Experts say there's "no evidence" that acupuncture helps IVF
Categories: Pregnancy & birth, Medical conditions, Latest news
Experts have announced that there is no evidence either acupuncture or Chinese herbal medicine improve the likelihood of getting pregnant through IVF.
Many couples now turn to acupuncture in a bid to get pregnant but the British Fertility Society says this may be a waste of time and money.
The researchers looked at 14 trials involving 2,670 people to come up with their new guidance.
They found that it did not matter what stage of the IVF process acupuncture took place - it still had no effect on the pregnancy or live birth rate.
However they also found it didn't actually do any harm as there was no difference in miscarriage rates either.
The team said there were no rigorous trials published on the use of Chinese herbs, so they decided there was currently no evidence to support the use of these in fertility treatments either.
However Professor Edzard Ernst of Pensinsula Medical School, told the BBC: "Infertile women have been misled for some time now to think that traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) can help them getting pregnant.
"This analysis shows two things very clearly: the totality of the acupuncture trials does not support this notion, and for Chinese herbs, we have no evidence at all.
"This will help infertile women not to waste their money or get disappointed by TCM practitioners who behave less than responsibly when recommending these treatments."
But one practitioner, Dr Xiao-Ping Zhai, of The Zhai Fertility Treatment Clinic, told the BBC that the trials had been problematic and different analysis would show that acupuncture did work.
He said: "Certainly for those with unexplained fertility problems in particular, we know acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine can be beneficial.
"What matters is both the expertise and experience of the practitioner, but most of all the treatment of the patient as an individual. It is the tailored treatment which is key. We need clinical trials that take this into account."
Did you try acupuncture when you were trying to conceive? Do you believe it works?
Source: BBC
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
janine.clements 3-11-2010 @ 6:07AM
In the news at the moment, experts are saying no complementary therapies work full stop at the moment, whether it's homeopathy, acupuncture, chinese medicine etc.
Regarding acupuncture for fertility, it's a difficult one because there aren't really any accurate trials. So although there isn't any evidence to say it works, it doesn't necessarily mean it doesn't. I know people who believe it's worked for them and I know others who are trying to get pregnant and doing all of the above, but no luck as yet.
For me, the jury's out. I actually tried acupuncture to induce my baby when I was overdue. I ended up being induced in hospital and had an emergency c-section. I shouldn't have been induced at all, because she would was so small she wouldn't have survived. So I'm glad the acupuncture didn't work, but may be it would have worked if she had been the right size.
I think if people believe it will work, then surely that's got to be a good thing as it will mean they are less stressed and as a result more likely to get pregnant.
www.21stcenturymummy.com
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