IVF Fertility & Acupuncture
Can Complementary Therapies support fertility?
Many people use complementary or alternative therapies to improve their overall physical and emotional health. This could include medicines, such as herbal, vitamin, mineral, nutritional and other supplements, and therapies such as Chinese medicine, chiropractic, naturopathy, osteopathy, acupuncture, reflexology and aromatherapy.
Although there is limited scientific studies of the beneficial impact of complementary and alternative medicines and therapies on fertility. While improving your general health is clearly beneficial.
Some of the key benefits of acupuncture during IVF / IUI /Fertility cycles are
- Stress reduction. Calming of the sympathetic nervous system.
- Improved blood flow to ovaries and uterus.
- Improve pregnancy rates when combining IVF with acupuncture.
- Improved egg quality when starting acupuncture in advance of the IVF.
- Early pregnancy support to reduce miscarriage rates.
- Reduced side effects from IVF medications.
- Improvement of the uterine lining.
If you would like to try complementary therapies while seeking or on medical support for conception, please call to arrange for a consultation and treatment.
Acupuncture and IVF fertility
Acupuncture is believed to:
- reduce stress, increasing quality of life while you’re undertaking treatment, and
- stimulate blood flow to the uterus, influencing the menstrual cycle and ovulation.
A study have shown that acupuncture on the day of embryo transfer may improve implantation rates.
Modern Science
Modern medical science suggests the causes of female infertility can be grouped into four major categories. These relate to
- egg production,
- physical blockages,
- embryo implantation
- other factors which may lead to unexplained infertility.
Acupuncture is not contraindicated to IVF therapy because unlike drug based therapies, acupuncture has no co-interaction issues. Since the induction of IVF therapy, acupuncture treatment protocols have been continually refined. As a result, acupuncture has developed into an excellent adjunct therapy to IVF.
Traditional Chinese Medicine consist of the use of both acupuncture and herbal medicine. acupuncture can be conducted to bring benefits during or prior to your IVF fertility treatments, we take a holistic approach. Outcomes and treatment plans may different for each person.
According to Chinese Medicine, Acupuncture during menstruation encourages the flow of menstrual blood as in promotes the flow of Qi and Blood. This may benefit the endometrial wall creating better conditions to aid embryo implantation.
When fertility is unexplained there are numerous factors which may be the cause. Generally speaking, these are lifestyle issues and include: psychological and emotional factors; age; body weight; smoking; alcohol; caffeine intake; immunological abnormalities, borderline hormonal imbalances. Book now and see how acupuncture can benefit you on your IVF fertility journey.