Recent study shows that acupuncture improves the chances of pregnancy
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 (Fertility and Sterility vol. 77 (4), pp. 721-724 (2002).
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. 34 out of 80 (42.5%) patients in the acupuncture group became pregnant, as opposed to 21 out of 80 (26.3%) in the control group. These results are significant and suggest that acupuncture does indeed improve the pregnancy rate for women undergoing Assisted Reproductive Therapies.
