Acupuncture and IVF in the News (Oct 2007)

The latest research by the University of Oklahoma suggested that the use of acupuncture during IVF treatment might reduce the chance for a successful outcome. This goes against all previous research and my professional experience.

It is difficult to comment in detail as I have been completely unable to get a hold of the study itself, however there already appears to be a number of flaws in the methodology. From the Scotsman newspaper: "The first group [of women] was given acupuncture for 25 minutes before and after embryo transfer by one of two acupuncturists at external clinics" and Dr Craig said: "We know stress matters in pregnancy rates. If you take a high stress situation of driving in busy traffic and parking to get to an acupuncture session and then getting to your embryo transfer on time, the benefits of acupuncture may be counteracted by extra stress."

Evidently, patients were expected to make their own way to acupuncture appointments just before and after implantation within a restricted 25-minute time frame. Even Dr Craig admitted that this pressurising situation may not only have reduced the effectiveness of the acupuncture treatment, it could also have been detrimental for the IVF itself.

From the statistics that are available, there seem to be some unusual results possibly caused by the study having been conducted on such a small scale. For example, Dr Craig's experiment claims that normal IVF without any intervention would have a success rate of 70%, whereas the reported UK national average is less than 28%.

It would be irresponsible to say as a result of this study, women having fertility treatment should not be advised to have acupuncture when even Dr Craig confessed that further research needed to be done.

A similar study was conducted in 2002 by German researchers in China, involved 60% more patients and more importantly administered the acupuncture treatments at the fertility clinic where the IVF took place. The results of that study showed that the pregnancy rate in the group receiving acupuncture was 42.5%, compared to the control group where the rate was 26.3%. This control group rate correlates with the UK national average unlike that which was found in Dr Craig's study. Furthermore, by administering the acupuncture treatment onsite, it reduces external influences (like heavy traffic).

It should be remembered that both of these studies were on a small scale and cannot be compared to the accuracy of a properly controlled clinical trial. Having a session of acupuncture just before and after embryo implantation is extremely different from the weeks of support that acupuncture can provide leading up to treatment.

A vast majority of the women whom I have supported during their IVF treatment have benefited hugely from acupuncture support. If you would like an insight into some of the experiences of my patients, please click here.