Acupuncture and IVF: Figures Prove the Positive Effect
There are a good many different reasons why acupuncture can influence the results of in-vitro Fertilization or IVF as it is popularly known. The levels of pituitary as well as ovarian hormones have been known to be affected by acupuncture and electro-acupuncture can result in better and improved flow of blood in the uterine arteries of women who are infertile.
Acupuncture and IVF go hand in hand since patients are often advised to use acupuncture for IVF because it would help them respond better to medication as well as have more healthier eggs and also, higher pregnancy rates. A great many number of women who have problems with high FSH levels or who have had a miscarriage are advised that acupuncture is the solution to their problems. But, there is no objective data that supports such claims.
Acupuncture with IVF May Help Achieve Pregnancy
Many couples that have difficulties in conceiving a child through traditional methods turn to other techniques to help them in the reproductive process and the most used reproduction therapy used is in-vitro fertilization. This means that the eggs of the woman are harvested and fertilized with the sperm of a man in a laboratory.
Some studies on acupuncture and IVF show that women undergoing acupuncture have a pregnancy rate that is almost 40 per cent above those who did not have acupuncture and this may be attributed to the fact that acupuncture makes the woman's uterus more receptive to implantation. For those women who wish to use acupuncture with their IVF cycle it may be more advisable for them to get acupuncture treatment on the afternoon prior to the transfer of the embryo as well as on the afternoon or day after the transfer.
A lot of women find IVF to be a stressful experience and this stress and anxiety may contribute negatively and result in undermining the success with IVF. Some figures that are the result of studies on acupuncture and IVF certainly suggest that there is a definite increase in the rate of pregnancy in women undergoing IVF, due to acupuncture.
A German study that was undertaken in 2002 is believed to have revealed that of the 80 women who were taking IVF and who also received acupuncture treatment, the success rate was 42.5 percent which translates into 34 women becoming pregnant, which was much higher than corresponding figures for women undergoing IVF treatment who did not opt for acupuncture.
