influence of acupuncture stimulation on pregnancy rates for women undergoing embryo transfer

Effect of acupuncture on the outcome of in vitro fertilization and intracytoplasmic sperm injection: a randomized, prospective, controlled clinical study