Related posts:

1. Health care practitioners need to be proactive in acquiring and documenting use of complimentary therapies for infertility | Acupuncture & Infertility
2. Acupuncture for infertility is even getting the nod from doctors
3. Acupuncture: A Cure for Infertility?

In May Celine Dion announced she was pregnant with twins.  The 42 year-old Canadian singer underwent 6 cycles of IVF. She credited acupuncture for the success in her last IVF cycle.

Last week a 41-year-old pop diva Mariah Carey announced that she was pregnant. And she has new mom Celine Dion to thank for her pregnancy – she tried acupuncture to help her conceive after hearing the Canadian superstar rave about the treatment.

Thanks to Andrea for sharing this and thanks to idf-fotos for the photo of Celine Dion.

Related posts:

1. Summer is best time for fertility treatment
2. Fertility, IVF and Acupuncture books
3. Acupuncture can improve chances of successful fertility treatment

It takes about an hour and 20 minutes.

Learn and take control!

No related posts.

Tracy Ryan had given up hope of having a second child. Two years of trying to conceive, including three failed artificial inseminations, had finally culminated in a successful in vitro fertilization-and 2-year-old Christopher. But further attempts at in vitro had left Ryan, 35, disappointed and exhausted. Desperate to feel better, the stay-at-home mom from Fair Haven, N.J., decided to try acupuncture, kick her six-can-a-day Diet Pepsi habit, and eat more fish, fruits, and vegetables. Eight weeks later and slimmer by 7 pounds, Ryan was shocked to discover that she was pregnant. “I was literally shaking when I saw the pregnancy test,” she says. “My husband made me buy a different brand to verify it.”

Three artificial inseminations failed to work for Meredith Collins, but two relaxing vacations did
JARED LEEDS FOR USN&WR

Ryan can’t know whether to thank coincidence or her lifestyle changes for 9-month-old Brendan. But a growing body of evidence suggests that controllable factors (and not just a delay in childbearing) may be a reason 1 in 8 couples can’t conceive. Success depends on the delicately timed release of four reproductive hormones, and all sorts of factors-too little iron in the blood, too much or too little body fat, too much exercise-can throw the sequence out of whack. “We’re finding that everything matters-and moderation in terms of stress, body weight, diet, and physical activity is what’s important,” says Joel Evans, assistant clinical professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and women’s health at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and author of The Whole Pregnancy Handbook.

No one is talking about magic bullets. Some women will do everything right and still get the maddening diagnosis of “unexplained infertility.” But institutions as well regarded as Duke University and Beth Israel Medical Center in New York are so convinced of the possibilities that they’ve recently opened “holistic fertility care” centers that offer women trying to conceive acupuncture, nutrition counseling, and relaxation classes. And a growing number of IVF clinics now host on-site yoga classes. At the very least, making healthful changes in the hope of improving your odds of a baby is bound to pay off in other ways.

Get ready. Sometimes, the body’s refusal to get pregnant can be a sign of its wisdom, says Tracy Gaudet, an obstetrician-gynecologist and executive director of Duke Integrative Medicine. Being overweight, for instance, puts a woman at risk of such pregnancy complications as high blood pressure, diabetes, and an abnormally large baby. So it may be no accident that excess estrogen produced by body fat interferes with ovulation. The body also may be saying “whoa” when a woman carries too little fat to sustain a growing baby: In underweight women, the pituitary gland releases less of the ovulation hormones FSH and LH.

Research from Harvard Medical School suggests that being at either end of the weight spectrum accounts for nearly 40 percent of failures to ovulate. Gaudet advises aiming for a body fat percentage in the range of 20 to 25 percent and a body mass index-a measure relating weight to height-of 20 to 25. That would equal about 117 to 145 pounds for someone 5 feet, 4 inches tall.

It’s smart to quit smoking well before trying to get pregnant, too. A number of studies have shown that tobacco use can stretch the time it takes to conceive by a year or more, possibly because toxins in cigarette smoke accelerate the aging of a woman’s eggs and damage the fallopian tubes. In fact, a 2006 study by Columbia University researchers found that women who smoked 14 cigarettes a day entered menopause an average of three years earlier than those who never smoked.

