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PREGNANCY HOPES

Acupuncture beats fertility medications when it comes to helping women fall pregnant

The alternative treatment doubles the chances of a woman falling pregnant compared to the medication

WOULD-BE mums should consider acupuncture with a recent study finding the treatment is better at helping women fall pregnant than fertility drugs.

The alternative treatment was compared to popular drugs used to boost ovulation with scientists finding acupuncture increased the chance of pregnancy to 43.3 per cent compared to 20 per cent through the medication.

 Women who struggle with infertility caused by hyperprolactinemia can be helped by acupuncture, a new study has found
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Women who struggle with infertility caused by hyperprolactinemia can be helped by acupuncture, a new study has foundCredit: Getty Images

Dr Zhiguang Hu, who led the research conducted at the Mawangdui Hospital of Hunan Province in China, said: "One important mechanism responsible for the fertility treatment success with acupuncture is hormonal regulation.
"And the study confirms that acupuncture normalises prolactin levels more rapidly than receiving fertility medications. "

The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Acupuncture, examined 60 female patients who were struggling to conceive due to hyperprolactinemia, a condition where there are higher levels of the hormone prolactinnormal in the blood.

The hormone can disrupt a woman's menstrual cycle and can cause problems in reproducing.

Dr Hu said women hoping to become mums were helped in two weeks after receiving acupuncture therapy while those using bromocriptine, or bromocriptine plus clomiphene, had their hormone levels balance after four.

He said the ancient Chinese treatment, which involves very fine needles being inserted into pressure points along the body's inner channel, did not produce a high "adverse effect rate".

In contrast, 63 per cent of patients taking fertility medications did experience side-effects.

The study, which monitored the women for a year, compared women having 30 minute acupuncture sessions to those who took medicine twice a day after meals.

 UK expert Dr Luciano Nardo, a consultant gynaecologist and specialist in reproductive medicine, said acupuncture could be beneficial for patients
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UK expert Dr Luciano Nardo, a consultant gynaecologist and specialist in reproductive medicine, said acupuncture could be beneficial for patientsCredit: Reproductive Health Group

One of the UK's leading reproductive health experts Dr Luciano Nardo said the results were promising.

The director of Cheshire’s acclaimed Reproductive Health Group fertility clinic, which offers acupuncture, said: "Acupuncture might not be conventional medicine, but that doesn’t mean it’s not beneficial.
"Some may have had difficult experiences in the past at the time of embryo transfer, and acupuncture can help to relax them during that period, which is vital.

"Of course, there are lots of things at play here, including the age of the patient and the quality of the egg.

"But if we can help make the IVF process more comfortable through acupuncture, we will."


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