Acupuncture And Infertility

Many people look at acupuncture and infertility and think this is just an alternative way to treat infertility issues. It is also mainly seen as just a compliment to regular western medicine and other fertility treatments. The truth is that acupuncture can be used effectively for treating infertility by itself. It is most effective in people who have some type of functional problem such as abnormal ovulation and not some structural issue like sperm ducts being obstructed.

You may also want to take Chinese herbs as a supplement to the acupuncture as many acupuncturists recommend this as it can enhance the results of the treatments. If you are also taking infertility drugs, you should check with your doctor and make sure the herbs will not interfere with any of the other procedures or drugs you may be taking.

The exact reason why acupuncture is effective for infertility is not entirely known. Most people agree though that it helps by increasing the blood flow to the main reproductive organs and regulating hormone levels in the body. This not only helps ovarian function in females but aids sperm output in males.

As mentioned earlier, acupuncture is often seen as a complimentary treatment and has been proven to be very helpful for people also undergoing modern procedures. One reason is that acupuncture often relaxes the patient during fertility sessions and studies show that it most definitely increases pregnancy rates in people undergoing IVF (in vitro fertilization).

A recent study shows that 34 out of 80 women who got IVF treatments and acupuncture subsequently became pregnant. This is a very successful rate of nearly 50% compared to only 26% who did not get the acupuncture treatments along with the IVF. This is a very substantial difference and seems to prove the effectiveness of these two procedures used together. Also, the study showed that only 8% of the women who got acupuncture miscarried compared to over 20% who underwent IVF only.

The bottom line is that acupuncture for infertility is proven to be an effective treatment based on the studies done. It is a completely safe and generally painless procedure that can increase your likelihood of getting pregnant. If you are experiencing fertility problems, you may want to check with your doctor and see if you would be a good candidate for acupuncture.