If you haven’t ditched trans fats for other reasons already, this is a good time. A recent finding from the Harvard Nurses Health Study suggests that eating as little as 4.5 grams per day-the amount in one glazed Krispy Kreme cruller-could disrupt ovulation. Study author Jorge Chavarro, a research fellow in the department of nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health, notes that the results need to be replicated before firm conclusions can be drawn but speculates that trans fats could indirectly lead to a rise in testosterone, which suppresses the function of the ovaries. “Check for the trans fat content on food labels, and avoid any foods with partially hydrogenated oils in the ingredients list,” he advises. His research group also found a link between low levels of dietary iron and a failure to ovulate, possibly because iron is important for the maturation of the egg.

There isn’t one ideal preconception diet, but emphasizing nonprocessed foods like whole grains, fruits, and vegetables will steer you away from trans fats. It’s also wise to limit your intake of large fish such as tuna and swordfish, since the mercury they contain has been shown in animal studies to affect fertility. In terms of alcohol consumption, the consensus is that a glass of wine on occasion is probably fine. But how much alcohol is safe isn’t known.

On the flip side, it’s possible to be too fit. Women who work out intensely can have trouble getting pregnant, possibly because reproductive hormones are suppressed when the body interprets excessive calorie burning or physical stress as danger. A study published last fall in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology found that those who regularly exercised four or more hours per week were 40 percent less likely to conceive after their first IVF treatment than sedentary women. “Walking is fine, but spinning classes are out,” says Alice Domar, an assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive biology at Harvard Medical School and author of Conquering Infertility. “I generally recommend that my patients keep their heart rate below 110.”

Couples who are actively trying to conceive need to understand some biology: Several hours before ovulation, the pituitary gland normally sends out a surge of LH, which causes the ovary’s follicle to release an egg. But say you have a fender bender before the surge happens or suddenly discover you need a $10,000 roof repair. Such stresses can signal the pituitary gland that the body is in trouble, which slows the release of LH. If you have perfectionist tendencies, a single tear-your-hair-out day could be enough to disrupt ovulation that month, says infertility researcher Sarah Berga, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Emory University School of Medicine. Even if ovulation occurs, a shortage of LH could mean a shortage of progesterone, which is necessary to nourish and sustain a fertilized egg.

Skipping meals or taking a long run when you’re feeling frantic might make matters worse. In a study of monkeys published last month, Berga and her colleagues created mild stress for one group by moving the monkeys to a new cage and found that 12 percent developed abnormal menstrual cycles. In the second group, which was moved plus given less food and a daily one-hour session on a treadmill, 70 percent experienced irregular menstruation.

Overcoming the level of stress associated with chronic infertility may require more formal interventions. On their first visit, about 40 percent of women seeking infertility treatments exhibit the same range and severity of symptoms-irritability, difficulty concentrating, sleep disturbances-as people diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, says Harvard’s Domar. She developed a 10-week workshop for infertile women now in use around the country that includes group therapy, nutrition counseling, and relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, meditation, and yoga. In two studies, Domar and her colleagues found that 55 percent of women who took the workshop while getting fertility treatment wound up giving birth to a healthy baby compared with 20 percent of women who had treatment alone. “The women who took the class were also less anxious and depressed and had a much easier time coping with the medical procedures,” Domar says.

Heidi Fallon, 36, of Ayer, Mass., found this to be true when she took Domar’s workshop at Boston IVF 15 months ago after going through three unsuccessful rounds of treatment and a miscarriage. The class taught Fallon focused breathing techniques that she used while stuck in rush-hour traffic and provided comforting connections with other infertile women. “They knew exactly what I was going through-how hard it was when a friend or relative got pregnant,” she says. An IVF cycle during the 10-week session produced Fallon’s 9-month-old triplets.

For some infertile couples, a phone call to a travel agent seems to do the job. “My friends raise their eyebrows whenever I take a vacation,” says Meredith Collins, 35, of Portsmouth, R.I. After three failed tries at artificial insemination, Collins took a much-needed break from her busy paint-your-own-pottery store and infertility treatments and headed to a beach in the Dominican Republic, where she promptly became pregnant with her now 19-month-old son. Her 6-month-old son was also conceived naturally on a 2006 family getaway to a quiet bed-and-breakfast.

Since the point is a healthy baby, success at getting pregnant doesn’t mean it’s OK to relax back into old habits. About 10 to 15 percent of pregnancies end in miscarriage, and lifestyle factors linked to infertility are probably responsible for some of them. In a study published last year, Danish researchers found that smokers had a higher risk of miscarrying during the first few weeks of pregnancy than nonsmokers. Stress, caffeine, and alcohol might also be associated with miscarriages, though the data have been conflicting.

