Chinese medicine, both acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine has been traditionally used in treating gynecological problem, such as menopause and infertility, over thousands of years. There is no doubt that, over last 30 years，many couples have been benefited from fast development of ART (Assistant Reproductive Technology) such as IVF. However, there is still much uncertainty ahead because we still don’t know what the real cause for infertility is. Compared to western medicine, the focus of Chinese medicine is to improve women’s overall health which is foundation for pregnancy and baby’s health, instead of simply treating infertility. In another word, you need to be healthy before pregnancy otherwise, even if you get pregnant with help of some new technology, your body may not be able to handle much physiological stress brought by pregnancy. You may easily fail IVF or fall into miscarriage. Another advantage for Chinese medicine is individualized treatment. It is believed that, in Chinese medicine, causes for infertility are varied from person to person. It is related to their different body condition and social environment. For two people with same symptoms, their treatment in Chinese medicine might be different due to different causes. Therefore, individualized treatment is very important in Chinese medicine.
A recent systematic review conducted by researchers in Adelaide, Australia, concluded that management of female infertility with Chinese Herbal Medicine can improve pregnancy rates 2-fold within a 4 month period compared with Western Medical fertility drug therapy or IVF. This article was published in Complementary Therapies in Medicine 2011 Dec.
Another study published in Journal of Integrative Medicine, run by Israeli researchers at Tel Aviv University discovered a significant increase in pregnancy rate at group of combining Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture with intrauterine insemination (65.5%), comparing groups with infertility treament alone (39.4%). The researchers assumed the resulted might be associated with improved uterine function and enhance flood flow.
Many health professionals recommended acupuncture as an adjunct treatment that may assist with IVF treatment. however, there are more studies needed in this area. It is always important to consult your health professionals regarding acupuncture treatment.
