Scottsdale Acupuncture

Blog

Acupuncture And In Vitro Fertilization

Posted Thursday, April 7th, 2016 by

acupuncture, fertility, in vitro fertilization

In a study completed in the year 2008 it was discovered that acupuncture can significantly increase the odds of getting pregnant via in vitro fertilization (IVF). It turns out that getting acupuncture right before or right after IVF can have an overwhelming positive effect when it comes to increasing the chances of pregnancy. There are over seven different peer-reviewed studies on the topic now and most of them have clinically relevant findings.

These seven studies have included participants that number in the thousands throughout four different countries. In each one of the studies women were found to have greater levels of success with IVF embryo transfer when they received traditional acupuncture right after their treatment or directly before IVF. In a comparison studies other women didn’t receive acupuncture or a placebo acupuncture treatment did not showcase extra incentives to conception or birth.

So how effective is acupuncture with IVF?

The British medical Journal recently presented a large-scale analysis of controlled trials on women that had acupuncture with IVF. Women that had received acupuncture 25 minutes before IVF or 25 minutes after IVF experienced a higher rate of embryo transferred as compared to their control group. The rate of pregnancy with the acupuncture group stood at around 42.5% success rate but the control group only experienced a 26.3% success rate for pregnancy. These kind of results show that acupuncture can have an impressive impact when it comes to improving implantation rates and the rates of clinical pregnancy. Not only were these results significant over the short term but women could experience this boost after just two treatments. The study went on to recommend that if women were able to get acupuncture treatments for at least three months in advance of IVF that it was possible to have an even higher success rate.

How does acupuncture actually work to improve development and pregnancy?

In a recent study published by the Journal of Medical Acupuncture, it was theorized that regular acupuncture treatments can actually stimulate egg follicles through the development process. This means that acupuncture in general could improve development for women undergoing IVF as well as improve follicle production. The journal went on to prove this theory in taking a small study of six women who have had extreme difficulty with IVF even through hormonal therapy. The main problem that these women experienced was a difficulty with follicle production. Because they were on the maximum doses of hormonal therapy, they were technically out of clinical options for conception even with IVF. Participants were able to improve their follicle production after just a few acupuncture treatments and three out of the six were actually able to conceive. Unfortunately as a result of this study however only one pregnancy was able to last past the first trimester.  By improving follicle production rates it was possible to improve conception rates however and that just goes to show how powerful acupuncture can be with IVF.

The main argument for trials:

One of the main arguments of the British study for actually trying acupuncture from the perspective of a conceiving mother is that IVF patients who were treated with acupuncture did see a moderate increase in the rate of pregnancy. While this treatment can improve your chances of conception in vitro fertilization does not always guarantee a full and healthy pregnancy especially with women that have had extreme difficulty with conception in the past. A big advantage of using acupuncture to improve pregnancy rates is that overall the treatment has very low risk of side effects. In vitro fertilization on its own can be an expensive process as well as extremely stressful. Knowing that you have done everything in your power to ensure its success is important. With the help of acupuncture treatments it is possible to increase the chances of pregnancy and with little risk to an expecting mother as well as the full term of the pregnancy.

Addressing fertility problems:

Major associations for fertility across the world are beginning to adopt acupuncture as one of their most recommended treatments for in vitro fertilization patients. The American Pregnancy Association for example now has a whole section of literature on infertility and acupuncture. With more major organizations joining this trend it may be only a short amount of time before we start to see acupuncture becoming part of the IVF pre-treatment process.

The American Pregnancy Association sites that acupuncture can help with addressing various problems that can affect fertility. Their main points are that acupuncture can help to address issues including hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism and many other ailments which can be major barriers to conception.  Through this scientific research, as well as an ongoing following in the medical community, we can see the merits of acupuncture with in vitro fertilization.

Schedule an appointment online »