Acupuncture Helps IVF Patients

I am beginning to feel like I have a large extended family with all the new babies being born. It is really wonderful to know that I have had a small part in their lives. Please keep the baby pictures coming. My baby board continues to fill up.

I thought it would be nice to give all of my fertility patients a report on my success rate. I have been seeing patients for their infertility since 2002. Since I began, I have treated more than 200 patients.

I have treated 65 women for IVF using the German protocol. This protocol requires the patient to come for acupuncture twice the day of embryo transfer, before and after the transfer. My success rate is 60%. For women that have under gone IUI the success rate is 30%. For women who conceived naturally the success rate is 52%. I am really happy to report these statistics. But I would like to see them higher. It’s not very good if you were one of the people that did not conceive.

I have adopted a new idea that I think is very important. It is called Preconception Health Care. This is just what the name implies. This health care is done BEFORE conception. Meaning it is done not only to help the couple conceive, but also to help the mother get healthier to carry the baby, and most importantly to make the baby healthier. Most acupuncture fertility specialists agree that a woman should have acupuncture treatments for a minimum of six months before even trying to conceive. Preconception Health Care should be done for a minimum of two months before a woman begins to try to conceive. Of course this is a rough estimate, but many women are so depleted that they need a longer time. It involves integrating both Eastern and Western paradigms of diagnosis and health care. A comprehensive protocol is designed for each individual. It consists of nutritional and herbal supplementation, along with a series of acupuncture treatments that address each individual’s imbalances. Most women want a baby yesterday, but the Preconception Health Care period is time well spent increasing mental and physical stability. Often a woman does not start her acupuncture treatments until a month or less before IUI or IVF. While they certainly benefit, it is far too short of a treatment time to offer maximum support for women who undergo this very stressful and expensive endeavor.
I also work with men. After all, they are usually half of the equation. Many men have poor motility, morphology or low sperm counts. Acupuncture, herbs and nutritional supplements can be given to increase the quality and quantity of sperm.

I am really dedicated to my fertility practice. Fertility is truly my passion. I share the highs and the lows with my patients. Each time a patient doesn’t get pregnant I always ask myself what I could have done differently to improve their outcome. I continue to take acupuncture infertility classes at least every year and constantly read anything new.