In the news...

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and Fertility

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome is a label being given to more and more young women. The specialists are not yet sure what the cause of this disorder is, but its increasing prevalence is making us wonder if its something we are doing in our modern lifestyles.

Part one of this article looks at all the things that contribute to or influence PCOS. Part Two (available June 2013) will look at all the treatment options including acupuncture. 

Acupuncture Treatment for Infertility: Landmark Study Identifies Mechanism for Improved Pregnancy Outcomes in In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)

Acupuncture has been shown to regulate the stress hormones that impact ovulation, in an IVF setting. This coincides with another recent study showing that elevated markers for stress are associated with decreased pregnancy rates.
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IVF Alternatives - Acupuncture and Conception

Acupuncture and IVF might come from opposite sides of the medical fence, but there's growing interest in combining them. Some studies show an improvement in pregnancy rates if acupuncture is used at embryo transfer, says Jane Lyttleton, a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner who works in partnership with IVF clinics. "We need more research to understand how it works," she says.

Adds fertility specialist Dr Gavin Sacks of IVF Australia: "On balance, the research shows there may be a benefit. Some IVF clinics have taken it up, and I think it's worth exploring. I don't tell women they should have acupuncture - but if they ask what they can do to improve their chances, I encourage them to try it."

Relaxation boosts IVF success rate

Taking a deep breath and relaxing may help women undergoing IVF treatment to become pregnant sooner, according to a US study.

IVF and acupuncture - early promise for increase in take home baby rates

An analysis of nearly six hundred patients treated at an IVF clinic in California with acupuncture reveals a 23% increase in live births. ... more

Fertility spike from acupuncture

WOMEN having IVF treatment can boost their chances of falling pregnant by 65 per cent simply by having acupuncture.

A review combining the results of seven previous studies has found that acupuncture increases the chances of having an ongoing pregnancy  - and nearly doubles the chance of a successful live birth.

Human egg makes accidental debut on camera

One picture tells a thousand words and these remarkable pictures of an egg slowly emerging from its follicle show us one of those magic events, in particular one that IVF patients and women trying to conceive are focused on. Click here to view photos ... more

Acupuncture helps women have babies

Women undergoing fertility treatment are far more likely to successfully give birth if they also have acupuncture, a major scientific study has concluded. ... more

Acupuncture promising for infertility in PCOS

ACUPUNCTURE may be useful in combating infertility among women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), Australian research suggests. ... more

Bundles of ways to breed success

There are ways to protect and boost reproductive health for both women and men trying to conceive and for those who think they might one day want to. Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine is one way. ... more

Traditional Chinese Medicine Makes Fertility Treatments Far More Effective

Researchers in israel found that when combining IUI with TCM treatments, 65.5 percent of the test group were able to conceive, compared with 39.4 percent of the control group, who received no herbal or acupuncture therapy. The method is as "close to nature" as possible and can be used by women employing sperm donors, or with their partner's sperm. ... more

Clinical trials at the Acupuncture IVF Support Clinic

Channel Nine interviews Delia McCarthy, manager of the Acupuncture IVF Support Clinic and Caroline Smith, Research consultant about the trial to be conducted, examining the effect of acupuncture on IVF outcomes.

To view this programme see MSN archives

Improving the Odds of IVF

In April 2008 the ABC science programme Catalyst aired a report on acupuncture research which was carried out in Adelaide by Caroline Smith and her colleages with IVF patients. It was called "Improving the Odds of IVF" and you can watch it on the following link

www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/2008/04/03/2205046.htm

One of the changes sweeping through our society this century is that women are having fewer children, later in life. That may explain why the use of IVF to assist pregnancy is growing by up to 15% a year in Australia. But experts say that science and technology has reached a plateau, and improvements in the success of these fertility treatments may only come from entirely different medical traditions – like acupuncture. Mark Horstman travels to Beijing and Adelaide to find out.

Acupuncture aids IVF conception: study

Getting acupuncture during IVF treatment could significantly increase a woman's chance of a successful pregnancy, a controversial new study has found. A review presented at a medical conference in Brisbane shows that acupuncture administered for 25 minutes both before and after an embryo is transferred to the uterus improves the likelihood of a live birth. On the basis of the current level of evidence we have, if nine women have acupuncture around the time of embryo transfer with IVF there will be one extra live born baby," said lead researcher of the New Zealand study, Professor Neil Johnson, medical director of Fertility Plus in Auckland."That figure looks pretty good, especially to women wanting to do all they can to have a baby.

Treatment of Infertility with Chinese Medicine

This text, written in plain english, for doctors of Chinese medicine and other health professionals or patients interested in knowing more about treatment options, provides an accessible and thorough description of all aspects of the treatment of female and male infertility with Chinese medicine. 

Infertility and Assisted Reproduction

The latest text published on assisted reproduction technology includes a chapter on the benefits of acupuncture as an integral part of the IVF cycle. ... more

How to Improve Your ART Success Rates: An Evidence-Based Review of Adjuncts

Chapter 41 describes the role of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the benefits it confers on the patient undergoing IVF      By Prof Sheryl Lacy and our consultant and coordinator of research programmes, Assoc Prof Caroline Smith. 

Jade Woman Jade Man Herbals

A series of formulations based on classical Chinese herbal scripts for fertility and other gyneacological concerns, modified to incorporate modern research findings. ... more

One patient - Two approaches; Can East meet West in the infertility clinic

Presented at the annual Pacific Coast Reproductive Society Conference in 2008.

http://www.chinesemedicinetools.com/audio-podcasts/jane-lyttleton

Infertility Treatment at the Cutting Edge of Traditional and Biomedical Discourse.

This, the Seventh International Congress on Traditional Asian Medicine, held in Bhutan attracted doctors and medical anthropologists from all parts of the world.There was much fruitful discussion on different ways of treating medical conditions and models for research. ... more

Integrated Care; IVF patients as a model

Many patients choose to use different medical systems when addressing various health issues. Jane Lyttleton and Sue Cochrone examine what this means for patients in  different countries and different settings and particularly for IVF patients in Australia. This paper, which was awarded Best Overall Paper of the conference, also examined the unique role practitioners play in such scenarios. ... more

Chinese medicine and the IVF patient

This 2 day Synchronising ART Foundations program was designed for nurses and support personnel working in the field of Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART). Jane Lyttleton's talk presented a basic understanding of how Chinese Medicine approaches the diagnosis and treatment of infertilty, and looked at evidence that supports possibilities of how Chinese medicine might improve IVF outcomes.  ... more

Acupuncture and reproductive health outcomes: building evidence in an integrated care setting

The Acupuncture IVF support clinic has been working with University of Western Sydney to examine and analyse the way IVF patients are benefiting from using acupunture in this clinic. 

Treating Fertility with Chinese Medicine: an integrative approach

Fertility Nurses Australia, a subsidiary of The Fertility Society of Australia, invited Delia McCarthy who manages the Acupuncture IVF Support clinics to give a presentation to their annual education meeting, describing the role and uses of Chinese Medicine in the treatment of infertility.

Human ovulation captured on film

This a realtime video of an ovulation taken by researchers at the Leuven Institute for Fertility & Embryology in Belgium.A small amount of saline was used to float the opening of the fallopian tube, its fimbriae (the "fingers" that sweep the egg into the tube) and the ovary itself. In the video, the fimbriae can be seen sweeping in time with the patient's heartbeat. A mucus plug can be seen protruding from the ovary – this contains the egg. 

Animated IVF cycle

Click here to see an animated sequence describing the steps in an IVF cycle.