Female Infertility - Acupuncture Treatments Offer Options for Hope

as a practitioner for the past twenty years, one of the most rewarding experiences I have encountered is to be part of a team of healthcare providers who successfully assist a couple with having a baby. Recently acupuncture has been featured in many newspaper articles and television programs for its therapeutic ability to increase the chances for pregnancy during in vitro fertilization or IVF. An article published by W. Paulus, M. Zhang, I. El-Danasouri, E. Strehler and K. Sterzik entitled Influence of Acupuncture on the Pregnancy Rate in Patients Who Undergo Assisted Reproduction Therapy, appeared in the April 2002 issue of Fertility and Sterility (Fertility and Sterility, Vol.77, No.4, Apr.2002). The authors concluded that "acupuncture seems to be a useful tool for improving pregnancy rate after assisted reproductive techniques," They went on to say "The analysis shows that the pregnancy rate for the acupuncture group is considerably higher than for the control group (42.5% versus 26.3%)."

While more research on this clearly needs to be done, it is worth noting that there have been studies to support our own empirical clinical experience that shows acupuncture therapy as being effective for a wide range of gynecological issues that may contribute to infertility and most certainly affect a woman's quality of life. It is recommended to begin acupuncture well in advance of reproductive procedures to have the time to treat these persistent issues. Conditions that we commonly treat along with infertility issues include stress reduction, ovulatory dysfunction, early, delayed or irregular menstruation, amenorrhea (absence of menstruation), endometriosis, dysmenorrhea (painful menstruation), uterine fibroids, ovarian cysts, menorrhagia (heavy uterine bleeding during menstruation), metorrhagia (uterine bleeding between menstrual periods), chronic bladder infections and polycystic ovarian syndrome.

Acupuncture has also demonstrated an ability to improve the sperm parameters in of males as sited by Shealy et al., 1990; Gerhard et al., 1992; Siteman et al., 1997). Studies have found that acupuncture twice per week has improved the percentage of sperm viability, total number of motile sperm and total functional sperm fraction. Since sperm maturation averages 70-90 days, most acupuncture protocols recommend receiving treatments several months prior to beginning the IVF procedure.

We have worked in conjunction with many fertility clinics and would be more than happy to participate in a team approach to your health. To begin your first consultation, please contact our office. We look forward to helping you open a new avenue of possibilities.

David Sollars, M.Ac., Lic.Ac., H.M.C., Clinic Founder/Medical Director, http://www.firsthealthofandover.com has combined his experiences from over two decades of practicing patient care during the continuing evolution of integrative medicine to offer a unique range of consulting.

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