Traditional Chinese Medicne and Fertility Research

Influence of Acupuncture on the pregnancy rate in patients who undergo assisted reproduction therapy: Paulus, et.al. Fertility and Sterility Vol: 77, No. 4, APRIL 2002

In this study acupuncture was only given just before and after embryo transfer. The group that got the acupuncture achieved 60 % more pregnancies than did the control group that did not get the acupuncture.

Effect of acupuncture on sperm parameters of males suffering from subfertility related to low sperm quality: Siterman et.al. Arch Androl, 39(2):155-61 1997 Sep-Oct

In this study both sperm quality and quantity were increased by acupuncture.

Effects of acupuncture and moxa treatment in patients with semen abnormalities. Gurfinkel et.al. Asian J Androl. 2003 Dec;5(4):345-8

In this study men receiving acupuncture had significant increases in the percentage of normal-form sperm compared to the control group that did not receive acupuncture.

A Randomized Study Evaluating Acupuncture
as an Adjunct to IVF

Rodolfo Quintero, M.D., Wendy Yu, L.Ac., Brandon Horn, L.Ac., J.D., Daoshing Ni, D.O.M., Barry Schifrin, MD., Brian Acacio, M.D.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Glendale Adventist Medical Center (GAMC) and the Eastern Center for Complementary Medicine, Glendale, CA

Conclusions: Our study shows a significantly lower amount of gonadotropins used when IVF is combined with standard acupuncture. A 70% pregnancy rate was also achieved with standard acupuncture and IVF, compared to 25%. Larger prospective trials are necessary.

Acupuncture & IVF Poor Responders: A Cure? P.C. Magarelli,
D.K. Cridennda. Reproductive Medicine & Fertility Center, Colorado Springs, CO

Conclusions: Significant increases in pregnancy outcomes were con-
firmed by this study and the data uniquely supported the advantage of
acupuncture in patients with normal PI. Finally, this study
is the first to demonstrate that the use of acupuncture in patients with poor prognoses (elevated Peak FSH, longer history of infertility, poor sperm morphology) can achieve similar pregnancy rates to normal prognosis patient.

Worrying Doesn’t Help Matters:  Women Who Are Very Concerned About Medical Or Professional Implications Of Their IVF Cases Are Less Likely To Get Pregnant

(Klonoff-Cohen and Natarajan, The Concerns During Assisted Reproductive Technologies (CART) scale and pregnancy outcomes, Fertility and Sterility, Vol.81, No.4, April 2004.)

Researchers at the University of California San Diego found that patients who worry about certain aspects of their assisted reproductive technology cases are likely to produce fewer eggs and have a lesser chance of becoming pregnant than others who are more unconcerned.

In this prospective study, 151 women completed questionnaires at their initial clinic visit and at the time of their IVF or GIFT procedure. The questionnaires, developed from a survey of the scientific literature on stress and IVF, focused on concerns specific to IVF and GIFT- side effects, surgery, anesthesia, pain recovery, finances, missing work, and having a baby.

Women who were concerned about the medical aspects of the procedure had 20% fewer eggs retrieved and 19% fewer eggs fertilized than women who were less inclined to worry about it.  Women who were very concerned about missing work had 30% fewer eggs fertilized.  Those who were very concerned about finances associated with the procedure had a very high risk of not delivering a live infant.  Results were adjusted for different variables that could also play a part in predicting ART success: age, race, smoking, type of infertility, number of previous attempts to become pregnant, and number of children already born. 

Marian Damewood, MD, President of ASRM, commented,  “While no one has elucidated the physiological relationship between women’s concerns and the outcomes of their ART cases, we know that stress has a number of negative systemic effects.  Worry about missing work and fears surrounding ART medical procedures are definitely stress-inducers.  By the time patients arrive at ART, they’ve been through months or years of diagnosis, treatment and the emotional pain of infertility.  We need to do what we can to alleviate patients’ concerns and make the ART experience easier - giving them more information and creating more scheduling flexibility is a good place to start.” 

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