Acupuncture May Not Improve IVF Success

New evidence suggests that in women trying to become pregnant using in vitro fertilization (IVF), acupuncture may not improve success rates

Acupuncture is often used during IVF treatments, despite the limited evidence of effectiveness.

In the recent study, 160 women (38 years of age or older) were randomly assigned to receive either true acupuncture or “sham” acupuncture 25 minutes before and after IVF. For the sham acupuncture, real acupuncture needles were inserted into non-acupoints that are not associated with fertility.

The researchers found that true acupuncture did not have a significant benefit on pregnancy rates compared to sham acupuncture. In fact, women in the sham acupuncture group had slightly higher rates of pregnancy, although the effect was not statistically significant.

The researchers note, however, that these findings may be limited by the short duration of the study. Patients who receive acupuncture for fertility typically undergo therapy for several weeks or months, not just before and after their IVF procedures.

Acupuncture has been used to treat many conditions related to pregnancy. For example, there is good evidence that acupuncture may improve nausea and back strain in pregnant women.

For more information about acupuncture, please visit Natural Standard's Health and Wellness database.

Comments

[lp]

While on rotations with Natural Standard I was able to shadow at an acupuncture clinic where several patients were having acupuncture while receiving or prior to receiving fertility treatments. It was interesting to me to experience this because I was unsure of how this could possibly help someone become pregnant. When I inquired about this, I received a very insightful answer and would like to share this with you. Many times when women are undergoing fertility treatments, their body's are stressed, both emotionally and physically. When they become stressed, the levels of a hormone produced in the body, by the name of cortisol, is released, which counteracts the release of important hormones used in conception. This is where acupuncture can play a big role. Acupuncture can reduce these stress levels, inhibiting the release of cortisol, allowing the woman to have a higher success rate. Perhaps we should not jump to conclusions and conduct longer research before putting this integrative therapy on the back burner.

[khacp]

This is really interesting, and it really makes me wonder if the time line of treatment has a lot to do with success rates. In a search, I came across multiple studies similar to this. One reported no success, but they were only doing acupuncture 15-30 minutes before and after the IVF procedure. As this states, that may be a big limitation of the study.

I had the opportunity to recently visit an acupuncturist for the day; a lady came into the office looking for something to help with her next IVF treatment (she had already had one unsuccessful one the past year). She let us sit in on their visit, and he explained to her that it is actually the months prior to the treatment that help the most (he said about three months before the IVF treatment). Toward the later stages, if you have regular acupuncture treatments, he said this is more to decrease stress and make the mother's uterus a safer, more calm environment for the baby. But the success rates, he said, are mainly affected when you have had a series of regular treatments.

This makes me wonder -- if they had extended this study, would they have seen better results? If, in fact, acupuncture does help (with long-term treatment), it's sad to see how studies like this will only minimize the social support and acceptance of this potentially helpful treatment.

[Allyson]

I would be curious to see this study performed over a longer duration. Regardless of the results, it seems as if individuals who are having trouble conceiving would take advantage of any options that may be available to them, so I don't imagine that a study exhibiting negative results would actually deter anyone.

[husky86]

I am curious why study participants were only included if they were at least 38 years of age. Many patients who try acupuncture are younger and experiencing fertility problems, so I don’t think this age group is representative of most women who try acupuncture with IVF.

[JW]

It's unfortunate that this study did not simulate the normal treatment approach for use with IVF, as mentioned here. Many couples have exhausted most options and hold dearly to any chance of increasing their ability to conceive. Studies that don't accurately represent the process provide them very little useful information and may be discouraging. I look forward to additional studies that are designed better to mirror today’s treatment approach. Even if acupuncture does not directly affect the IVF process, it may provide other benefits to the potential mother that could help her body better prepare for a pregnancy.

[Julia]

This study is very interesting because acupuncture has been used for fertility for so long and with such success. I wonder if the study was well designed because it seems hard to believe that there was no impact from the acupuncture. Of course, the short course was not appropriate because that's never how it's done normally. There definitely have to be more and better-designed studies to finally see what the impact is.

[winteivf]

This is disappointing that acupuncture may not improve in vitro fertilization. This study certainly does not mean that acupuncture does not help for infertility since we need larger studies to evaluate the benefit of acupuncture. I had a chance to watch a patient getting acupuncture for infertility, and it at least helped her to get rid of most of her anxiety and stress related to the in vitro fertilization procedure.

[accufan]

Although this study did not find that acupuncture provided a statistically significant increase in pregnancy rates in women receiving in vitro fertilization, I would not write off the therapy altogether. Acupuncture, for a majority of patients, is an extremely relaxing therapy that eases the body and mind. Acupuncture may not have produced the kind of stats we were looking for in the case of IVF, but if the patient enjoys acupuncture, then in my humble opinion, they should continue doing it.

[relaxZzz]

Women undergoing IVF are usually under a lot of stress. Between the inability to conceive naturally and the financial burden and time consuming nature of IVF, women (and husbands/partners alike) are most likely worn out and anxious. While this study did not demonstrate a positive correlation between acupuncture and IVF success rates, there is a lot to be said about stress and its effect on the human body and immune system. I agree with accufan; if the patient is experiencing relaxation from the acupuncture, they should continue it. Also, it is important to note the age of the participants (38 years or older). Acupuncture might be more effective in helping younger patients who are unable to conceive for other reasons besides age.

[womenshealth]

While I agree with the comments on the patient continuing it if it is relaxing, I also think it's important to offer the treatment with a disclaimer. Women undergoing acupuncture for a higher success rate with IVF should be told that it's unclear if it works or not. For women who are unable to conceive naturally, false hope could take an emotional toll on them. Like with other treatments, the patient should be well informed.

[AP]

My uncle receives acupuncture at least two times a year! He swears by it. I wonder though what types of things could go wrong. I know there can be mishaps (like infections due to inappropriate sterilization or organ puncture due to inappropriate technique), but is there anything else that could possibly go wrong? And what is the likelihood? If there are no other complications, I guess the most important thing is for these women to assure they're in touch with the most skilled professionals who use the most sterilized and clean equipment!

[catalina]

Most people undergoing IVF undoubtedly have been through a lot already with their pregnancies and are willing to try almost anything to help the process along. If using acupuncture to help IVF success has any remote possibility of helping out, as some people claim, I hope that studies and clinical trials continue despite negative results from a few recent trials such as this one.

As most people know, once you get pregnant, your list of approved medications and methods within the healthcare realm reduce dramatically. With very few associated side effects, acupuncture would be an ideal complement to IVF if it is found to be successful since it could be used all throughout the pregnancy at little/no risk to the fetus. Along with efficacy, it will be important for researchers to take a further look at acupuncture's mechanism of action in order for this method to be more accepted in society.