Studies and Articles vol. 1

Some of you have asked me to post some studies and articles to read.  I have a long list of them but thought that this would be a good place to start.  Please check in for more! To go to the website click on to the title. 


1. ABCs of Fertility: Acupuncture, Babies, Chinese Medicine - Part 1 
By: Jennifer Dubowsky, L.Ac., M.S.O.M., Dipl.Ac

"Many women get pregnant easily, but it is unlikely that they are reading this article. For other couples, having a baby may be more difficult and therefore frustrating. If you are having difficulty, undoubtedly you want to optimize the likelihood of a pregnancy by practicing informed, healthy, fertile choices."



This article is published in the acufinder website.  It is a good general article to familiarize yourself with some of the basic principles of Chinese medicine and how it works with fertility.


2.  In April 2002, German researchers reported that they had increased the success rate by nearly 50% in women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) using acupuncture.

This study is a landmark that was published in Fertility & Sterility Journal that pretty much launched acupuncture and Chinese medicine into the spotlight.  I have linked the abstract report and not the full text.  To read more about the study you can google the Journal issue and there are numerous stories about it.


3. Acupuncture Shows Promise in Improving Rates of Pregnancy Following IVF
 
"A review of seven clinical trials of acupuncture given with embryo transfer in women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) suggests that acupuncture may improve rates of pregnancy. An estimated 10 to 15 percent of couples experience reproductive difficulty and seek specialist fertility treatments, such as IVF. IVF, which involves retrieving a woman's egg, fertilizing it in the laboratory, and then transferring the embryo back into the woman's womb is an expensive, lengthy, and stressful process. Identifying a complementary approach that can improve success would be welcome to patients and providers."

This article can be found on the NIH (National Institute of Health) website.