Acupuncture during IVF can greatly increase chances of conception. In fact, studies show that women who receive acupuncture on the day before and day of embryo transfer are 40% more likely to conceive. Recently I had an interesting case where I had to treat both husband and wife during a second attempt at IVF since the first round failed. I treated them at our Flatiron NYC acupuncture clinic.
This couple has had 1 child previously approximately north 10 years ago. They have been trying to conceive unsuccessfully for the past 10 years. Recently the husband had been diagnosed as with poor sperm count.
In general, he had good health but would experience low back pain when lifting. He also worked long hours depleting his kidneys. The kidneys in Chinese medicine are responsible for development and reproduction having a hormone like function. Channel palpation revealed changes along the kidney and liver systems.
Infertility and Acupuncture
The wife had a regular cycle with pain on days and 1 and 2. She experienced fatigue and low back pain since her first pregnancy. In addition was highly stressed, tendency to PMS, and experienced night sweats. Her channels revealed the same tendencies as her husband weakness in both the liver and kidney systems.
Acupuncture was administered for 2 weeks prior to the transfer to address these systemic issues. During the failed round of IVF the couple had 2 viable embryos but with acupuncture, the embryo development more than quadrupled with 9 viable embryos.
The transfer was completed and resulted in a positive result this time. The couple is expecting currently. Usually when working with IVF cases, I have a window of at least 3 months prior to transfer. It is very important to prepare the body for IVF by ensuring that each system is working optimally. This time, however, I only had two weeks, yet this case demonstrates how acupuncture can create positive changes quickly especially in regards to IVF and fertility cases.
