Can Acupuncture Boost In Vitro Fertilization Pregnancy Rates?

On TV's Sex in the City, when Charlotte had difficulty getting pregnant, she went to see an acupuncturist. She may have been on to something. Two studies published in the May issue of the journal Fertility and Sterility suggest that acupuncture may improve the outcome of in vitro fertilization. A randomized controlled clinical study at the IVF center at the University of Witten/Herdecke in Germany examined 225 people undergoing in vitro fertilization. One group of 116 patients received luteal phase acupuncture according to the principles of traditional Chinese medicine. A second group of 109 people received placebo acupuncture. The treatment group had a significantly higher clinical pregnancy rate than the placebo group (33.6% vs. 15.6% respectively). Researchers at a fertility clinic in Denmark found that the clinical pregnancy rate was significantly higher when women received acupuncture immediately before and after embryo transfer compared to a control group who received no acupuncture (39% vs 26%). The researchers concluded that acupuncture on the day of embryo transfer improved the outcome of IVF. However, a third study published in the same journal found no significant benefit. A single-blind randomized controlled trial at the University of Adelaide examined 228 women receiving three sessions of either acupuncture or a noninvasive sham acupuncture control and found the clinical pregnancy rate was 31% in the acupuncture group and 23% in the control group, but the difference did not reach statistical significance. The researchers also examined health status and adverse events and concluded that acupuncture appeared safe for women undergoing embryo transfer.