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Fertility & Acupuncture

How Acupuncture Helps Support In-Vitro Fertilization

If you are like many women, you have probably heard that acupuncture combined with In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) can help increase the chance of a successful pregnancy. Interest in this approach has grown steadily, and research on acupuncture as a complement to the IVF cycle continues to evolve. So how does this 3,000-year-old medicine actually help support IVF?

Traditional Chinese Medicine Approach

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, disease and malfunction in the body result from a blockage in the flow of vital Qi (energy) and Blood. By removing these blockages and restoring a smooth normal flow, the body is able to restore health and optimum organ function. Through the use of hair-thin needles and Chinese herbs, Acupuncture Physicians are able to find and remove these blockages of Qi and Blood, allowing tissues and organs to heal themselves.

Traditional Chinese Medicine treats the body as a whole. When a woman receives acupuncture care for fertility, her entire picture of health is taken into consideration. By restoring the smooth flow of Qi and Blood within the body, her general well-being will improve and she will respond better to the I.V.F. process.

Research Findings

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials published in 2023 and 2024 found that acupuncture was associated with a higher clinical pregnancy rate compared with sham acupuncture. However, the same reviews found no significant difference in live birth rate between acupuncture and control groups, and rated the overall quality of evidence as low — an important distinction, since a clinical pregnancy and a live birth are not the same outcome. Researchers have proposed several mechanisms for how acupuncture may help:

Reduce stress hormones that interfere with ovulation.
Normalize hormones that regulate ovulation so an egg is released.
Increase blood flow to the uterus, which may support embryo implantation.

Benefits of Acupuncture for Fertility

Researchers point to stress as a key factor affecting fertility outcomes. Acupuncture appears to reduce stress by releasing endorphins in the brain. Endorphins are chemicals that the body releases that suppress pain naturally, as well as affect hormones that influence the menstrual cycle. Acupuncture also influences levels of FSH and LH and has been found to regulate the communication between the brain and ovaries, known as the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis.

Chinese herbal remedies and acupuncture aim at promoting the growth and maturation of ovarian follicles as well as induce ovulation. When used in conjunction with IVF, Chinese medicine may improve the quality of follicles. Endometrial thickness and uterine artery blood flow are important for implantation of human embryos during the transfer stage of IVF. With its central effect on the nervous system, acupuncture may contribute by dilating uterine arteries and blood vessels, thereby increasing blood flow to the endometrium.

Acupuncture is non-toxic, affordable, and is increasingly used alongside In Vitro Fertilization — though as with any complementary approach, it should be discussed with your fertility specialist as part of your overall treatment plan.

Sources: systematic reviews and meta-analyses of acupuncture for IVF outcomes published in Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics (2023) and the Chinese Journal of Integrative Medicine (2023).