Can acupuncture really increase a woman’s chances of conceiving? Research has found that acupuncture treatment can have a positive effect on those trying for a baby and can actually aid the conception process. Over the past twenty years, fertility problems have increased dramatically. At least 25% of couples in the UK planning a baby will have trouble conceiving. Consequently, more couples are turning to acupuncture for fertility treatments to help them start a family. Acupuncture for fertility treatment may help to increase blood flow to the reproductive organs. Acupuncture works to balance hormone levels, regulate the menstrual cycle. furthermore may help improve the lining of the uterus and quality of eggs released. Additionally, conditions such as polycystic ovaries and endometriosis have also been shown to improve with acupuncture.
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Positive effects of acupuncture treatment are thought to include:
- Regulate the menstrual cycle and promote regular ovulation
- Regulate the hormones to produce a larger number of follicles
- Improve the functions of ovaries to produce better quality eggs
- Enhance the vitality of sperm
- Relieve the side effects of drugs used in IVF
- Increase the thickness of the uterine lining so to encourage successful implantation
- Reduce the chance of miscarriage
Acupuncture can be used to strengthen the constitution and help with relaxation and energy levels. This may help couples to cope with any stress and anxieties that people may experience during the process of trying to start a family. Acupuncture treatment can help promote a calm, positive, relaxed frame of mind possible increasing the chances of conception.
studies have shown acupuncture’s effectiveness for fertility
Gerad Kite, acupuncturist and British Acupuncture member Council explains how it can help: “Unexplained infertility is becoming endemic as more and more couples decide to wait to start a family until their 30’s.
One study found that acupuncture could more than double pregnancy rates. Acupuncture has now been recognised as a viable treatment to help older parents chances of conception. Previous studies have proved the effectiveness of acupuncture for infertility. A 2004 study conducted by the Reproductive Medicine and Fertility Center in Colorado found that 51% of women who underwent both IVF and acupuncture treatment at the same time became pregnant, while only 36% of those who only underwent IVF did. The latter group also had higher rates of miscarriage and stillbirth (20%) compared to those women who had received acupuncture (8%). A 2015 study conducted by Shanghai University in China found that acupuncture also helped treat male infertility. Of the men who participated, those who had acupuncture had an increased percentage of sperm in their semen. Sperm structure and morphology was also healthier than their counterparts who did not undergo acupuncture infertility treatment. A report published in the journal Fertility and Sterility (2002) found the pregnancy rate in the group receiving acupuncture group was 42.5%, compared to the group which did not receive the therapy, where the rate was 26.3%.
The British Acupuncture Council BAcC
The British Acupuncture Council (BAcC) has a membership of over 3000 professionally qualified acupuncturists. It is the UK’s largest professional body for the practice of acupuncture. BAcC members practise a traditional, holistic style of acupuncture diagnosis and treatment based on a system developed and refined over 2,000 years. To achieve BAcC membership, practitioners must first undertake extensive training in traditional acupuncture (minimum three years full-time or part-time equivalent), which includes physiology, anatomy and other biomedical sciences appropriate to the practice of acupuncture.
Helen Taylor – Weekes has been involved in TCM acupuncture, infertility, IVF, male fertility and pregnancy now for over 30 years, as an acupuncturist, health care advisor, teacher, consultant and mother working in the NHS and in private clinics around the southeast. We are lucky enough to have Helen is co-owner of The Welwyn & Hatfield Practice. Many couples have come to Helen for advice on how to get into optimum shape for all the vital stages of conception, pregnancy and childbirth.
