Many couples who face infertility also choose to use alternative treatments, and one of them is acupuncture. So today we are trying to find out what studies say about the benefits of acupuncture: does this method work in the treatment of infertility?
Acupuncture
An analysis that included 7 clinical studies of acupuncture performed in the case of embryo transfer in women who underwent IVF suggests that acupuncture may improve pregnancy success rates. A small percentage of couples face difficulties in reproduction and seek a specialist in fertility treatments, such as IVF.
Because some fertility treatments are expensive, time-consuming and stressful, identifying a complementary approach can improve your chances of success, and this is why many infertile couples agree to do acupuncture.
According to Eric Manheimer, from the Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and his colleagues who conducted this systematic analysis, acupuncture has been used in China for centuries, to regulate the female reproductive system.
With this basic idea, the researchers analyzed the results of 7 clinical studies focused on acupuncture used in women who underwent the IVF procedure to see if the success rates of pregnancy were improved with this alternative treatment. .
The studies included information obtained from over 1366 women and compared acupuncture (one-day sessions of embryo transfer), with fictitious acupuncture or no other treatment.
The conclusions of the analysis
The researchers found that acupuncture sessions, as a complementary method of in vitro fertilization treatment, increased the chances of getting a pregnancy. According to the researchers, the results indicate that 10 women undergoing IVF should be treated with acupuncture sessions to achieve approximately a viable pregnancy.
The results are considered preliminary and underline that acupuncture can be a potential complementary treatment, which can improve the success rate of in vitro fertilization. In order to confirm these conclusions, further clinical trials are needed.
When should you start acupuncture treatment
Patients are commonly treated for three to four months before undergoing artificial insemination – IVF or egg transfer from a donor. This pace of treatment appears to have a therapeutic effect for patients.
As part of a study abroad, women are encouraged to perform acupuncture treatments both before and after embryo transfer.
Furthermore, clinical observations by scientists at the Berkley Center for Reproductive Wellness suggest that effective fertility treatments involve a combination of acupuncture, herbal medicine and traditional medicine.
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