Whether you have been having trouble conceiving a baby, or suffering from repeated miscarriages, acupuncture can help increase your fertility. Acupuncture is a powerful and gentle treatment which has helped countless men and women with a wide range of fertility concerns. It can either be used as the main therapy, or as support for treatments like IVF, IUI, and ICSI.
Dr Fiona McCulloch is our medical director at White Lotus with a special interest in fertility and either her or one of our doctors can advise you on how this program can help you to conceive.
Acupuncture and Fertility in women
Many conditions can interfere with Fertility for women including:
- hormonal imbalances
- luteal phase defect
- disorders of ovulation
- poor follicle/endometrial quality
- immunological factors
- inflammation of pelvic organs
- Endometriosis
- polycystic ovarian syndrome
- fallopian tube blockages
- thyroid disease
Acupuncture is an important therapy which can be very helpful in the treatment of the above conditions. In cases of tubal blockage, or other conditions where surgical procedures may be needed acupuncture can improve circulation and healing after the surgery.
Acupuncture is theorized to improve women’s fertility by
- providing improved blood circulation to the pelvic organs
- enhancing follicle development
- relaxing the cervix
- improving fertile mucous
- regulating ovulation and the menstrual cycle
- improving the endometrial lining
- decreasing overall stress levels.
Acupuncture and Fertility in men
Related Links
Links to Media Articles on Acupuncture and Fertility
Links to research on Women’s Health related to Acupuncture and IVF
- Acupuncture prior to and at embryo transfer in an assisted conception unit
- IVF and Acupuncture: Clinical Efficacy and Mechanistic Basis
- Electroacupuncture as anaesthesia during IVF retrieval
- Acupuncture on day of transfer significantly improves success of IVF
- Acupuncture improves pregnancy rates for women undergoing embryo transfer
- Acupuncture effective as pain relief for egg retrieval procedures
- Electroacupuncture reduces pain, nausea and stress during egg retrieval
- Acupuncture improves pregnancy rate in IVF and ICSI procedures
- Acupuncture improves pregnancy rate in Assisted Reproductive Technology Patients
Links to research on Women's Health related to Acupuncture and Women's Fertility
- Acupuncture induces more regular ovulation in women with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome
- Acupuncture exerts long lasting benefits on women with PCOS (a summary)
- Acupuncture improves blood flow to uterine arteries
- Auricular acupuncture is a valid alternative therapy for fertility disorders such as luteal phase defect and irregular menstrual cycles
Links to research on Men's Health related to Fertility and Acupuncture
References for this article
- Edson Gurfinkel, Agnaldo P. Cedenho, Ysao Yamamura, Miguel Srougi Effects of acupuncture and moxa treatment in patients with semen abnormalities Asian J Androl 2003 Dec; 5: 345-348
- E Manheimer, G Zhang, L Udoff, A Haramati P … – Effects of acupuncture on rates of pregnancy and live birth among women undergoing in vitro fertilisation: systematic review and meta-analysis BMJ: British Medical Journal, 2008
- Paulus WE, Zhang M, Strehler E, El-Danasouri I, Sterzik K. 2002. Influence of acupuncture on the pregnancy rate in patients who undergo assisted reproduction therapy. Fertil Steril, 77(4):721-4
- J . Pei , E . Strehler , U . Noss , M . Abt , P . Piomboni , B . Baccetti , K . Sterzik Quantitative evaluation of spermatozoa ultrastructure after acupuncture treatment for idiopathic male infertility. Fertility and Sterility , Volume 84 , Issue 1 , Pages 141 – 147
- Siterman S, Eltes F, Wolfson V, Lederman H, Bartoov B. 2000. Does acupuncture treatment affect sperm density in males with very low sperm count? A pilot study. Andrologia, 32(1):31-9
- Siterman S, Eltes F, Wolfson V, Zabludovsky N, Bartoov B. 1997. Effect of acupuncture on sperm parameters of males suffering from subfertility related to low sperm quality. Arch Androl, 39(2):155-61
- Zhang Mingmin, Huang Guangying, Lu Fuer, W. E. Paulus and K. Sterzik Influence of acupuncture on idiopathic male infertility in assisted reproductive technology J Huazhong Univ Sci Technolog Med Sci, 2002