Longer term, evidence is mounting that a pregnant woman’s lifestyle and diet can affect her baby well into adulthood. Children born to mothers battling depression or anxiety during pregnancy appear to be smaller and to weigh less as they grow, for example. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists now recommends that clinically depressed women consider staying on their antidepressant medication while pregnant (with the exception of Paxil, which has been tied to birth defects). One recent study suggested that expectant mothers who eat more than three servings of fish a week deliver babies with higher IQs, while gaining too much weight during pregnancy seems to raise a child’s risk of developing obesity or diabetes as an adult.

And too little vitamin D puts babies at risk of asthma, type 1 diabetes, and bone deformities, says Lisa Bodnar, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh whose research shows that, even with prenatal vitamins, most pregnant women aren’t getting enough. She recommends at least 1,000 international units of vitamin D a day; most prenatal supplements contain 400 IUs. Clearly, there’s good reason to make choices that go beyond standard practice. But most are common sense.

This story appears in the May 7, 2007 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.

Related posts:

1. A skeptic doctor strongly recommends acupuncture to improve IVF success rate
2. Health care practitioners need to be proactive in acquiring and documenting use of complimentary therapies for infertility | Acupuncture & Infertility
3. Acupuncture: A Cure for Infertility?

Another one is reading stories of people who have been in your situation. I can recommend you a couple of good books.

One, The Infertility Cure, is on acupuncture and infertility, but it also gives you a good roundup of diet and other things you can do yourself.
Another one recommended by one of my patients, is Legs Up and Laughing. In this book Vanessa Bates takes you on her “Big Great Fertility Ride”. This one is for you AND your partner.

Do you have a suggestion? Let us know in the comments.

Related posts:

1. Celebrities endorsing acupuncture for fertility
2. Acupuncture can improve chances of successful fertility treatment
3. Summer is best time for fertility treatment

Related posts:

1. Acupuncture for infertility is even getting the nod from doctors
2. Acupuncture: A Cure for Infertility?
3. washingtonpost.com: Hard to Conceive

Scientists from university of Kent conducted research on six men who had very high levels of chromosome abnormalities in their sperm. After a course of traditional Chinese medicine each of the six men participating in the study showed a significant reduction in the proportion of sperm genetic abnormalities.

This research offers promise to male infertility patients. However more research is needed to convince the skeptics.

Ref:
“Significant reduction of sperm disomy in six men: effect of traditional Chinese medicine?” Darren Griffin, Helen Tempest, Sheryl Homa and Xiao-Ping Zhai
“Asian Journal of Andrology”

IVF and acupuncture :: vitalis.co.nz

Related posts:

1. New Study :: Acupuncture improves sperm quality ::
2. Chinese Medicine – a future treatment for Alzeimer’s
3. Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine in the treatment of allergic rhinitis

Women who undergo fertility treatment during the summer are twice as likely to become pregnant as when they try in winter, British researchers have found.

Longer daylight hours appear to improve the chances of successful treatment, according to the study.

The research was presented at the annual conference of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM).

Related posts:

1. Acupuncture can improve chances of successful fertility treatment
2. Celebrities endorsing acupuncture for fertility
3. Acupuncture for infertility is even getting the nod from doctors

Pei J, Strehler E, Noss U, Abt M, Piomboni P, Baccetti B, Sterzik K.

Longhua Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China. jianpei99@yahoo.com

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the ultramorphologic sperm features of idiopathic infertile men after acupuncture therapy. DESIGN: Prospective controlled study. SETTING: Christian-Lauritzen-Institut, Ulm, IVF center Munich, Germany, and Department of General Biology, University of Siena, Siena, Italy.

PATIENT(S): Forty men with idiopathic oligospermia, asthenospermia, or teratozoospermia. INTERVENTION(S): Twenty eight of the patients received acupuncture twice a week over a period of 5 weeks. The samples from the treatment group were randomized with semen samples from the 12 men in the untreated control group.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Quantitative analysis by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to evaluate the samples, using the mathematical formula based on submicroscopic characteristics.

RESULT(S): Statistical evaluation of the TEM data showed a statistically significant increase after acupuncture in the percentage and number of sperm without ultrastructural defects in the total ejaculates. A statistically significant improvement was detected in acrosome position and shape, nuclear shape, axonemal pattern and shape, and accessory fibers of sperm organelles. However, specific sperm pathologies in the form of apoptosis, immaturity, and necrosis showed no statistically significant changes between the control and treatment groups before and after treatment.

