Alternative Health Blog

Deciding when it is time to quit trying to conceive is a personal choice for couples struggling with fertility issues. It is wise to have that discussion long before you reach any sort of crisis point

And if a growing body of research is any measure, perhaps the couple should try acupuncture before giving up on baby dreams. In fact, a September 2008 study shows that women with polycystic ovary problems can significantly improve their chances to become pregnant with regular acupuncture treatments.

Cysts on the ovary might appear to be a block to successful pregnancy, especially since they tend to eliminate monthly menstruation or make it highly irregular. But the movement of energy or “chi” in acupuncture appears to regulate a woman’s ovulation cycle—which trumps all else in fertility.

"Over the last year we have seen women who never had a regular menstrual cycle start having regular periods,” said Linda Pastore, lead author of the study and a researcher at the Univeristy of Virginia. “We can also boast several pregnancies since the study began.”

Other studies have suggested that acupuncture can address difficult conception. One possibility is the ancient Chinese healing art is a boon to couples using in vitro fertilization, a common fertility procedure. 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.

What’s more, a meta-analyis published in the British Medical Journal, suggests acupuncture can enhance conception if performed immediately before or after in vitro fertilization. The researchers found the odds of conceiving increased 65 percent for women employing acupuncture.

The federal government already acknowledges that acupuncture can offset nausea from chemotherapy and more recently has noted that the Chinese medical treatment can ease headache pain. It’s getting to about time to make the same endorsement of acupuncture to improve success rates of fertility procedures. There is nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Bob Condor blogs for Alternative Health Journal every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.