Are you labelled as a poor IVF responder? Is there a way you can up your chances of making a baby? You know there are not many options. Can acupuncture help?
IVF is the numbers game. The important part of IVF is for your ovaries to safely produce as many follicles as possible. And poor IVF responders’ ovaries, as the name suggests, don’t grow many follicles. This means these IVF cycles are often cancelled. If you are lucky you may end up with a couple of oocytes. Furthermore, those eggs are less likely to turn into embryos.
The poor ovarian response (POR) is a diagnosis no one wants when trying to conceive. IVF clinics can’t do much to help you respond better. There are several IVF protocols you can try, but unfortunately, they are seldom successful.
So, what does poor IVF response diagnosis mean? Let’s take it apart.
In this study, researchers investigated how acupuncture influenced ovarian reserve in women who had low ovarian reserve or “very few eggs left”. They used a kind of acupuncture with no needles, where very gentle electric impulses are used to stimulate acupuncture points. This study has shown improved the hormone levels including Anti-Müllerian Hormone (AMH). AMH test is a test often used by IVF clinics to estimate response to the IVF drugs. Researchers observed increased number of eggs collected with IVF. The embryo quality was also improved. Consequently, women who had acupuncture had better IVF pregnancy outcomes.
The study was published in The Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research.
Are you interested in learning how your fertility can be optimised with acupuncture? Contact Dr Vitalis Acupuncture Auckland.
Can acupuncture help 35+ year old pregnant women reduce pregnancy risks?
Women of this age, are a high risk for developing stillbirth and fetal growth restriction among other complications.
This study, published in Journal of Physiology, researchers from the University of Manchester, UK concluded that the blood flow to placenta may be the reason for increased risks. Acupuncture increases the blood flow to uterus. Use acupuncture in pregnancy as a preventative measure to reduce the risks for the developing baby.
https://infertility-acupuncture.info/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/pregnancy-advanced-maternal-age-acupuncture.jpg417900Vitalis Skiauterishttps://infertility-acupuncture.info/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Infertility-acupuncture-logo-300x152.pngVitalis Skiauteris2015-02-07 12:30:412021-09-29 13:34:36Can acupuncture help 35+ year old pregnant women reduce pregnancy risks
Acupuncture and herbs increased IUI success rate from 39.4% to 65.5% in this study. The difference in the success rates is even more interesting, considering that the control group, who didn’t receive acupuncture was on average 2.3 years younger. The control group was 37.1 years old and the treatment group was 39.4. Normally, you’d expect much lower pregnancy rates in 39 year olds.
Acupuncture and Chinese herbal treatment for women undergoing intrauterine insemination
Keren Sela, Ofer Lehavi, Amnon Buchan, Karin Kedar-Shalema, Haim Yavetz, Shahar Lev-ari
Unit of Complementary Medicine, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Affiliated to the Sackler Faculty of Medicine,
Tel Aviv University, 6 Weizmann St., Tel Aviv 64239, Israel
Fertility Research Institute, Tel Aviv Medical Center, Affiliated to the Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
Aim: To assess the effect of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM, acupuncture and medicinal herbs) as a therapeutic adjuvant to ovulation induction with intrauterine insemination (IUI) procedures and evaluate its contribution to pregnancy and “take-home baby” rates.
Materials and methods: A comparative retrospective study was carried out in a university – affiliated municipal hospital. All women undergoing artificial insemination by donor spermatozoa (AID) and concomitantly treated with TCM were invited to participate. The enrolled women underwent weekly TCM in parallel with medical therapy. The treatment lasted between 2 and 36 cycles (equivalent to a time period ranging from one month to one year). The control group was comprised of women who underwent AID without TCM and whose data were retrospectively retrieved from hospital files. Pregnancy was assessed by human chorionic gonadotropin findings in blood 12–14 days after IUI. The birth rate was calculated during follow-up.
Results: A total of 29 women aged 30–45 years were enrolled in the study. The historical control group included 94 women aged 28–46 years.
Results over an average 4-5 months cumulative period:
1. Acupuncture and herbs plus IUI; average age 39.43 years
2. Control group – IUI (DI) only; average age 37.12 years
Women who combined TCM with the procedures for undergoing IUI had significantly higher pregnancy (OR = 4.403, 95% CI 1.51–12.835,
p = 0.007) and birth rates (OR = 3.905, 95% CI 1.321–11.549, p = 0.014) than the control group.
Conclusions: TCM appears to be beneficial as an adjunctive treatment in IUI procedures. Randomized controlled trials are needed to further assess the role of acupuncture and herbs in this setting.