CONCLUSION(S): The treatment of idiopathic male infertility could benefit from employing acupuncture. A general improvement of sperm quality, specifically in the ultrastructural integrity of spermatozoa, was seen after acupuncture, although we did not identify specific sperm pathologies that could be particularly sensitive to this therapy.

NCBI

More about infertility on vitalis.co.nz

IVF and acupuncture :: vitalis.co.nz

Related posts:

1. Chinese medicine as a treatment for sperm genetic abnormalities
2. Acupuncture improves quality of life of patients exhausted by chemotherapy
3. Acupuncture improves athletic performance

NEW YORK — At 36, Lucy Appert has suffered through two miscarriages, a stillbirth at 8 1/2 months and, because of a rare pregnancy-related liver dysfunction, intensive illness and surgery.

Yet after enduring five painful years of trying to have their own baby, Appert and her husband Edward finally saw their dream come true last month when their son Henry was born — premature, but healthy.

For all the fertility treatments, technologies and prenatal care available to women today, Appert credits the success of her pregnancy to an ancient Chinese secret.

“I recommend acupuncture (search) to everyone,” Appert said. “It does work. I did everything possible for years to have a baby. I almost lost hope.”

The millennias-old Asian medical practice — in which the acupuncturist places tiny needles in various pressure points, or “Qi” (Chee), in the body to improve circulation and reduce stress — has been around in the United States for years as an “alternative” treatment for numerous ailments.

But recently, acupuncture has been picking up steam as a possible remedy for female infertility, with a handful of American and European studies showing that it enhances the success rate of in vitro fertilization (IVF) (search).

“Do I believe in it? Absolutely,” said Dr. Paul C. Magarelli, an infertility doctor at the Reproductive Medicine & Fertility Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., and co-author of an ongoing study into the use of acupuncture with IVF with Dr. Diane K. Cridennda. Cridennda is a licensed acupuncturist with a master’s degree in Oriental medicine from the International Institute of Chinese Medicine (search) who owns East Winds Acupuncture, also in Colorado Springs.

Magarelli said he joined the study at the urging of Cridennda, who had approached him about using acupuncture with IVF based on her knowledge of its history as an Eastern fertility treatment. A skeptic at first, Magarelli said he dismissed the idea for a while before signing on.

“I thought, this is rubbish — it can’t be true,” Magarelli said. “But no matter how I look at this data, I see an improvement. … I’m pretty much a convert.”

In general, studies seem to indicate that doing acupuncture about 30 minutes before and after in vitro fertilization can increase the chance that the embryo will be implanted successfully and reduce the chance of miscarriage.

There are also indications that the effectiveness of the IVF drugs and procedure may improve if acupuncture is done about once a week in the month or two leading up to the start of IVF and then continued regularly — once or twice a week — during the whole cycle.

And, as in Appert’s case, there is anecdotal evidence that acupuncture can help with other fertility and pregnancy problems. Appert didn’t need IVF to conceive, but she was told she probably couldn’t carry a healthy baby to term because of her liver disorder.

But some doctors caution that there is no “magic pill” for fertility, pregnancy and IVF troubles — whether it’s acupuncture or something else.

“The jury is still out on that,” said Dr. Eric Surrey, president of the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART) (search), who has a practice at the Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine. “I don’t think we have good data to show that acupuncture before and after the embryo transfer is truly beneficial.”

And they warn against making too much of claims that acupuncture can help with having babies.

“It’s impossible to say at this point,” said Dr. Robert Schenken, president of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) (search), who has a practice at the University of Texas Health Science Center. “In the absence of any controlled data, I don’t think we can come to a firm conclusion.”

Promising Research

Acupuncture seems to help some women because it improves circulation to the ovaries (search) — which makes for healthier eggs — and to the uterus (search), which increases the chances that the lining will be strong enough to hold those eggs to full-term.

“Acupuncture provides better circulation and better blood flow to the womb,” said Dr. Raymond Chang, director of New York’s Meridian Medical Group, who has been incorporating acupuncture into fertility treatments for the past decade. “It will give a better chance for the eggs to be nourished and therefore carried.”

There’s also the fact that acupuncture can be a stress-reliever during an emotional time.

