1. This landmark study was published in one of the most prestigious medical journals in reproductive medicine. The pregnancy rate of the acupuncture treated group (42%) was reported at the 6 week gestational ultrasound following embryo transfer, compared to the 26% pregnancy rate in control subjects that did not receive acupuncture. Women incorporating acupuncture into their IVF schedule had an increase in ongoing pregnancy rates of over 60%, compared to control subjects that did not receive acupuncture.

Paulus WE , Zhang M , Strehler E , El-Danasouri I , Sterzik K. Influence of Acupuncture on the pregnancy rate in patients who undergo assisted reproduction therapy. Fertility and Sterility. 2002; 77(4):721-4.

1. This retrospective study found a significant increase in IVF pregnancy rates with acupuncture (40% increase). This study did not have exclusion criteria. Of particular interest in this study was that poor responders that received acupuncture had the same pregnancy rates as normal prognosis patients. In this study, poor responders were defined as those with elevated FSH, long history of infertility, or poor sperm morphology. Poor responders that received acupuncture had the same pregnancy rates (40%) as normal prognosis patients receiving acupuncture treatment.

Magarelli et.al. Acupuncture & IVF poor responders: a cure? Fertility and Sterility. 2004; 81(3):721-4.