A study undertaken in Sao Paulo, Brazil suggests acupuncture and moxibustion can improve the chances of becoming pregnant, in women for whom IVF has previously not worked. Eighty-four patients who had experienced at least two unsuccessful IVF cycles, were randomly allocated to receive either no treatment, sham acupuncture (superficial needling of the arm and thigh at points not associated with reproduction), or true acupuncture with moxibustion. Acupuncture was given four times: on the first and seventh days of ovulation induction; on the day before egg collection; and on the day after embryo transfer.
The pregnancy rate of 36% in the acupuncture group was significantly higher than in either of the two control groups, which were 7% and 11%.
(Influence of Acupuncture on the Outcomes of In Vitro Fertilisation when Embryo Implantation has Failed: A Prospective Randomised Controlled Clinical Trial. Acupuncture in Medicine, on-line 2013.)
Author: Robin Costello
I offer traditional Chinese acupuncture in Exeter, from a tranquil clinic a mile from the city centre, and next to the University of Exeter. I graduated originally from the London School of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine’s 3 year full time Acupuncture Diploma (DipAc) course. I am on the practitioners register of the British Acupuncture Council (MBAcC), a regulatory and professional body with an entry standard of a full three year undergraduate degree level training.
I have worked in a hospital in south west China, deepening my knowledge and using acupuncture and Chinese massage (tuina) as the treatment of choice in its country of origin. I have taught Chinese medicine in colleges, the NHS and at university level. I also practise Qi Gong, and Chinese dietary therapy, that is the medicinal use of ordinary foods, chosen to help achieve particular therapeutic effects in different individuals.
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