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Acupuncture Fertility & IVF/ICSI

The benefits of Acupuncture and Traditional
Chinese Medicine in the treatment of
Gynaecology and Fertility problems can be
found in early Chinese medical literature
dating back to the 11AD.
Not only do these techniques assist in
regulating the menstrual cycle and
invigorating the sperm, but they also serve
to enhance the function of the whole body.
Treatment techniques focuses on the natural menstrual cycle, specifically the follicular and luteal phases of the cycle.

Subfertility and infertility rates are increasing and nowadays couples are putting off starting a family until later in life. Much research has been carried out on the effects of acupuncture on fertility and it has been shown to boost fertility rates for both men and women.

Acupuncture is effective in the treatment of many underlying gynaecological conditions. It helps in relieving stress and tension and works towards obtaining hormonal balance. Acupuncture has also proven to improve the blood supply to the reproductive organs.

How can Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine enhance fertility?

• Assists in normalizing hormones to increase the number of follicles
• Increases blood flow to the uterus and increases uterine thickness
  
• Improves ovarian function to produce better quality eggs
• Lessens stress and enhances relaxation
• Strengthens the body's immune system
• Improves sperm count, motility and morphology
  
• Diminishes the chance of miscarriage
  
• Reduces side effects of assisted reproductive hormonal treatment.
  
• Decreases uterine contractibility for implantation

The following is a brief list of conditions treated by Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine:

Female Fertility:

• Unexplained Infertility
• Advanced Maternal Age
• Early menopause
• Amenorrhea (lack of menstruation)
• Irregular periods
• Anovulation (lack of ovulation or irregular ovulation)
• Autoimmune Infertility
• Endometriosis
• Thin endometrial lining
• Frequent miscarriage
• High FSH
• Hormonal Imbalance
• Luteal Phase Defect
• Pre/Post IVF Acupuncture
• Pregnancy Preparation
• PCOS (Polycystic ovarian syndrome)
• Poor Egg Quality
• Secondary Infertility (difficulty conceiving after having had children)
• Stress and Infertility
• Uterine Fibrosis
  
• Insomnia, depression, fatigue
• Premenstrual syndrome
• Improve the outcome of assisted reproduction procedures (IVF,IUI etc)

Male Fertility:

• Low sperm count
• Poor morphology
• Poor motility
• Stress
  
  

IVF/ICSI and Acupuncture

Acupuncture treatment programmes are based on evidence based protocols and are designed to improve your chance of success, maximising your fertility and addressing any symptoms associated with IVF medication and alleviating stress. Recent clinical research studies state that receiving Acupuncture treatment in conjunction with IVF can significantly increase the success of IVF procedures.

Research shows that acupuncture:

• improves the function of the ovaries to produce better quality eggs.
• helps to regulate the hormone levels to help produce a larger number of follicles.
• increases blood flow to the uterus helping to create a thicker uterine lining which can increase the likelihood of implantation.
• lessens the side effects of the drugs used in IVF.
• can strongly strengthen the immune system.
• can improve the quality and quantity of the semen to create better quality embryos.

Preparing for IVF with Acupuncture

Ideally acupuncture treatments should begin three months before IVF treatments begin. The focus of treatments will be to improve the function of the ovaries to produce good quality eggs.

Male Fertility:
The focus of treatments will be to increase the parameters of sperm motility, morphology and count, thus assisting fertilisation of eggs and leading to viable embryos. Acupuncture treatments are once a week for the 8 weeks leading up to IVF/ICSI.

Female Fertility:
Weekly Acupuncture treatment at least 3 months prior to egg retrieval provides a stronger foundation for success. Acupuncture for fertility improves your overall reproductive health, helps produce higher quality eggs which leads to more viable embryos, it helps regulatse hormones and thickens the uterine lining making it ripe for implantation.

Pre and Post IVF Transfer Treatment
Pre and post IVF transfer Acupuncture treatments are available to suit your schedule and take about 40 minutes.

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Modern Clinical Research

Acupuncture seems to be a useful tool for improving pregnancy rate after ART. (Paulus W et al, Fertility and Sterility April 2002 Vol 77, pp. 721-724 http://www.fertstert.org/article/S0015-0282%2801%2903273-3/abstract ).

Luteal-phase acupuncture has a positive effect on the outcome of IVF/ICSI (Dieterle S et al, Fertility and Sterility May 2006 Vol 85, pp. 1347-1351 http://www.fertstert.org/article/S0015-0282%2806%2900213-5/abstract ).

Acupuncture can increase blood flow to the uterus (Stener-Victorin E, et al Human Reproduction Oxford Journal 1996; Vol. 11, No. 6, pp.1314-1317 http://humrep.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/11/6/1314 ).

Acupuncture on the day of embryo transfer significantly improves the reproductive outcome of IVF, compared with no acupuncture (Westergaard L et al, Fertility and Sterility April 2006 Vol 85, pp. 1341-1346 http://www.fertstert.org/article/S0015-0282%2806%2900212-3/abstract ).