Acupuncture, Infertility and IVF.
Mark Goulding – fertility acupuncture.
Fertility Acupuncture is now frequently used by Irish couples as an adjunct to conventional fertility treatments. Many women use acupuncture to try and improve their chances of conceiving, either before, during or indeed independantly of IVF. Men are also beginning to use acupuncture/herbs as an aid to maximising their chances of producing enough good quality sperm.
Having worked in this area for over 10 years I find that acupuncture can really be of great help with fertility and pregnancy issues. My own approach (which comes from my training in China, Ireland, the UK, and study I have undertaken with acupuncture fertility experts like Zita West, Jane Lyttleton, Debra Betts etc.) is to use traditional acupuncture to enhance the chances of conception by preparing the body as much as possible, in the weeks and months prior to conception.
To do this [for women] the acupuncture points are selected during each treatment in accordance with the menstrual cycle. For example, coming up to the period, points will be used that will encourage the gentle movement of blood and qi (energy), while after the period, points that are aimed at replacing the ‘lost menstrual blood’ might be used. This approach aims to enhance and maximise what is happening at each particular stage of the cycle. This is then individualised depending on the particular imbalances seen in the person according to TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) and her particular circumstances (e.g. perhaps there may be menstrual irregularities to address like very heavy or light periods or clots etc.).
Other specific protocols may also be used when someone is undergoing IVF treatment. Chinese herbal medicine may also be used (although usually not while someone is in an IVF programme).
By looking in detail at what is happening in a womans cycle and establishing what deficiencies or excesses thare are (according to TCM), and addressing them, I believe acupuncture can significantly influence fertility. My experience is that the best possible route for a couple with fertility issues, is to combine acupuncture with conventional investigations/treatments and to literally get – ‘the best of both worlds.‘
Male Fertility Acupuncture
It is estimated that about 40% of fertility problems are due to sperm or male factor issues. For whatever reason, the general sperm quality among males has dropped alarmingly. Our sperm counts today are probably about half what our grandfathers would have had.
Acupuncture has been shown to have significant beneficial effects on sperm parameters and can help improve:
- Sperm count (e.g. where scrotal temp. is raised)
- Sperm motility
- Sperm quality
Through a combination of advice (e.g. about things like scrotal temperature, weight reduction, no cycling, lifestyle etc. etc), herbal medicine, and acupuncture, I believe that there is a lot that can be done to help with male fertility issues.
Most of the acupuncture points used are on the arms and legs and tummy – none are anywhere near your ‘wobbly bits’. Sorry if this sounds a bit flippant – but I know you’ll have been wondering! Please feel free to give me a call to discuss your situation in total confidence.
The main aim is to have both partners as healthy as possible in order to attempt to maximise the chances of achieving and maintaining a healthy pregnancy.
I was a founder member of the Irish ‘Zita West Affiliated Acupuncturist‘ network, having trained with Zita in her methods.
While I make no claims or promises in relation to how effective treatment with acupuncture will be, I genuinely believe it can be of great help, and I can think of few more rewarding days than the ones when I receive the call to say, “I’m pregnant!”
Please give me a call on 086-1556384 if you would like to discuss using acupuncture and/or herbs to help you in your quest.
Good Luck.
Client Testimonial…
“Fertility acupuncture helped me to get pregnant.” – (“X”, South Dublin -)
Fertility acupuncture helped me to get pregnant.
I had spent 9 years doing IVF cycles and had got pregnant on my 6th and 7th cycles. Both pregnancies ended in early miscarriages. I never responded well to IVF drugs and my left ovary never produced any follicles.
I had just had my 8th IVF cycle cancelled due to poor response to the drugs – there were only 2 follocles on the right ovary.
I looked into acupuncture on the net and found Mark Goulding and began acupuncture straight away.
After the first week of IVF drugs on my next IVF cycle I had a scan and I couldn’t believe it! There were 5 follicles on the right ovary and 2 on the left. I went on to get 4 good eggs at egg collection.
3 of the eggs fertilised and I had them transferred and 2 weeks later I found out that I was pregnant.
