Acupuncture and Infertility: Proven Results

If you are having difficulty getting pregnant, and are interested in using natural fertility treatment methods, then you should seriously consider undergoing acupuncture treatment. In the past decade there have been numerous scientific studies that have proven that acupuncture significantly improves a woman's chances of conceiving and carrying a baby to term.

A German study in 2002 of 80 women receiving either IVF treatment alone or IVF treatment combined with acupuncture, showed that the women receiving acupuncture had nearly double the rate of pregnancy than those only receiving IVF treatment. These results have been duplicated in numerous additional studies, including one in 2008 that involved over 1000 women and whose results were recently published in the British Medical Journal. This study showed that not only did women receiving acupuncture have much higher pregnancy rates, they also had a much lower chance of miscarriage.

The way acupuncture helps improve fertility is not completely understood, but it is widely believed by scientists to be a result in part by the way acupuncture can help reduce stress levels. Studies estimate that nearly 30% of all fertility problems stem from stress, in part because of the production of stress hormones such as cortisone and epinephrine which appear to interfere with fertility. The reduction of stress also appears to help the uterus better produce the proteins necessary for egg implantation.

The proven scientific foundations supporting acupuncture for fertility treatment should be reassuring for many women seeking natural fertility treatments. However, it appears that the best results come from the combination of multiple fertility treatments at the same time.