Acupuncture and Fertility
Acupuncture is an age-old Chinese medicine technique that involves pricking the skin at strategic points in an effort to balance the flow of energy in the body. This energy, that is thought to heavily impact many of the systems in your body is called qi (chee). When there is any kind of ailment in the body, Chinese medicine typically attributes it to the fact that your qi is out of balance. The insertion of these little needles are said to help rebalance the qi in your body.
Despite the fact that acupuncture originated so many years ago, there is some modern research to suggest that it may actually be significantly beneficial for women who are experiencing unexplained infertility. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines infertility to be when a couple does not become pregnant after one year of actively trying. The CDC also estimates that about 12% of women in the United States struggle with infertility. It is incredibly important to us at Cha Cha Mamma to support all women who may be going through infertility with the desire of having children. We will leave no stone unturned until we are able to provide every woman with research-based steps that she can take to optimize chances of conceiving (should that be her goal).
There is a newly-published and incredibly fascinating study that looked at 72 women who were going through in vitro fertilization (IVF). IVF is a complex process where a licensed physician will extract a woman’s eggs and combine them with a male’s sperm to create an embryo. The physician will then insert the embryo back into her womb in hopes that the embryo will attach and continue to develop.
Half of the women in this study (36) were given 3 sessions of acupuncture, and the other half (36) were not given any acupuncture at all. In the acupuncture group, the first session was given before the embryo transfer (ET), the seconds was 30 minutes before the ET, and the third was 30 min after the ET. The results showed that there was indeed a significant increase in the rate of pregnancy in the women with unexplained infertility who received the acupuncture sessions. Interestingly enough, there was also a significant decrease in the anxiety levels before the ET, which may have also contributed to the success as well (Guven,Cayir & Borekci, 2020).
It should be noted that 72 women is a very small amount compared to all the women in the world, but if it worked for them, it may work for you. If you are struggling with infertility, especially if you are in the process of completing IVF, consider talking to your doctor about incorporating acupuncture into your plan.
It may help relieve stress, it may help you with getting pregnant, and it could be a great way to take some time for yourself.
