The link between acupuncture and infertility

NORWALK, Conn. (WTNH)–For women who are struggling with infertility, recent studies have shown that acupuncture can help.
More women, like Elisabeth Schneider, are turning to the ancient Chinese practice for help with getting pregnant.
“After my daughter was born, I had trouble getting pregnant again. I had ectopic pregnancies, chemical pregnancies and then couldn’t get pregnant,” Elisabeth said. Acupuncture is among the alternative therapies offered at Reproductive Medicine Associates of Connecticut, a fertility clinic.
“I see some people just one time on the day of embryo transfer,” said Amy Matton, the resident acupuncturist. “And I see other patients in the weeks and months leading up to a transfer. Some people come to see me, they’re trying naturally and they are just trying to enhance their fertility naturally.”
“I had acupuncture with her during my pregnancies before, during treatments,” says Elisabeth, “and actually did acupuncture after just to get my body back, sort of into an alignment that felt good.”
It led to the birth of sons T.J. and Luke.
.”We might do some local points in the abdomen or the lower back if someone is struggling with fertility,” Matton said. “It’s always individualized.”
It begins with targeting points, to tap into energy levels that flow through the body. “We see real physical changes, improvements in blood flow and in hormone levels,” she said.
“It’s a medical therapy to improve implantation,” said Dr. Mark Leondries, Elisabeth’s doctor. “It’s an ancient Chinese secret to use eastern medicine to augment what we do with western medicine. It’s also a form of stress relief for our patients.”
A study looking into the benefit of two treatments of laser acupuncture, led to positive results.
“There was about a 15% increase in implantation rate,” said Dr. Leondires, “in the couples that pursued a laser acupuncture protocol.”
In the meantime, return visits are not uncommon for Elisabeth.
She says, “From time to time I do yeah, I still come in, when I feel like I need some tweaking- smiles. ”
Reproductive Medicine Associates of Connecticut offers both the traditional acupuncture as well as laser acupuncture.
Source of the report is here.