Acupuncture
Practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) believe that a variety of energy patterns can interfere with becoming pregnant. Acupuncture can be used in combination with other Western Medicine treatments for infertility when trying to get pregnant. Acupuncture provides a noninvasive, holistic approach to reversing infertility and has a surprising success rate of 60% among infertile women; a very high number, considering that many women discover acupuncture late in their search for infertility solutions
Traditional acupuncture involves inserting extremely thin stainless steel, disposable needles into specific points on the surface of the skin. This ionic transfer sets in motion an elegant interplay of the body's own energies, restoring balance to the body, mind and spirit along with the correction of infertility-related imbalances and deficiencies.
This age-old system of medicine has stood the test of thousands of years and yet continues to rise above and improve health even in our modern western culture.
This sophisticated yet subtle method of treatment is so effective because of its focus on each individual's particular needs. According to the leading Taoist, Chuang Tse, in the 4th century B.C.,
Your acupuncture treatment for infertility will be tailored to address your specific imbalances, and will revitalize you in a relaxed atmosphere.
Acupuncture with IVF and ICSI
Many couples who have difficulty conceiving a child by traditional methods often employ various techniques to assist them in the reproductive process. The most common assisted reproduction therapy is in-vitro fertilization (IVF), in which a woman's eggs are harvested and fertilized with a man's sperm in a laboratory. In cases where a male's sperm count is extremely low, a different procedure known as intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) may be used.
Although assisted reproduction techniques like IVF and ICSI have been in use since the 1970s, they are still something of an inexact science. Success rates for each therapy range from as low as 1% to as high as 50%, and a successful pregnancy depends on a variety of factors, including the age of the woman, the cause of infertility, and the skill of the technician performing the procedure. Acupuncture is a useful tool for patients looking to increase their chances of becoming pregnant following assisted reproduction therapy.
Two teams of researchers in Germany and China have found that adding acupuncture to the treatment regimen of women using assisted reproductive techniques to have a child can dramatically improve the woman's chances of getting pregnant by up to 20%. In these women the chosen acupuncture points were those that relax the uterus according to the principles of TCM. This greatly increased the chances of getting pregnant because acupuncture has a great influence on the autonomic nervous system and needling specific points would optimized endometrial receptivity in these women.