Can acupuncture help treat infertility?

Yes. There was a recent study * published by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine in the leading magazine for fertility research. It showed that in two equal test groups of IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) patients who either received acupuncture before and after embryo transfer or no acupuncture, 42.5% of acupuncture patients became pregnant, versus 26.3% of patients in the control group.

*Fertility and Sterility April 2002, Vol. 77, No.4, p721

Another article published in the Journal of Chinese Acupuncture and Moxabustion in 2003 clearly showed that the above effect was not due to placebo effects. In the group who received acupuncture at the same acupuncture points but no needles were actually inserting into skin (placebo needles), the pregnancy rate was actually similar to the group that did not acupuncture at all, about half of the group that received true acupuncture treatment.

*Chinese Acupuncture and Moxabustion January 2003, Vol. 23, No. 1, p3-5

How does acupuncture help improving pregnancy rate in IVF?

Nobody has solid evidence how acupuncture works. However, one the acupuncture points used in both studies has well demonstrated activity in inhibiting the uterus mobility. In the acupuncture group, there is not much change in the contraction frequency of the uterine implantation zone after the embryo importation, where as in both the placebo needle group and in the group that does not receive acupuncture there were significant increase in contraction frequency. The increase in the contraction in the embryo implantation zone has been associated with the poor pregnancy rate. In fact, using a soft catheter instead of a hard one to implant an embryo under ultrasound guidance actually caused less contraction and had higher pregnancy rate.

So slowing down the contraction of the uterus may be one the reasons for the success of acupuncture in improving the pregnancy rate in IVF.

Are all infertility cases the same?

In eastern medicine, there are five major types of infertility:

  • Spleen deficiency
  • Blood deficiency
  • Kidney deficiency
  • Jin/Qi deficiency
  • Combined deficiency

Depending on the different diagnosis, different meridians and acupuncture points can be stimulated to correct the underlying deficiency.

What kind of conditions can acupuncture treat?

Male infertility

  • Low sperm count
  • Low sperm activity

Female infertility

  • Irregular period
  • PMS
  • Endometriosis
  • Poor egg quality
  • Fibroid
  • Hormonal imbalance

Special case

One patient has had hypothyroidism and infertility for many years. She tried the IUI (Intra-Uterine Insemination) three times before coming to our office and all three failed. After she came to our office for a few acupuncture treatments, all lab tests of her hormone level improved significantly. She succeeded in getting pregnant on the next IUI. This is one of the many examples of how acupuncture can help patients with infertility.