We have supported many women across all age groups undergoing IVF, or other forms of assisted reproduction, that have had a successful outcome and a live birth using acupuncture and nutritional supplements. 

Acupuncture & Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART)

‘The good news of the acupuncture use in fertility therapy is the benefit is not affected by age, meaning all age groups showed an increase in IVF success rates from the acupuncture therapy’ (Dr Caroline Smith)

Using acupuncture in combination with Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) is gaining wide-spread acceptance due to clinical trials done across the globe. For over a decade research has been published in official medical journals such as Fertility and Sterility by the American Society of Reproductive Medicine and Human Reproduction by the European Society for Reproduction and Embryology showing the efficacy of acupuncture as a support therapy for ART/IVF/ICSI.

Research has shown that receiving acupuncture while undergoing assisted reproduction has positive benefits. Studies show that when acupuncture is combined with In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) and Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) there can be a 50% increase in pregnancy rates in women of all ages. This is highly encouraging considering that in Australia the one percent of births involving the use of ART are given on average only a 20% chance of conceiving in an IVF cycle. Additional benefits of acupuncture that have been reported include reducing the potentially considerable side-effects associated with the fertility drugs required in assisted reproduction, and importantly, decreasing the chance of miscarriage.

Four major studies demonstrating increased pregnancy retes when acupuncture is combined with ART/IVF:

In Australia a randomised study headed by Dr Caroline Smith was published in 2006. Smith and her colleagues evaluated the effects of acupuncture on clinical pregnancy rates for women undergoing IVF/ICSI. A group of two hundred and eighty (280) women were randomly allocated to receive either ‘true’ acupuncture (treatment group) or non-invasive ‘sham’ acupuncture (control group) immediately before and after embryo transfer. The authors chose acupuncture points that have effects on the reproductive, endocrine and neurological systems according to Chinese medicine principles. The study showed the chances of achieving a pregnancy increases (31% vs 23%) when acupuncture is used as an adjunct therapy to IVF. According to the authors ‘the ongoing pregnancy rate at 18 weeks was higher in the treatment [true acupuncture] group.’ This latter finding is consistent with a German study by Dieterle et al reported in the same issue of Fertility and Sterility.

A 2006 randomized Danish study by Westergaard et al involving 273 women undergoing IVF/ICSI demonstrated clinical pregnancy (39% vs 26%) and ongoing pregnancy (36% vs 22%) was significantly higher when acupuncture was performed before and after embryo transfer compared to when no acupuncture treatment was performed.

In 2002 Fertility and Sterility published the landmark IVF/acupuncture research by Dr Wolfgang Paulus and colleagues. The researchers studied 160 women undergoing IVF. Half received the standard fertility protocol and half had acupuncture added to the fertility protocol, receiving acupuncture before and after embryo transfer. The authors maintain the ‘analysis shows that the pregnancy rate for the acupuncture group is considerably higher than for the control group (42.5% vs 26.3%, P=.03).’

An unexpected outcome in a 1996 Swedish study lead by Stener-Victorin assessing the use of electro-acupuncture for pain relief during egg-pick up was a ‘significantly higher implantation rate’ in the group receiving electro-acupuncture.

References

BBC News, ‘Acupuncture boosts IVF success,’ Tues 16 April 2002, http://www.news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/1933901.stm.

Dieterle S, Ying G, Hatzman W & Neuer A, 2006, ‘Effect of acupuncture on in-vitro fertilization and intracytoplasmic sperm injection: a randomized, perspective controlled clinical trial,’ Fertility and Sterility, May 2006, Vol. 85, Issue 5, pp. 1347-51.

Paulus WE, Zhang MM, Strehler E, El-Danasouri I & Sterzik K, 2002, ‘Influence of acupuncture on the pregnancy rate in patients who undergo assisted reproduction therapy,’ Fertility and Sterility, April 2002, Vol. 77, Issue 4, pp. 721-4.

Scott, Sophie, 2006, ‘Acupuncture linked to IVF success’ http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2006/06/05/1655666.htm.

Smith C, Coyle M & Norman R, 2006, ‘Influence of acupuncture stimulation on pregnancy rates for women undergoing embryo transfer,’ Fertility and Sterility, May 2006, Vol. 85, Issue 5, pp. 1352-8.

Stener-Victorin E, Waldenstrom U, Wikland M & Janson PO, 1999, ‘A prospective randomized study of electro-acupuncture versus alfentanil as anaesthesia during oocyte aspiration in in-vitro fertilization,’ Human Reproduction, 1999, Vol 14, No. 10, pp. 2480-84.

Stener-Victorin E, Waldenstrom U, Andersaan SA, & Wikland M, 1996, ‘Reduction of blood flow impedance in the uterine arteries of infertile women using electro-acupuncture’, Human Reproduction, 1996, Vol.11, No. 6, pp. 1314-7.