When you think of acupuncture, there may be a whole slew of interesting images that flash through your mind.
You may not really even know what acupuncture is, which isn't unusual in the Western world.
Although scientists are unsure why acupuncture works, the fact is that the process of having a qualified therapist stick thin needles into certain parts of your body actually does help relieve stress, and it may help regulate hormones in some unexplained way.
What's more, acupuncture has been proven to increase IVF chances of success in many women.
While the research on acupuncture and IVF is still relatively new and is being contested by some in the medical community, it is solid and promising enough that many ART clinics are actually starting to add acupuncture to their IVF packages.
Even if this isn't the case with the clinics you try out, you can easily see a qualified acupuncturist in your area during IVF cycles to improve your chances of becoming pregnant and carrying a baby to full term.
How Acupuncture Improves Your Odds The truth is that no one - not even acupuncturists - are really sure about how the procedure helps women who are undergoing IVF.
Some people think that it helps regulate hormones, and there is some evidence that it increases certain pregnancy hormones that help women become pregnant and carry their babies to full term.
Others think that the procedure is simply a surefire way of beating stress, and lowered levels of stress have certainly been linked to increased IVF success rates.
Even though we aren't sure how acupuncture aids IVF, we are sure that it does help.
How Much Acupuncture Helps Typically, each round of IVF is between 11% and 39% likely to result in a live birth, with the odds lowering as women age.
With acupuncture, though, several studies have shown a significant increase in those statistics.
For instance, the most famous study on IVF and acupuncture to date, which was conducted in Germany in 2002, showed that women who underwent acupuncture right before and right after a round of IVF were 43% likely to become pregnant; at that time, the statistics for women becoming pregnant through IVF were even lower - as low as 26% - so you can see what an improvement this was.
Besides this, acupuncture seemed to lessen a woman's chances of miscarrying after she became pregnant.
In this study, 20% of women who became pregnant without using acupuncture miscarried, but only 8% of women who became pregnant while using acupuncture miscarried.
These odds are pretty significant, and the chances of pregnancy when a woman uses acupuncture are likely to be even higher today since, overall, pregnancy is more likely with IVF than it was eight years ago.
How to Use It By in large, acupuncture was the most successful for women who had healthy embryos to implant since the procedure couldn't save an unhealthy embryo.
If this describes you, your best chances are probably to use acupuncture half an hour before a round of IVF and half an hour after the procedure, as well.
Although using acupuncture only before IVF has proven helpful, too, this bookend treatment has shown the most promise for the most women.
You may not really even know what acupuncture is, which isn't unusual in the Western world.
Although scientists are unsure why acupuncture works, the fact is that the process of having a qualified therapist stick thin needles into certain parts of your body actually does help relieve stress, and it may help regulate hormones in some unexplained way.
What's more, acupuncture has been proven to increase IVF chances of success in many women.
While the research on acupuncture and IVF is still relatively new and is being contested by some in the medical community, it is solid and promising enough that many ART clinics are actually starting to add acupuncture to their IVF packages.
Even if this isn't the case with the clinics you try out, you can easily see a qualified acupuncturist in your area during IVF cycles to improve your chances of becoming pregnant and carrying a baby to full term.
How Acupuncture Improves Your Odds The truth is that no one - not even acupuncturists - are really sure about how the procedure helps women who are undergoing IVF.
Some people think that it helps regulate hormones, and there is some evidence that it increases certain pregnancy hormones that help women become pregnant and carry their babies to full term.
Others think that the procedure is simply a surefire way of beating stress, and lowered levels of stress have certainly been linked to increased IVF success rates.
Even though we aren't sure how acupuncture aids IVF, we are sure that it does help.
How Much Acupuncture Helps Typically, each round of IVF is between 11% and 39% likely to result in a live birth, with the odds lowering as women age.
With acupuncture, though, several studies have shown a significant increase in those statistics.
For instance, the most famous study on IVF and acupuncture to date, which was conducted in Germany in 2002, showed that women who underwent acupuncture right before and right after a round of IVF were 43% likely to become pregnant; at that time, the statistics for women becoming pregnant through IVF were even lower - as low as 26% - so you can see what an improvement this was.
Besides this, acupuncture seemed to lessen a woman's chances of miscarrying after she became pregnant.
In this study, 20% of women who became pregnant without using acupuncture miscarried, but only 8% of women who became pregnant while using acupuncture miscarried.
These odds are pretty significant, and the chances of pregnancy when a woman uses acupuncture are likely to be even higher today since, overall, pregnancy is more likely with IVF than it was eight years ago.
How to Use It By in large, acupuncture was the most successful for women who had healthy embryos to implant since the procedure couldn't save an unhealthy embryo.
If this describes you, your best chances are probably to use acupuncture half an hour before a round of IVF and half an hour after the procedure, as well.
Although using acupuncture only before IVF has proven helpful, too, this bookend treatment has shown the most promise for the most women.
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