Chinese Medicine and Fertility

Using Traditional Chinese Medicine to Help You Conceive

By Kelly Burgess

e healthy couple has been trying to conceive for at least a year. This is the time to see a fertility specialist, but it's also a good time to investigate TCM as well.

"If an infertility issue is suspected, it is best if the couple visits an infertility specialist to see if there's an obvious problem with their reproductive system," says Zhang. "If everything is normal and they still can't get pregnant, TCM can help in the process of trying to conceive."

Generally, the TCM approach is to use a combination of acupuncture and herbs. Medical studies have indicated that acupuncture and certain herbs can increase blood flow to the uterus and stimulate ovulation in women and can help increase sperm motility in men. In addition, as Zhang points out, when undergoing most contemporary medical procedures associated with infertility, there are usually a lot of drugs involved. Acupuncture and herbs can help alleviate these problems.

According to a German study published by the National Library of Medicine in April of 2002, acupuncture may also increase a couple's chance of conception when used in conjunction with more contemporary types of infertility treatments such as in vitro fertilization (IVF). In this study, 160 participants were divided into two groups, each receiving a standard IVF procedure. One of the groups, however, received acupuncture before and after implantation. The standard in-vitro group had a 26.3 percent pregnancy rate, while the acupuncture group showed a 42.5 percent success rate.