I went on to have a healthy baby.
Acupuncture helped me to relax during my IVF cycle, gave me more energy, and also seemed to ‘kick start’ my left ovary. I can’t recommend acupuncture enough.
The following is some information (taken from the web) on research that has been done in relation to acupuncture and IVF/fertility.
ACUPUNCTURE AND FERTILITY RESEARCH
BMJ, doi:10.1136/bmj.39471.430451.BE (published 7 February 2008)
Research
Effects of acupuncture on rates of pregnancy and live birth among women undergoing in vitro fertilisation: systematic review and meta-analysis
Objective To evaluate whether acupuncture improves rates of pregnancy and live birth when used as an adjuvant treatment to embryo transfer in women undergoing in vitro fertilisation.
Review methods Eligible studies were randomised controlled trials that compared needle acupuncture administered within one day of embryo transfer with sham acupuncture or no adjuvant treatment, with reported outcomes of at least one of clinical pregnancy, ongoing pregnancy, or live birth. Two reviewers independently agreed on eligibility; assessed methodological quality; and extracted outcome data. For all trials, investigators contributed additional data not included in the original publication (such as live births). Meta-analyses included all randomised patients.
Data synthesis Seven trials with 1366 women undergoing in vitro fertilisation were included in the meta-analyses. There was little clinical heterogeneity. Trials with sham acupuncture and no adjuvant treatment as controls were pooled for the primary analysis. Complementing the embryo transfer process with acupuncture was associated with significant and clinically relevant improvements in clinical pregnancy (odds ratio 1.65, 95% confidence interval 1.27 to 2.14; number needed to treat (NNT) 10 (7 to 17); seven trials), ongoing pregnancy (1.87, 1.40 to 2.49; NNT 9 (6 to 15); five trials), and live birth (1.91, 1.39 to 2.64; NNT 9 (6 to 17); four trials). Because we were unable to obtain outcome data on live births for three of the included trials, the pooled odds ratio for clinical pregnancy more accurately represents the true combined effect from these trials rather than the odds ratio for live birth. The results were robust to sensitivity analyses on study validity variables. A prespecified subgroup analysis restricted to the three trials with the higher rates of clinical pregnancy in the control group, however, suggested a smaller non-significant benefit of acupuncture (odds ratio 1.24, 0.86 to 1.77).
Conclusions Current preliminary evidence suggests that acupuncture given with embryo transfer improves rates of pregnancy and live birth among women undergoing in vitro fertilisation.
Other studies and research
Acupuncture Treatment Results in Higher Pregnancy Rates for Embryo Transfer
Breaking News
The May 2006 issue of medical journal Fertility and Sterility presents several new studies that confirm the efficacy of acupuncture as an aid to IVF.
Here are the study results:
Study #1: Acupuncture on the day of embryo transfer (ET) significantly improves the reproductive outcome in infertile women: a prospective, randomized trial
In this study, Westergaard LG, et.al., set out to evaluate how the use of acupuncture effected pregnancy rates in patients treated with IVF/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).
273 patients were randomly assigned to one of three groups:
One group had acupuncture on the day of the transfer, a second group had acupuncture on the day of the transfer and then again 2 days after the transfer, and a third control group did not receive acupuncture.
The results clearly showed that the first acupuncture group that received treatment the day of the transfer had a statistically significant
higher rate of pregnancy than the control group (37 of 95 [39%] vs. 21 of 87 [26%]). Comparison of ongoing pregnancy rates also favored the acupuncture group (34 of 95 [36%] vs. 19 of 87 [22%]).
There was no improvement on the reproductive outcome by adding an acupuncture treatment 2 days after ET.
Fertility and Sterility Volume 85, Issue 5 , May 2006, Pages 1341-1346
Study #2: Effect of acupuncture on the outcome of in vitro fertilization and intracytoplasmic sperm injection: a randomized, prospective, controlled clinical study
In this study, a joint collaboration between researchers in Germany and China, Stefan Dieterle M.D and his colleagues set out to determine the effect of luteal phase acupuncture on the outcome of IVF/ICSI.
