27 Apr Fertility and Acupuncture – Your Questions Answered!
By Dr Mattia Bresolin (Chinese Medicine and Acupuncturist)
The majority of couples in the world will end up dropping the question “So, shall we talk about having a baby?”. From there, for some, it’s smooth sailing, while for others it is a mountain road, full of hairpin turns and difficult manoeuvres.
However, whether you drive through the mountain or on the Nullarbor, you will need people along the way to help you out. That’s when I can help.
1. I want to get pregnant, can acupuncture improve my chance to get a baby?
It is very difficult to give a straightforward answer. According to my experience, after receiving acupuncture a person feels relief from the stress and anxiety built up due to not being able to get pregnant and we all well know the major role stress plays in our life. Sometimes It happens that following treatment, a couple achieves their goal in the same evening.
2. I’m going through IVF, can acupuncture enhance results? And how many treatments will I need?
As suggested above, acupuncture can play a strong role by deactivating the sympathetic system (fight or flight) while helping the parasympathetic system to do the work – bringing balance in the body and giving a better chance for IVF to work. It has been shown that acupuncture can increase blood flow of the uterus and reduce uterine artery blood flow impedance, improve ovulation by modulating the central and peripheral nervous systems, endocrine systems and the neuroendocrine, the ovarian blood flow, and metabolism; can possibly improve pregnancy rate by reduction stress, especially around embryo transfer (1). Some research supports this evidence and shows that acupuncture significantly increased the IVF outcomes in women undergoing IVF compared with no acupuncture, however further studies are necessary (1,2,3).
The number of treatments needed is also here a challenging question to answer. The MINIMAL amount is one before transfer (same day or day before) and one after the transfer (same day or day after). However, starting treatments a few weeks before transfer might play a significant role in the success rate (2,3)
3. What’s happening during an Acupuncture treatment?
During a treatment, I’ll be taking a detailed history of your concerns, along with a medication list, blood test and emotions experienced. From there I’ll be asking you to lay on the bed, and as a first treatment, I often use limited needles. After that, along with some relaxing music and a warm atmosphere, I’ll be leaving you for about 15 minutes. In the hands of a highly trained practitioner, acupuncture is safe and effective, but I’ll make sure to explain any side effects possible for peace of mind.
4. When is acupuncture not suitable for me?
Acupuncture is not suitable for you in case of emergency and in presence of red flags – therefore if during the consult I spot a red flag, I’ll refer out straight away. However, during my clinical experience, this has never happened.
After treatment, a very low percentage of people experience side effects such as dizziness and headache. This should subsidy within 48 hours. If symptoms persist, it is best to consult with your GP.
My name is Mattia. I am a Doctor of Chinese Medicine. This means that I hold a bachelor’s degree in health science and completed more than 2000 hours of training in Australia. On top of that, I travel to different countries such as Germany and India to sharpen my skills and do my best to achieve the best results possible with patients. Acupuncture is a therapy that stimulates self-healing and while the method of doing so is many and can be complex, I have undergone a great deal of training to be able to perform this therapy safely and effectively.
Click the ‘Book Now’ button to book your first session with me.
References List
1 Xi, J., Chen, H., Peng, Z. H., Tang, Z. X., Song, X., & Xia, Y. B. (2018). Effects of Acupuncture on the Outcomes of Assisted Reproductive Technology: An Overview of Systematic Reviews. Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, 2018, 7352735. https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/7352735
2 Dehghani, A. S., Homayouni, K., Kanannejad, Z., & Kanannejad, Z. (2020). The effect of acupuncture on the day of embryo transfer on the in vitro fertilization outcomes: An RCT. International journal of reproductive biomedicine, 18(3), 209–214. https://doi.org/10.18502/ijrm.v18i3.6719
3 Qian, Y., Xia, X. R., Ochin, H., Huang, C., Gao, C., Gao, L., Cui, Y. G., Liu, J. Y., & Meng, Y. (2017). Therapeutic effect of acupuncture on the outcomes of in vitro fertilization: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Archives of gynecology and obstetrics, 295(3), 543–558. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-016-4255-y
