Acupuncture ‘boosts IVF chances’

Researchers studied more than 1,300 women

Acupuncture may increase the success rates of fertility treatment, according to a study.

The Dutch and US research, published in the British Medical Journal, found for every 10 IVF cycles with acupuncture, there would be one extra pregnancy.

IVF involves fertilising the egg with sperm outside the woman’s body then putting the resulting embryo back into the womb.

Some couples face repeated expensive attempts to achieve a pregnancy.

Acupuncture has been used for centuries in China to regulate female fertility, and in recent years, scientists have been looking at whether it could boost IVF chances.

Studies have bee showing benefits.

The latest research, from the VU University in Amsterdam and the University of Maryland School of Medicine, combined the results of seven trials involving 1,366 women in an attempt to provide a clearer picture of the benefits.

They found that, looking at all the research together, women who underwent acupuncture were 65% more likely to have a successful embryo transfer compared with those who underwent a “sham” version of the treatment, or no extra treatment at all.

Source BBC