Acupuncture guidelines

Complementary therapies for fertility problems are becoming ever more popular, and acupuncture in particular is generally accepted to be a successful alternative or addition to conventional treatments. Having a session of acupuncture before and after embryo transfer is thought to increase the chances of implantation. Indeed, it’s now so popular that some fertility clinics have acupuncturists working on site to provide an integrated service alongside the medical treatment due to patient demand. However, the British Fertility Society has now questioned the accepted wisdom that you're more likely to get pregnant if you've had acupuncture alongside your IVF.

They've issued guidelines which say there's no evidence that having acupuncture (or using Chinese herbal medicine) increases your chances of having successful fertility treatment. They examined the results of fourteen existing trials, which included more than two and a half thousand patients, and found no evidence that acupuncture made any difference to the outcome of fertility treatment. Acupuncturists question the methods used for the trials, but the lack of evidence cannot be entirely meaningless given the number of patients involved.

When The Complete Guide to IVF was published, I was questioned by an acupuncturist who didn’t feel I had been sufficiently positive about acupuncture during treatment in the book. In fact, I am not against the idea of complementary therapies at all, and I think that if they can make you feel calmer and more relaxed, this can only have a positive outcome. I had, however, pointed out that scientific evidence was not clear cut when it came to backing up claims that having acupuncture during an IVF cycle increased success rates. If you find that acupuncture makes you more able to deal with the ups and downs of IVF, then there’s every reason to use it while you’re having treatment. If on the other hand, you are spending money you can ill afford looking and are expecting miracles, it may be worth reconsidering.

You can read more about the British Fertility Society take on this at www.britishfertilitysociety.org.uk

Acupuncture and IVF

it's the one complementary therapy that we really thought could make a difference to IVF outcomes, and it wasn't just patients who were convinced - some clinics have allowed acupuncturists in to work with patients going through fertility treatment. Now, researchers are claiming acupuncture makes absolutely no difference. A team from Guy's and St Thomas' analysed all the published research on the subject, and concluded that there was no evidence that acupuncture had any effect at all on the chances of getting pregnant after IVF.

It had been thought that acupuncture could increase the likelihood of an embryo implanting in the womb if it was carried out around the time of embryo transfer, and that's one reason why it has proved so popular with fertility patients. In fact it seems the only clear effect of acupuncture is to reduce the need for pain relief at the time of egg collection.

When I wrote The Complete Guide to Female Fertility , I interviewed dozens of women who'd been through IVF, and many of them had tried acupuncture. Not one of them felt it had been a waste of time or money, and in fact most claimed they were sure it had made a real difference. Perhaps this is all psychological, but when we know that stress has a role in causing infertility, anything that helps reduce that must surely be of some benefit.

You can read more on this on the BBC website

Acupuncture linked to improved IVF success rates

Researchers have concluded that acupuncture carried out around the time the embryos are put back into the womb during an IVF cycle can improve the chances of a positive pregnancy test and a live birth.

The research team conducted a review of the existing studies looking at acupuncture and IVF, and drew the clear conclusion that acupuncture did appear to make a difference. Acupuncture has been used in traditional Chinese medicine to regulate the female reproductive system for centuries, and has become increasingly popular amongst those going through fertility treatment in recent years. The review looked at studies where acupuncture was used within a day of embryo transfer, either before or afterwards.

The full details of the review study can be seen here