Infertility: Acupuncture can help achieve pregnancy

Suzanne Morgan, BSc, MBAcC

Many women come for acupuncture to help enhance their fertility. According to Randine Lewis in her book, The Infertility Cure, "there is no such thing as infertility". In her experience she has rarely met a woman of childbearing age with all her reproductive organs intact who isn’t capable of bearing children.

Acupuncture has been used as a treatment for infertility in China for thousands of years, and recent research has shown that it can be a very effective adjunct to more modern Western assisted reproductive therapy such as IVF. The recognised causes of female infertility are:

• Hormonal factors and ovulatory dysfunction
  
• Fallopian tube abnormalities
  
• Uterine and cervical factors
  
• Unexplained infertility

The monthly menstrual cycle is a complex interaction of hormones and bodily systems and if any part is not functioning properly fertility can be affected. For example, if there is not enough oestrogen in the early part of the cycle, adequate maturation of the eggs will not occur. Most of these problems can be treated using TCM.

Infertility, according to TCM, results from imbalances within the network of organs, hormones and the energy system within the body. Every aspect of the woman’s health history will be investigated in order to ascertain which meridians and organs are out of balance. The state of the menstrual cycle is paramount as this gives vital clues as to the state of a woman's kidney yin and yang energy as well as any stagnation of qi or blood. In TCM, the kidneys store our life essence which rules birth, development and maturation. Conception is made possible by the strength of this essence. The aim of any treatment for infertility is to clear any stagnation of qi (vital energy) and blood, and create an abundance of kidney yin and yang energy and strengthen the essence which is vital for good fertility. As this begins to happen, changes to the menstrual cycle occur such as a reduction in period pain and improved period regularity. This is simply a reflection of the internal changes brought about by the acupuncture.

Even though infertility can be caused by hormonal imbalances, there may be other factors stopping conception, for example, endometriosis, uterine fibroids and polycystic ovaries. In TCM terms, these are usually caused by blood stasis, qi stagnation and phlegm and the treatment would be to focus on clearing the blockages in order to aid conception.

Male Infertility

In men, fertility depends upon adequate production of sperm by the testes, unobstructed movement of sperm through the seminal tract and satisfactory delivery to the ovum. In 40% of male infertility, sperm abnormalities such as deficient sperm count, insufficient sperm motility and poor sperm morphology, are a major factor in this condition (Lewis, 2004). In Western medicine, it appears that male infertility is easier to diagnose than it is to treat.

Acupuncture treatment has been demonstrated to improve the quantity and quality of sperm. Siterman et al (1997) carried out a study to assess the effect of acupuncture on the sperm quality of males suffering from subfertility related to sperm impairment. They found improvement in sperm count, motility and morphology, and stated that men with low fertility potential due to reduced sperm activity may benefit from acupuncture treatment.

Acupuncture and Assisted Reproduction Therapy

In April 2002, the results of a study into the effects of acupuncture on women who were undergoing assisted reproduction therapy was published in 'Fertility and Sterility', the official publication of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. The researchers' aim was to determine the effects of acupuncture on the pregnancy rate by comparing a group of patients receiving acupuncture treatment before and after embryo transfer with a second group receiving no acupuncture. The acupuncture points chosen were selected according to the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

160 patients took part in the trial and were randomly assigned to one of the two groups. Thirty-four out of eighty (42.5%) patients in the acupuncture group became pregnant, as opposed to twenty-one out of eighty (26.3%) in the control group. These results are significant and suggest that acupuncture does indeed improve the pregnancy rate for women undergoing ART.

Ideally acupuncture treatment should begin a few months prior to assisted reproduction therapy treatments such as IVF. The treatment would focus on improving and regulating the menstrual cycle, nourishing the uterus and endometrium and attempting to increase the quality of the eggs. Closer to the IVF date, the treatment would further nourish the uterus and ovaries so that more good quality follicles could be extracted.

In conclusion, there are several advantages to using Traditional Chinese Medicine as an approach to heightening a couple's fertility:

• TCM does not just treat the signs and symptoms of disease. It seeks to stimulate the body’s natural healing potential by treating root causes rather than just symptoms.
  
• TCM may be used to strengthen and balance one's general health so that assisted reproduction therapies are more effective.
  
• Failing to conceive can cause a lot of stress within relationships. Acupuncture can help stabilise and reduce emotions such as anxiety, fear, anger, frustration and worry.

References

Lewis, R, (2004), 'The Infertility Cure’, Little, Brown & Co, New York.

Paulus, W.E., Zhang, M., Strehler, E., El-Danasouri, I. & Sterzik, K. (2002), ‘Influence of acupuncture on the pregnancy rate in patients who undergo assisted reproduction therapy’, Fertility and Sterility, vol. 77 (4), pp. 721-724.

Siterman, S., Eltes, F., Wolfson, V., Zabludovsky, N. & Bartoov, B. (1997), ‘Effect of acupuncture on sperm parameters of males suffering from subfertility related to low sperm quality’, Arch Androl, 39(2):155-61.