IVF and assisted fertility treatments
IVF; in-vitro fertilization is becoming more commonly used to help pregnancy. In vitro (meaning "in glass") is the combining of the man's sperm to the woman's egg in the laboratory. If an embryo is created successfully it is implanted into the woman's uterus. There can be much focus now days on creating the perfect embryo, but IVF cannot guarantee this outcome; most important is a healthy environment, ie the woman's uterus. Often women are offered IVF when there is not obvious medical explanation. However IVF is expensive and can be very stressful for the couple. The woman particularly often experiences many effects of the additional hormones she takes in during the treatment; these may include headaches, insomnia, hot flushes and increase of emotions such as weeping or anger.
ICSI; Intracytoplasmic sperm insertion is another type of assisted fertility treatment in which a single sperm is injected into the woman's egg and then the resulting embryo put into her uterus (this is commonly used when there are issues with the man's sperm, such as it's not strong enough to penetrate the egg).
Artificial insemination can be used when for various reasons the mans sperm can't reach the cervix (eg can be due to erectile dysfunction, or due to the quality of the woman's mucos).
FASIAR; follicle aspiration, sperm injection, and assisted follicular rupture is a new technique. The follicle is punctured and the egg is taken out by a syringe which also holds the sperm. This mixture is then injected back into the follicle. This technique can lessen risks of multiple births and costs less than other fertility treatments.
Acupuncture can be used to support the woman's system for a few months leading up to IVF (who knows she may conceive prior to that simply with the added support of the acupuncture) and also before and after embryo transfer. Acupuncture can make a big difference to the woman's experience of IVF:
- helping hormonal balance
- reducing stress and difficult emotions
- increasing circulation of blood and energy to the uterus
- helping the embryo to implant
Similarly acupuncture is also a useful support to balance hormones and emotions during donor egg transfer and insemination.
Any risk with acupuncture?
A common question concerns risk associated with having acupuncture with fertility treatments and pregnancy, there are certain acupuncture points which are contra-indicated during the different specific phases of pregnancy will would not be used by a fully trained acupuncturist. There is no risk associated with having acupuncture as a support to conventional assisted fertility treatments.