“Trying to get pregnant is incredibly stressful,” said Victoria Koos, the acupuncturist who treated Appert at Yin and Tonic Acupuncture in New York. “They’re crossing their fingers. The longer they’re trying to get pregnant, the worse it gets … Part of [acupuncture's success] is simply relaxation. When the body is relaxed, all systems function better.”

The Colorado study Magarelli and Cridennda presented at a conference this fall is one of a series the pair have done with acupuncture and in vitro.

That one looked at 114 patients who had a good chance of IVF being effective, some who did acupuncture and some who didn’t. It found, among other things, that there were fewer miscarriages, more pregnancies and a 7 percent higher birth rate among those who got acupuncture treatment over those who didn’t, according to Magarelli.

It piggybacked off other research the team did on 147 “poor responders” to IVF, which found that the pregnancy rate was 40 percent, with 11 percent more babies born, among those who did acupuncture with in vitro fertilization compared to those who didn’t.

In March, Magarelli and Cridennda released findings in Italy involving patients with an average prognosis for IVF success. Those yielded clear numbers that the pregnancy rate increased with acupuncture by 24 percent, according to Magarelli.

“What got us was that now we were seeing a firm trend toward getting more people pregnant,” he said.

The Colorado research seems to support some findings of two earlier studies, one in Germany by lead researcher Dr. Wolfgang E. Paulus — published in ASRM’s “Fertility and Sterility” (search) in April 2002 — and one in Sweden by lead researcher Elisabet Stener-Victorin in the 1990s.

Of course, even those who believe in acupuncture concede that while the existing studies have yielded good information, there still isn’t sufficient evidence, or a broad enough sample of patients tested, to call acupuncture a proven remedy.

“We are convinced, but scientifically you need proof — or so-called proof,” Chang said. “There is a whole set of proof from lab experiments and animal studies to human studies, but it’s very difficult to do human studies.”

Schenken noted that even though there might be one set of data showing positive results, “it really needs to be corroborated, preferably with several different studies and different patient populations.” For example, there can be bias when the entire study sample comes from the same clinic, or when patients know they’re doing something different from usual.

Schenken said he doesn’t get asked about acupuncture often, but when patients do, “we don’t recommend it, but we do not discourage it.”

Surrey takes a similar approach. In his opinion, the data “is not bad” on the theory that acupuncture can help when administered before IVF, but as far as acupuncture generally improving fertility or helping after the embryo transfer in IVF, “there really isn’t a whole lot of data on that.”

But at the very least, “there is absolutely nothing to show that it’s harmful if it’s done with a trained and appropriately skilled acupuncturist,” he said. It’s a notion that nearly everyone in the medical field — whether they believe in needles and Qi or not — seems to agree upon.

Some Eastern medicine-Western medicine rivalry may come into play with how to treat reproductive problems, but Chang said he sees more resistance with the use of Chinese herbs — which are ingested — than he does with acupuncture. Often, it’s the in vitro specialists themselves who refer their patients to him for acupuncture after a couple of failed IVF attempts.

As for the couples trying to bring a child into the world — particularly through a complicated, invasive procedure like IVF— anything that helps the process along is welcome.

“IVF is so technical that patients feel like they’re being pushed and pulled … with acupuncture, they’re in a sense taking some control,” Magarelli said. “Acupuncture isn’t a needle, it’s an environment.”

Added Koos: “They’re on these incredibly strong drugs that make the poor women crazy. They’re running around like Catwoman. This is to help them stay sane while they’re going through the process.”

The emotional cost of infertility comes with a hefty financial price tag as well — in vitro fertilization can cost anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000 a cycle and generally isn’t covered by insurance; acupuncture ranges from about $30 to over $200 per treatment — Koos and Chang charge about $90 a pop — and certain health plans do cover at least a portion of it.

Meanwhile, researchers and experts in the field are excited at what they’re seeing in the studies. Chang said he’s currently working with NYU Medical Center on a trial that looks at IVF with and without acupuncture.

Appert, for her part, was at the end of her rope and felt she had nothing to lose. She started acupuncture with Koos about two months before she began trying to conceive — with needles in her toes and a couple of liver points — and continued with the treatments throughout the pregnancy.

“The first time I went, I was completely terrified. My husband went with me and held my hand,” she said. “I could feel the muscles in my liver jump and an electric current going through my body. It was very strange but also felt right.”

She said being monitored by both her obstetrician and Koos helped reassure her about what was going on during her high-risk pregnancy.

