Getting Pregnant / Dealing With Infertility / Fertility Treatments
Acupuncture and Fertility
Cure is a strong word, but acupuncture might help increase your odds of getting pregnant, and the evidence it works is more than just word of mouth.
Several studies have found that women who get acupuncture treatments — whether to treat conditions that can interfere with getting pregnant (such as polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS) or to increase the chances of a successful IVF — have a higher rate of pregnancy and births. Some fertility doctors recommend acupuncture for their patients to help lower overall stress levels, because stress hormones can lower fertility hormones like progesterone. “I’ve referred patients to acupuncturists to do acupuncture in conjunction with a number of fertility treatments,” says Kathleen M. Brennan, M.D., a reproductive endocrinologist with the UCLA Fertility and Reproductive Health Center in Los Angeles. Read more.