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Acupuncture and IVF: Figures Prove the Positive Effect

There are a good many different reasons why acupuncture can influence the results of in-vitro Fertilization or IVF as it is popularly known. The levels of pituitary as well as ovarian hormones have been known to be affected by acupuncture and electro-acupuncture can result in better and improved flow of blood in the uterine arteries of women who are infertile.

Acupuncture and IVF go hand in hand since patients are often advised to use acupuncture for IVF because it might help them respond better to medication as well as have healthier eggs and also, higher pregnancy rates. A great many women who have problems with high FSH levels or who have had a miscarriage are advised that acupuncture may be an effective solution to their problems, although there is no objective data that supports such claims.

Acupuncture with IVF May Help Achieve Pregnancy

Many couples that have difficulties in conceiving a child through traditional methods turn to other techniques to help them in the reproductive process and the most used reproduction therapy used is in-vitro fertilization. This means that the eggs of the woman are harvested and fertilized with the sperm of a man in a laboratory.

Some studies on acupuncture and IVF show that women undergoing acupuncture have a pregnancy rate that is almost 40 per cent above those who did not have acupuncture and this may be attributed to the fact that acupuncture makes the woman’s uterus more receptive to implantation. For those women who wish to use acupuncture with their IVF cycle it may be advisable for them to get acupuncture treatment on the afternoon prior to the transfer of the embryo as well as on the afternoon or day after the transfer.

A lot of women find IVF to be a stressful experience and this stress and anxiety may contribute negatively and result in undermining the success with IVF. Some figures that are the result of studies on acupuncture and IVF certainly suggest that there is a definite increase in the rate of pregnancy in women undergoing IVF, due to acupuncture.

A German study that was undertaken in 2002 is believed to have revealed that of the 80 women who were taking IVF and who also received acupuncture treatment, the success rate was 42.5 percent which translates into 34 women becoming pregnant, which was much higher than corresponding figures for women undergoing IVF treatment who did not opt for acupuncture.

The Issue of Acupuncture and Fertility

Acupuncture serves as one alternative to modern treatment methods for improving fertility. Couples that are having functional problems like irregularity in ovulation are more likely to benefit from acupuncture than those who experience structural problems like having a blocked sperm duct or damaged fallopian tubes.

Working Principle of Acupuncture

How acupuncture and fertility are related is still not known precisely. Most experts in acupuncture hold the view that acupuncture works by improving body functions, balancing the hormone levels in blood, and increasing blood flow to the genital organs. The result is enhancement in ovarian function for women and increased production of sperm in men.

According to the Chinese concept of treatment, throughout the human body and its surface, invisible channels of energy run. These are called meridians. If any of these channels is obstructed at any one point in the body, energies start building up in certain body regions while others do not get enough of it to function properly. These obstructions can be opened by placing needles on select spots. Medical science is of the view that using needles stimulates the nervous system to trigger the release of chemicals within the brain, spinal cord, and muscles. This sets the body on an auto-healing program.

Acupuncture and Fertility in Women

Studies appear to vote in favor of acupuncture as a complementary form of therapy in women who are having other treatments for fertility problem. One opinion on this positive relation of acupuncture and fertility in women is that acupuncture relieves the anxiety of women undergoing treatment for fertility. Also, acupuncture's success in bringing fertility is more pronounced if the woman is to undergo in vitro fertilization. In addition, the rate of miscarriages and ectopic (out of place) pregnancies has been found significantly lower for women who took acupuncture as treatment.

Acupuncture and Pregnancy

The causal relation between acupuncture and fertility has also been studied in case of the number of pregnancies that were reported in women whose cases were stamped as hopeless by medical doctors and who later caught at the acupuncture needles for final hope. However, these studies have been challenged by medical experts who showed by experiments that even without acupuncture such women could get pregnant by biofeedback i.e. changing their thought patterns to positively influence their internal systems.

While the opinion of the medical community remains divided on the issue of acupuncture and fertility, doctors have no reservation in allowing their patients undergo acupuncture since it has been observed to be quite a safe procedure.