“She would tell me things about how I was doing physically and then I would go to the doctor and he would tell me the same thing,” remembers Appert, who works as a professor.

When she got sick late in the pregnancy, both Koos and Appert’s OB/GYN were able to detect when her liver went dangerously haywire and get her to the hospital for delivery six weeks early, before the problem harmed the fetus and caused another stillbirth.

Regardless of the skeptics, Appert said she’s relieved that she was finally able to have a nearly full-term baby of her own. At 4 pounds, 6 ounces, Henry has been in intensive care but otherwise is doing “fine.”

“It really was a miracle,” the new mom gushed. “It’s one of these weird things that Western medicine can’t explain.”

Read the story here

IVF and acupuncture :: vitalis.co.nz

Related posts:

1. Health care practitioners need to be proactive in acquiring and documenting use of complimentary therapies for infertility | Acupuncture & Infertility
2. Acupuncture for infertility is even getting the nod from doctors
3. Acupuncture for infertility

Dr. Takahisa Ushiroyama and colleagues at Osaka Medical College in Japan conducted a trial of treating polycystic ovary syndrome and non-polycystic ovary syndrome with herbal medicine. The medicine is Unkei-to (Chinese name Wen-Jing-Tang), which combines 12 herbal drugs, including ginseng, cinnamon bark, angelica root, evodia fruit and ginger stem. One hundred women participated in the experiment. Fifty-two of these women were given a daily dosage of 7.5 gram Unkei-to while the other women remained untreated. The study shows that more than half of the women treated with Unkei-to saw improvement in their menstrual cycle and successful ovulation. It is further discovered that the treatment can reduce the levels of luteinizing hormone (LH), a symptom characteristic of polycystic ovary syndrome. Still, the mechanism of the treatment remains unclear.

Read the story here

More on PCOS and acupuncture

IVF and acupuncture :: vitalis.co.nz

Related posts:

1. Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine in the treatment of allergic rhinitis
2. PCOS (Polycystic Ovaries) and Acupuncture
3. How acupuncture heals the root cause of PCOS

A combination of Chinese medicine and conventional in-vitro fertilisation treatment is showing promising results in helping infertile couples, reports Hester Lacey -The Independent

Read the story here

To read more about fertility and acupuncture on vitalis.co.nz IVF and acupuncture :: vitalis.co.nz

Related posts:

1. Chinese medicine holds hope preventing polycystic kidney disease
2. It works for me: Chinese herbal medicine
3. Chinese medicine eases dementia

Significantly increases pregnancy rate
Significantly reduces the risk of miscarriage
Significantly reduces the risk of tubular pregnancy
Significantly increases the life birth rate

Researchers from USA presented another study on IVF and Acupuncture that convinced even the sceptics. The research highlighted and reconfirmed the benefits and the value of acupuncture to the success of ART (assisted reproductive technologies). The study was presented at the meeting of American Society for Reproductive Medicine (October 2004) by Reproductive Medicine and Fertility Centre (Colorado Springs, USA).

IVF and acupuncture in Auckland, NZ

Related posts:

1. Summer is best time for fertility treatment
2. Chinese medicine as a treatment for sperm genetic abnormalities
3. Fertility, IVF and Acupuncture books

IVF and acupuncture in Auckland, NZ

Related posts:

1. Acupuncture: A Cure for Infertility?
2. washingtonpost.com: Hard to Conceive
3. Health care practitioners need to be proactive in acquiring and documenting use of complimentary therapies for infertility | Acupuncture & Infertility

“Hard to Conceive Unable to Get Pregnant, She Turned East in Quest of Fertility ”

And why not? Six months on fertility drugs, two inseminations and one $13,000 attempt at vitro fertilization (IVF) had all failed me — or I them. I felt I had to try something else. In February, minutes after I realized the IVF hadn’t worked, and knowing my husband and I would have a rough time financing a second round of treatment, I hit the Internet looking for an alternative.

I quickly stumbled on Lewis’s book “The Infertility Cure: The Ancient Chinese Wellness Program for Getting Pregnant and Having Healthy Babies” (Little, Brown, 2004). Unlike lots of other books that champion this or that single regimen, this one combined a slew of alternative therapies: herbs, acupuncture, diet changes and mind/body work.

more>>

IVF and acupuncture :: vitalis.co.nz

Related posts:

1. Celebrities endorsing acupuncture for fertility
2. Summer is best time for fertility treatment
3. Acupuncture for infertility is even getting the nod from doctors