8 million IVF children
Did you know that 40 years after the introduction of IVF, 8 million IVF children have been born globally? Every year, it’s estimated that over 2.5 million cycles are performed, resulting in over 500,000 deliveries globally. (Source: https://www.rbmojournal.com/article/S1472-6483(18)30598-4/fulltext)
In the past few years, we’ve witnessed a surge in the popularity of assisted reproductive techniques (ART), such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) and embryo transfer (ET), and this trend is expected to continue in the future. Around 55,000 patients had IVF or donor insemination (DI) treatment at HFEA licensed fertility centres in the UK in 2021, rising from around 53,000 patients in 2019. (Source: https://www.hfea.gov.uk/about-us/publications/research-and-data/fertility-treatment-2021-preliminary-trends-and-figures/)
Traditional Chinese Medicine
At the same time, there’ve been many empirical studies demonstrating that IVF in combination with elements of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) may yield a higher pregnancy rate and live birth rate than IVF alone. A 2019 meta-analysis on 27 different studies that looked at the effect of acupuncture on pregnancy outcomes showed that acupuncture did have a positive influence. Some of these studies have shown that acupuncture can improve pregnancy outcomes when combined with IVF, even for women with recurrent implantation failure. (Source: https://bmccomplementmedtherapies.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12906-019-2523-7)
While there’s much that modern ART medicine can be proud of, many challenges remain. What additional contribution can TCM make? I’ve been looking at the latest evidence.
New evidence for whole system approaches
According to a new study in the European Journal of Integrative Medicine, if whole system Traditional Chinese Medicine is provided at an effective dose, it could make a significant contribution to subfertility-related public health issues in real-world clinical setting. Whole system TCM includes acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, medical massage with a tool (Gua Sha) or without (Tuina), Chinese medicine based dietary suggestions, breathing exercises (Qi Gong) and movement exercises (Tai-Chi).
In this research, whole system Traditional Chinese Medicine appeared to be associated with higher cumulative live birth rate and live birth rate in fresh IVF-ET cycles and FET cycles, respectively. (Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1876382023000227). Nonetheless, the authors conclude that more larger scale comparative studies are needed to verify their findings.
Personalised, holistic and evidence-based
While it’s clear that more research is needed before any substantive claims can be made, I’m optimistic about the contribution that whole system TCM can make to supporting subfertility and during ART. And we know from the hundreds of men and women who have treatments, that they believe they benefit from the treatments, not least because our approach is personalised and holistic; the treatments help them to feel calmer through what can be a very stressful time.
by Houri Alavi BA, Lic Ac, MBAcC
For more information about how treatments can support you, contact Houri on 07814 500418 and Elaine on 07905 743268, or visit our page https://www.naturalfertilitycentre.co.uk/acupuncture/