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See what others write about acupuncture for fertility:
Acupuncture May Solve Fertility Problems
By CLOE CABRERA of The Tampa Tribune
Published: March 27, 2008
After a failed attempt at in vitro fertilization, an unsuccessful frozen embryo transfer and other fertility treatments, Caren Harvey and her husband, Paul, were emotionally, physically and financially exhausted.
"We were devastated," says Harvey, 38, of her last unsuccessful attempt at a frozen embryo transfer. "Do we give up? What do we do? Do we just embrace our one baby and be happy, or do we try for another child and continue to torture ourselves?"
The Harveys decided to try once more. But this time, they used an ancient Chinese medical procedure as part of their treatment. They credit the birth of their second daughter, Brooke Judith, born in January 2007, to acupuncture — at least in part.
"We thought it was a little quirky at first," recalls Harvey. "I'm a nurse, so this felt very odd to me. Western medicine is very traditional; then you walk into an office, and this beautiful soft music is playing and she's looking at my tongue and telling me what [my body] is lacking. I know it [acupuncture] made a dramatic change. I really wish I had done this before I tried anything else."
Acupuncture has been used in the United States for decades to treat ailments such as headaches, allergies and arthritis. An acupuncturist inserts tiny needles into various points on the body to stimulate energy flow or "Qi" (chee) to improve circulation and reduce stress.
Western doctors have been warming to the idea of fertility acupuncture for several years, since studies have hinted at its benefits, especially when coupled with fertility treatments such as in vitro fertilization. A small German study in 2002 found that performing acupuncture 25 minutes before and 25 minutes after an embryo transfer increases pregnancy rates to 42.5 percent, compared to about 26 percent without acupuncture.
More recently, a scientific review published in the British Medical Journal, suggests that acupuncture may improve a woman's odds of conceiving if done right before or after in vitro fertilization, or IVF, which involves mixing sperm and eggs in a lab dish and creating an embryo that is then placed in the womb. The research found the odds of conceiving went up about 65 percent for women given acupuncture.
In Chinese medicine, a significant part of diagnosis requires examining a patient's tongue and palpating the pulse. The color of the tongue gives information about blood flow, energy levels and body fluid balance. The tongue's coating indicates the conditions of the bodily fluids and digestive state.
Acupuncture is not going to help a woman get pregnant if her problem stems from something that needs surgical correction, such as a blockage in her fallopian tubes. But it can help some women, because it improves circulation to the ovaries — which makes for healthier eggs — and to the uterus, which increases the chances the lining will be strong enough to hold those eggs to full term, says Yangchong Ou, an acupuncturist at the Integrative Medicine Center in North Tampa.
Acupuncture also can be a stress-reliever during a very emotional time.
"Acupuncture really helps a woman relax," Ou says. "There is a lot of stress doing IVF. It costs a lot of money. There are lots of drugs and lots of visits to the doctor's office. That causes a lot of stress and anxiety. Acupuncture can make the patient more relaxed and improve the chances of getting pregnant."
Ou says his practice has begun to see a lot more referrals from traditional fertility specialists.
"Acupuncture works best for unexplained infertility issues; when the [traditional] doctors check everything and cannot find a reason for it," he says. "We look at all of the tests they've done before we treat them. The goal is to address all of the underlying issues to make the woman healthier and, therefore, more able to conceive."
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