225 IVF/ICSI infertile patients were randomly assigned to 2 groups. One group received Traditional Chinese acupuncture and the other half received sham
acupuncture. As in the previous study, in the group that received true acupuncture, the clinical pregnancy rate and ongoing pregnancy rates (33.6% and 28.4%, respectively) were significantly higher than in sham acupuncture group (15.6% and 13.8%).
Fertility and Sterility Volume 85, Issue 5 , May 2006, Pages 1347-1351
Study #3: Influence of acupuncture stimulation on pregnancy rates for women undergoing embryo transfer
This study from Australia, lead by Caroline Smith Ph.D., examined 228 women and again compared a true acupuncture to a placebo group. The design of this study was to treat the women three separate times: the first session on day 9 of stimulating injections, the second session before ET, and the third immediately after ET.
They reported their results as follows:
The pregnancy rate was 31% in the acupuncture group and 23% in the control group. For those subjects receiving acupuncture, the odds of achieving
a pregnancy were 1.5 higher than for the control group, but the difference did not reach statistical significance. The ongoing pregnancy rate at 18 weeks was higher in the treatment group (28% vs. 18%), but the difference was not statistically significant.
They did conclude that acupuncture was safe for women undergoing embryo transfer.
Fertility and Sterility Volume 85, Issue 5 , May 2006, Pages 1352-1358
Previous studies:
At the October 2004 meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) another study was presented that confirms the value of
acupuncture to the success of IVF treatment. The research, done at Reproductive Medicine and Fertility Centre in Colorado Springs, studied 114 women undergoing IVF. Half of the women received acupuncture and the control group did not. The acupuncture group showed improved outcome in the following ways:
1. Acupuncture group 51% pregnancy rate compared to 36% in control group
2. Acupuncture group 08% miscarriage rate compared to 20% in control group
Acupuncture also was found to reduce the risk of tubal pregnancy and increase the live birth rate. The live birth rate for each IVF cycle was 23 % higher than the cycles for the control group.
Independent.co.uk News Report
Below is the very first paper published on this research.
It is from the journal: Highlights in Fertility and Sterility
(Vol. 77, No. 4, April 2002)
Results from a recent study in Germany indicate that adding acupuncture to the treatment protocol of IVF patients greatly enhances their chances of becoming pregnant. While the physiologic mechanisms by which acupuncture may affect the uterus and reproductive system have not been identified, the researchers found that as a practical matter, at least among their small study population, the technique worked.
In a study of 160 patients undergoing in vitro fertilization, researchers utilized acupuncture, an important element in the 4,000-year-old tradition of Chinese medicine, before and after the embryo transfers of half their patients. The patients, who were all required to have embryos of good quality, were evenly and randomly divided into two groups similar in age and diagnosis.
The group receiving acupuncture treatments had one treatment before transfer and another after embryos had been transferred to their uteruses. Sterile needles were inserted into the patients’ bodies at very specific points. According to the principles of traditional Chinese medicine, energy flows through the body along defined pathways, or meridians. Acupuncture is a means of influencing this energy to induce a desired physiological effect. Points were chosen for these patients along the spleen and stomach/colon meridians in an effort to positively influence blood flow and energy to the uterus and to provide a sedative effect. Additional needles were inserted in the patients’ ears to influence the uterus and stabilize the endocrine system. Needles were left in place for 25 minutes while the patients rested. The control group also rested, lying still for 25 minutes after embryo transfer, as part of the IVF protocol.
The difference between pregnancy rates for the two groups was notable. Patients were examined using ultrasound six weeks after their IVF procedures. In the control group, 21 out of 80 patients became pregnant. Of the patients who had received acupuncture treatments, 34 of 80 became pregnant. The researchers plan to conduct further studies to try to rule out possible psychological or psychosomatic effects.
Sandra Carson, MD, President-Elect of ASRM, commented, “If these findings are confirmed, they may help us improve the odds for our IVF patients’ achieving pregnancy.”