You may not think of accupuncture as the best choice in treating infertility. It is a traditional treatment after all, not dependent on modern science and more akin to superstition than medical proof. But did you know that this traditional treatment is finding a place for itself in today’s modern medical treatments for infertility? Not only is its traditional healing proving useful in treating some of the causes of infertility, it is also proving to be a very useful in supporting other more modern treatments to better your chances of starting that family you have been dreaming of.

Acupuncture is defined as a traditional Chinese medicine. It has long been practiced by healers, going back as far as three thousand years ago. It uses needles inserted into the body at very specific points to control the body’s chi or what is believed to be the energy of the body. This might sound too fantastic for our modern day concept of medicine but even medical science has to concede its effectiveness. The insertion of these needles has been shown to help the body regulate itself better, controlling blood flow to organs that need it and balancing out hormone levels.

Hormonal imbalance is actually a key player in infertility. Sometimes the body doesn’t produce the correct amount of needed hormones for the reproductive organs to function properly. Infertility is often signified by hormonal problems like elevated follicle stimulating hormone FSH levels. This is a sign of low ovarian reserves in women that can lead to difficulty getting pregnant. Another sign is elevated levels of prolactin in the body which is also detrimental to pregnancy. Sometimes polycystic ovarian syndrome or PCOS is responsible for these hormonal imbalances and is one of the leading causes of infertility in women. Accupuncture has shown itself to be effective in correcting some of these imbalances so it is used as a treatment for these conditions.

With acupuncture really making a name for itself in today’s medical scene, a combination of traditional and modern techniques is sometimes used in treating infertility. In vitro fertilization or IVF is one of the more modern medical treatments for infertility. It uses advanced medical techniques to fertilize a human egg outside of a woman’s womb and then return it afterwards to allow it to develop into a baby inside the mother. This is a complicated and expensive procedure that doesn’t work 100% of the time. However, with acupuncture as a supporting treatment IVF success rates have shown marked improvement. Studies have shown that acupuncture with IVF can add about 16 percentile points to the baseline success rate. It also reduces the chances of miscarriage. This boost can be essential if you are on a budget as every attempt of IVF can cost around $12,000!

If you are interested in using acupuncture as a supporting treatment, you may have to think about going through acupuncture sessions in advance. The treatment often takes months to prepare your body to go through the medical procedures. Sometimes 3 to 4 months are needed if acupuncture is to be used to support an IVF procedure.

You can also use acupuncture as an alternative to some medications. Its healing properties can be useful for you to recover faster from a procedure. This can speed up your recovery and reduce your stay in a clinic or hospital, saving you money in medical fees. A kind of acupuncture incorporates electricity to help with pain relief. Called electro-acupuncture, this can be very useful as an alternative painkiller when you go into labor.

If you need one more reason to try acupuncture, it is also a reliever of stress and anxiety. This is very important in fertility as stress and anxiety can cause depression. Depression has been shown to have very negative effects on fertility. Infertility is a very big cause of stress and anxiety and, if this stress and anxiety is left untreated, this can lead to a vicious downward spiral of infertility and stress.

Acupuncture is really proving itself as one of the most effective alternative treatments for infertility out there today. Just be sure to keep safe and choose your acupuncturist wisely to avoid unnecessary risks.