Acupuncture for Fertility

Chinese medicine has been used for thousands of years to promote conception, pregnancy, and assist in labor. Carefully chosen acupuncture points and herbal formulas can increase fertility rates and stabilize pregnancy, and has few, if any, adverse side effects.

Research has suggested the benefits of acupuncture include:

Acupuncture can improve a woman's health
to decrease the following fertility conditions:
"Stress-Related" Infertility
Elevated FSH
Endometriosis
Poor Response to ART stimulation
Habitual Miscarriage
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)
Auto Immune Antibodies
  1. Increased blood flow to the uterus to promote implantation.
  2. Improved ovarian function, which may help produce better quality eggs and a larger number of follicles.
  3. Reduced side effects of drugs used in ART procedures.
  4. Decreased uterine contractions, intended to encourage implantation, and prevent early miscarriage.
  5. Reduction of stress hormones and anxiety.
  6. The ability to strengthen a patient's immune system and support their general health, possibly helping to prevent miscarriage.

Success Rates of Acupuncture for Fertility

Acupuncture alone, as a natural approach to pregnancy has a success rate of 30-40% for most women with fertility challenges. It has been proven to increase the success rate of IVF procedures from 26.1% to 42% in a study published in Fertility and Sterility Journal in April 2002. At our clinic in Los Angeles, Well Women Acupuncture's successful pregnancy rate is over 50%, including births resulting naturally from acupuncture and herbs alone, and births resulting from the addition of acupuncture and herbs to ART protocols.

Including Acupuncture in IVF Protocols

Our practitioners generally work with women from the beginning of their IVF protocol; suggesting weekly treatments during Lupron suppression and throughout the stimulation phase of the cycle. Our practitioners are available to accompany women to their transfer site for acupuncture immediately before and after embryo transfer.

Increasing Male Fertility with Acupuncture

If your partner has been diagnosed with a low sperm count or motility problems, acupuncture and herbs may be able to increase sperm count and improve motility, based on a study recently presented at the world conference of the America Society for Reproductive Medicine. The study suggested up to ten treatments prior to any lab-assisted fertility procedure. We often treat the husbands of Well Women patients at our acupuncture clinic in Los Angeles; and have found this to occasionally increase the pregnancy success rate.