Integrative Medicine

By Paul W. Zarutskie, M.D.

Acupuncture and herbal medicine can have a profound impact on fertility results. The goal for each patient is to achieve conception, access healthy prenatal care in conjunction with Western specialists, and experience a successful postpartum recovery. Certain male factor infertility is also treated with much success, such as low sperm count, morphology, quality, and motility. Men as well as women experience stress, fatigue and seemingly unrelated issues which, if treated, can enhance fertility results.

Allopathic practitioners are seeing improved success rates in fertility, conception, pregnancy, and birth outcomes. This has opened the door for increased use of TCM in conjunction with the assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs). The successes have been extremely favorable and more study is both necessary and underway. Acupuncture and herbal medicine is multifaceted, treats the root cause of disease and focuses on imbalances within the whole person. This includes most causes of infertility, except structural problems such as uteine scarring.. The body's ability to correct imbalances is not yet fully understood by Western scientific thought. Although many TCM clinical studies are limited, many do demonstrate TCM's ability to affect infertility treatment.

Acupuncture

The use of acupuncture as an adjunct treatment for infertility has gained popularity in the last decade, although its role is the subject of much discussion. Acupuncture enhances infertility treatment in three primary ways: it lowers stress, improves blood flow to the ovaries and the uterus helps regulate hormones, which improves egg quality. A recent study also demonstrated that acupuncture, in conjunction with IVF, significantly increased birth outcomes, significantly decreased ectopic pregnancies and miscarriage rates, demonstrating that patients with a good prognosis may also benefit from acupuncture.

Chinese Herbs

Herbs can be safely used during conception, pregnancy and post–partum recovery. The goal is to work with Western medicine to fortify, balance and strengthen the body. Many studies demonstrate the effectiveness of herbs for various purposes for infertility, and maximum health. They can also lead to improved egg quality when taken over a period of time.