IVF Fertility Success with Acupuncture – New Research

18 January 2012

New research concludes that acupuncture improves clinical pregnancy rates and live birth rates for women receiving IVF (in vitro fertilization).¹ Twenty-four randomized controlled trials of 5,807 women examined the effects of acupuncture, electroacupuncture and laser acupuncture on IVF success rates. Control groups consisted of placebo acupuncture, sham acupuncture and no acupuncture. Researchers also discovered that live birth rates significantly increased when acupuncture was administered near the time of either oocyte aspiration or controlled ovarian hyper-stimulation. In yet another recent study published in the American Journal of Reproductive Immunology, it was concluded that acupuncture helps to prevent egg implantation failure.²  This study focused on the acupuncture points St36 and Sp6.

Reference:

1 Effects of acupuncture on pregnancy rates in women undergoing in vitro fertilization: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Cui Hong Zheng, M.D.; Ph.D.^a, Guang Ying Huang, M.D., Ph.D.^a; Ming Min Zhang, M.D., Ph.D.^b; Wei Wang, M.D., Ph.D.^c.. Fertility and Sterility. 1-11-2012.

a Institute of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
b Department of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
c Department of Neurology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.

2 Gui, Juan; Xiong, Fan; Li, Jing; Huang, Guangying. Effects of Acupuncture on LIF and IL-12 in Rats of Implantation Failure. American Journal of Reproductive Immunology. Am J Reprod Immunol. 1600-0897. 2012.