Indonesian hospital and university researchers have collaborated to show that electroacupuncture enhances follicle maturation and egg fertilisation rates in women undergoing IVF. A total of 24 women aged 30 to 39 were randomly allocated to either an electroacupuncture group or to a sham treatment group which relied on non-penetrating needles. Sessions were given six times, at a rate of twice per week, prior to the ovarian stimulation phase, and four times during an antagonistic protocol. Assessment of follicle maturation and egg fertilisation was then made by embryologists.
The results showed that the oocyte maturation index and fertilisation rates in the treatment group, were significantly higher than in the sham group.
(Electroacupuncture Enhances Number of Mature Oocytes & Fertility Rates for In Vitro Fertilization. Medical Acupuncture, October 2019.)
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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