TiejunTang
Ellie was my client. I did acupuncture to support her first IVF. She succeed at the first try. When her daughter was about 2 years old, she contact me for her second IVF support at few weeks ago. After about one month treatment, she got pregnant again. She recorded all her IVF procedure in video and shared her experience in her Facebook diary She also asked me to write a Q&A about this topic. Next is our dialogue.
Questioner : Ellie Thompson
Ellie was my client. I did acupuncture to support her first IVF. She succeed at the first try. When her daughter was about 2 years old, she contact me for her second IVF support at few weeks ago. After about one month treatment, she got pregnant again. She recorded all her IVF procedure in video and shared her experience in her Facebook diary She also asked me to write a Q&A about this topic. Next is our dialogue.
Questioner : Ellie Thompson
Answerer: Tiejun Tang
Acupuncture –
What is it?
Tell us a bit
about how it works in term of the body and why putting needles into these areas
can help?
Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese therapy. It is one
of the key components of Traditional Chinese Medicine and is among the oldest
medical therapies in the world. Acupuncture is penetrating the skin with
filiform needles to stimulate certain points of the body. According to the
traditional Chinese medicine approach, there are fourteen channels known as
meridians in the human body, these meridians link to corresponding organs and
travels up and down. Every acupuncture point is like a tube station on individual
channels. Stimulating specific acupuncture points can correct imbalances in the
flow of Qi or Chi. It also can regulate blood circulation of the whole
body, correct imbalances of Yin & Yang and regulate the function of
internal organs. That is why acupuncture can release many symptoms physically
and mentally, and benefit health.
Why is
acupuncture especially recommended for fertility/IVF?
IVF success rate is very low usually. Clinical research
has showed that acupuncture can increase the success rate of IVF. This fact was
discovered by chance. In 1999 Dr Stener-Victorin tried to evaluate the
anaesthetic effect during oocyte aspiration in IVF. She found the acupuncture
group had a significantly higher implantation rate, pregnancy rate, and
take home baby rate. She published her research report in Human Reproduction,
the top journal in reproductive medicine. Some other doctors repeated this
clinical research and add two acupuncture sessions on embryo transfer day. The
result showed the acupuncture group’s success rate was significantly higher
than that of the control group. Many clinical trials were carried out with
modified treatment protocol. More and more doctors recommended acupuncture
during the IVF treatment. More reference paper
and research detail can be obtained here.
Can acupuncture
help a couple struggling to conceive, to conceive naturally and how?
Acupuncture not only can increase the success rate of
IVF, but it can also help couples conceive naturally. According to the
philosophy of traditional Chinese medicine, the fertility function is dominated
mainly by the kidney. Normal Qi and blood circulation in both partners ensures
a normal fertility function. Acupuncture can boost the fertility function by
tonifying the kidneys and regulating qi and blood circulation. Remember that
IVF has only 40 years of history, while in comparison, traditional Chinese
medicine has used acupuncture to treat infertility for thousands years.
Can acupuncture
improve sperm quality, morphology, motility and speed?
Yes, research reports showed acupuncture can significant
improve sperm quality, morphology, motility and ultrastructural.
Here
are some useful research studies to read in more depth:
Why do you take
a pulse and look at the tongue – How much do those things tell you?
Pulse taking and tongue observation are two diagnosis
methods of Chinese medicine.
The
diagnosis is very important because the acupuncture point selection is based on
diagnosis. Pulse and tongue can provide a lot of information to practitioner,
includes the level and status of qi and blood, the functional condition of each
internal organs, the imbalance of yin and yang etc. Patient should not eat or
drink colourful food and drinks before an acupuncture visit in case the tongue
shows a fake colour.
When should one
have acupuncture during an IVF cycle?
The acupuncture treatment protocols are various for
individual cases. The treatment plan depends on the age, constitution, history
and many other factors. In some conditions acupuncture should start 2-3 month
before IVF for fertility to prepare.
During
the ovarian stimulation acupuncture should be used to reduce the side effects
caused by IVF drugs; one acupuncture session at an hour before egg collection,
to alleviate the tension and pain during egg collection; two sessions of
acupuncture about an hour before and after embryo transfer.
The
first week after embryo transfer one or two sessions of acupuncture are needed.
If the pregnancy tests positive, the patient still need to carry on with
acupuncture once a week until the 12th week in order to prevent
miscarriage.
When you’re
treating someone undergoing IVF, do you look at treating other problems in the
body may be contributing to infertility?
Yes, of course. We must treat other problems during the
IVF process. Some chronic diseases can effects success rate of IVF. It may be
one of the reasons for infertility. Chinese medicine emphasises a holistic view
of the human body. Acupuncture can regulate qi and blood circulation, balance
the yin/yang of whole body. Nourishing qi and blood can benefit anemia.
Tonified yin/yang can regulate hormone imbalance and thyroid disorder.
Activating blood flow and removing blood stasis can reduce symptoms of endometriosis,
PCOS and uterine fibroids.
Are there
immediate signs that acupuncture has worked, or is working? i.e. Pulse, tongue etc?
After acupuncture treatments many people will feel
energetic, experiencing improved sleep, less stress and anxiety. Their face colour
and tongue colour looks better then before and their pulse will get stronger.
Why is
acupuncture so important before and after embryo transfer, what does each
sessions do?
Embryo transfer day is an important day in IVF. Patient
should have the best condition on that day. An acupuncture session about one
hour before ET is necessary. It can reduce the stress mood, benefit qi and
blood movement and strengthen kidney function which will increase the chance of
success; a session after ET also necessary. It can nourish heart and calm the
nerves, this will help patient have good sleep and good rest after ET. Many
researchers believe that acupuncture treatment on the ET day is even more
important than egg collection day treatment.
What happens if
a session is missed – is it important to have regular sessions?
It is very important to have regular acupuncture session
around the IVF process/cycle. If a session is missed, it is better to arrange a
replacement session in next one or two days. Never miss the session on egg
collection day and embryo transfer day. Regular sessions mean a higher chance
of success.
What top tips
would you give to couples trying to conceive in term of things they can do
besides acupuncture? – i.e. Diet, general health etc.
The top tips to increase success rate of IVF are:
- Keep a happy mood and confidence
- Healthy
diet, avoid spicy food and cold food
- No smoking
and no alcohol
- Regular and
gentle exercise
- Enough
sleeping and rest
- Take
Chinese herbal remedy which prescript by a qualified practitioner in some
stage of IVF
