Connections to Health - Acupuncture and Infertility

THE ISHTA HOLISTIC HEALTH CENTRE

CONNECTIONS to HEALTH

Acupuncture and Infertility

There have now been a number of studies confirming the efficacy of acupuncture as an aid to IVF treatment.

Study 1: This study, by Westergaard LG et al, evaluates how the use of acupuncture affected pregnancy rates in patients undergoing IVF/ICSI(intracytoplasmic sperm injection) treatment.
273 patients wee randomly assigned to one of three groups, either receiving no acupuncture, acupuncture on the day of transfer, or acupuncture both on the day of transfer and 2 days later.
The results showed that the group receiving acupuncture on the day of transfer had a significantly higher rate of pregnancy than the control group (39% compared with 26%). The rate of ongoing pregnancy was also higher in the acupuncture group (36% compared with 22%). Adding an extra acupuncture treatment 2 days after transfer did not improve the outcome.

Study 2: In this study Stefan Dieterle et al looked at the effect of luteal phase acupuncture on the outcome of IVF/ICSI. There were 225 women in the study. One group received traditional Chinese acupuncture and the control group received sham acupuncture, and again both the clinical pregnancy rate and ongoing pregnancy rate were higher in the acupuncture group than in the control group (33.6% vs 28.4%, and 15.6% vs 13.8%)

Study 3: An Australian study by Caroline Smith et al examined 228 women and compared true acupuncture to placebo. The women were treated three separate times: on day 9 of stimulating injections, before embryo transfer and after embryo transfer.
The pregnancy rate was 31% in the acupuncture group and 23% in the control group. The ongoing pregnancy rate at 18 weeks was 28% in the treatment group and 18% in the control group.

Other studies have also shown a positive effect of acupuncture when used in conjunction with fertility treatment. As well as increasing chances of success, acupuncture has also been found to reduce the risk of tubal pregnancy and increase the live birth rate.

Acupuncture can also be useful in increasing fertility naturally as a first option before undertaking IVF treatment.
Suggested mechanisms for the fertility enhancing effects of acupuncture are:

Increased blood flow to the uterus and therefore increased thickness of the endometrium - an important marker for fertility.
Lower stress hormones responsible for infertility
Increased endorphin production, hich has been shown to effect the release of gonadotrophin-releaseing hormone (which is involved in regulating the menstrual cycle).
Normalisation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis, which is vitally important in fertility.
An effect on the plasma levels of various hormones involved in fertility (FSH, LH, progesterone and oestradiol)

To discuss acupuncture and fertility, call Clare Dobie at the Ishta Centre (01785 616010) or on 01538 388855.