Acupuncture for Fertility

Acupuncture and Chinese herbs can help increase fertility in both women and men–and can boost the odds of conceiving (either naturally or with assisted medical therapies such as IUI and IVF).

Acupuncture and Chinese herbs have been shown to improve reproductive health for centuries. Acupuncture can help regulate menstrual periods, and curb monthly PMS and cramping. Herbal prescriptions can bring your body back into balance naturally in all stages of a woman’s reproductive life: from her teen years to beyond menopause.

As seen in research, acupuncture and Chinese herbs can help you conceive. This occurs in the cases of those trying to conceive naturally, as well as those seeking to achieve their fertility goals through the use of assisted reproductive technologies (IUIs, FETs, IVFs, etc.). Acupuncture helps promote blood flow to the uterus and ovaries and decreases cortisol levels, allowing assisted technology to work with increased odds.

The stress of infertility can take its toll on the individuals involved. This type of stress is comparable to stress from terminal diseases. Acupuncture can help decrease the body’s stress response in order to allow for the possibility of conception.

Book an appointment

Acupuncture and Herbs for Fertility

The approach of Chinese medicine is to treat the whole person, both mind and body, identifying and correcting imbalances that are occurring in that individual. In this way, the patient receives both physical and emotional support during the fertility journey through an individualized treatment plan.

Acupuncture can improve circulation to the ovaries and uterus, thicken the uterine lining, improve ovary function, regulate hormones, boost immunity, and decrease the chance of miscarriage. In addition, acupuncture reduces stress and anxiety and can help minimize side effects of IVF medications.

A recent randomized clinical trial used acupuncture in patients with a decline in ovarian reserve that were undergoing IVF treatments. They found that acupuncture increased estradiol, antral follicle count, number of follicles retrieved, number of high-quality embryos, and fertilization rates. They also observed an improvement in implantation rate and clinical pregnancy rate, as well as a decrease in cycle cancellation rate.

Chinese herbal medicine has been instrumental for treating infertility for hundreds of years. An herbal formula (which is composed of a number of herbs that work synergistically together) can be prescribed for a patient’s particular imbalances and help bring the patient’s nervous system towards homeostasis. Herbal formulas are typically made of roots, plants, flowers, and fruits. In this way, Chinese herbal formulas are like food therapy. This is not an instant fix. Herbal formulas may be in the form of capsules, pills, or granules (which you mix with water and drink like a tea).

One meta-analysis (which looked at 40 randomized controlled trials, including over 4000 women) found that women with infertility were nearly twice as likely to achieve pregnancy with Chinese herbal medicine than with Western fertility drug therapy alone. This included women with PCOS, endometriosis, anovulation, fallopian tube blockage, or unexplained infertility. They also found ovulation rates, cervical mucus score, biphasic basal body temperature, and uterine lining thickness to be positively influenced by Chinese herbal medicine.

When and how often should you get acupuncture for fertility?

Because it takes three months to grow a follicle before ovulation, it is ideal to start acupuncture at least three months before you are hoping to conceive. This gives us time to work with the follicles from the very beginning of their growth, giving them the most support possible. This is of course not always possible, but the sooner you can start, the better. I generally recommend patients have acupuncture treatment once a week. Different herbal formulas and acupuncture points may be chosen depending on where you are in your menstrual cycle, and treatment can help regulate the cycle and hormone levels.

Research from 2002 showed that acupuncture on the day of embryo transfer significantly increased success rates. Great news! However, this study was small and only looked at positive pregnancy tests, not live birth rates.

A more recent retrospective cohort study compared acupuncture on the day of embryo transfer only to “whole systems traditional Chinese medicine” which can include acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, dietary and lifestyle recommendations, all tailored to the individual. This study found that an average of twelve weekly visits was associated with greater odds of live birth. This study demonstrates the benefit of the individualized approach that Chinese medicine takes, as well as the importance of starting treatment as soon as possible.

As mentioned above, acupuncture not only improves success rates of fertility treatments but also reduces the stress and anxiety that are inevitably part of the process. One study found stress levels to be significantly lower in women that received more than one month of multiple acupuncture treatments before embryo transfer, versus acupuncture on the day of embryo transfer only.

Book an appointment