Infertility Acupuncture

Ancient technique of acupuncture supports modern medical infertility treatments.

Meet our AcupuncturistsDating back to the early Stone Age - somewhere between 8000 and 3000BC - acupuncture is one of the oldest medical practices still widely used worldwide today.

For thousands of years the Chinese have used acupuncture to enhance fertility. As Western medicine reaches out to explore complimentary medicine today, studies indicate women who receive acupuncture before and after embryo transfer are more likely to conceive. In a study published in Fertility and Sterility involving 160 patients, 80 women undergoing IVF received acupuncture before and after embryo transfer and 80 received embryo transfer without acupuncture. There were 34 pregnancies (42.5%) in the acupuncture group and 21 pregnancies (26.3%) in the group without acupuncture.

An appointment with a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine is quite different from a visit to a Western medical doctor. The Chinese Medical practitioner makes a diagnosis by asking questions, observing the patient, "listening" to the radial pulse and examining the tongue to determine any disharmony. Specific acupuncture points are then chosen in combinations to address the pattern and restore harmony. The patient rests quietly for about half an hour during the treatment. All this is so very different from the Western techniques of lab tests, X-rays and blood work.

What is acupuncture and how does it work? Acupuncture is the insertion of thin, sterile needles at specific points (acupuncture points) along the surface of the body to regulate the flow of qi or life force energy. The ancient Chinese postulated that there were meridians of qi that flowed throughout the body linking all the internal organs and body structures. If the flow of qi became disordered or blocked various symptoms and pathologies would arise. Acupuncture was used to redirect the flow of qi thereby restoring balance and health.

Western science has several theories on how acupuncture may be working for the fertility patient among them are inhibiting the sympathetic nervous system, improving blood flow to the uterus, and regulating hormones.

In addition to fertility, among the many conditions that acupuncture has been used to treat are: stress, anxiety and depression-often the three companions of any one on this journey. Those undergoing fertility treatments know how stressful it can be. Feelings of anxiety and depression are common. Acupuncture can offer some relief for stressed patients without drugs. A University of Arizona study states "it appears that acupuncture provides rates of relief from depression comparable to those seen in trials of antidepressants or psychotherapy."

This ancient technique, which has stood the test of time, offers the twenty first century fertility patient a gentle compliment to the high tech medicine of the West. A teacher of mine once said it best with these words, "Acupuncture treats where technology cannot just as technology treats where acupuncture cannot."

Contact us for more information about infertility acupuncture.
Fertility Specialists offer Female Infertility and Male Infertility Treatments including IVF & IUI