Acupuncture May Improve Fertility

Published Online: Saturday, March 1, 2003   [ Request Print ]

A recent review of the medical literature shows that acupuncture may help women conceive, as reported in Fertility and Sterility (December 2002). Many of the studies showed that acupuncture, when used as an add-on treatment, improved the efficacy of in vitro fertilization. One study showed that women who used acupuncture alone had similar rates of conception as women who took fertility drugs. It is believed that acupuncture may affect fertility by reducing stress, increasing blood flow to the reproductive organs, or by influencing the brain centers responsible for ovulation.