Fertility Acupuncture

Female infertility accounts for approximately 40% of couples' inability to conceive. Male factor is now 40%, and 20% is of unknown cause.

Natural Fertility

A woman's menstrual cycle is a complex balance of hormones. Many menstrual disorders can cause difficulties in conception, both natural and assisted.

Problems such as long and short cycles can cause problems with ovulation and implantation. Painful and heavy periods can also cause problems with implantation or you may suffer from endometriosis or PCOS.

Many of these menstrual disorders will affect your ability to conceive. Acupuncture can reduce these conditions, regulate your cycle, help with pain along with improving your fertility.

In clinic we will take an in depth look at your menstrual cycle. This will provide us with information on the areas of your cycle we need to focus on in order to balance your hormones to support fertility, even if the cause is unknown. The treatment will then be based around your menstrual cycle and previous medical tests. We may also encourage the use of basal body temperature (BBT) charting, again this allows us to gain a greater understanding of your menstrual cycle. We will also suggest individualised dietary and lifestyle advice. These things together will improve your fertility.

How many treatments will I need?

Treatment is generally advised every week to two weeks for a minimum of 3 months. Weekly treatments are encouraged as this allows us to work with each phase of your menstrual cycle.

More about acupuncture for Fertility

Acupuncture treatment decreases stress, regulates hormones by balancing oestrogen and progesterone to support your fertility.

It takes approximately 100 days for an egg to mature (this is why we suggest a minimum of 3 months treatment). During this time the eggs need the right nutrients, hormones and blood supply to optimise egg quality. Acupuncture can improve circulation to the ovaries and improve nutrition to the developing oocytes, increasing egg quality and the chances of a viable embryo. In one recent study, patients who received acupuncture treatment had significantly more mature eggs than patients who received sham acupuncture (Kusuma et al., 2019).

A successful conception needs to implant into a healthy uterus. Several research studies have found that one of the benefits of acupuncture is that it increases blood flow to the uterus and ovaries. this blood flow improves the thickness of the endometrium thus increasing the chances of embryo implantation. Acupuncture can increase embryo implantation rates. One study found that acupuncture significantly improved clinical pregnancy rates in patients with a history of two or more failed IVF cycles.

If you would like to know more about how acupuncture can help you I would love to hear from you. If you are looking for more information about how acupuncture can help you through your IVF journey why not check out this page.

Acupuncture for Male Fertility

Research shows that better quality and higher quantity sperm counts are linked with lower miscarriage rates, improved rates of fertilisation & improved embryo development.

Male Fertility

Male fertility is rapidly declining causing approximately 40% of couples difficulty in conceiving. A normal seamen test result in 1992 contained 30% normal sperm; this is now as low as only 4% (which is classed as "normal" as it is normal for the population).

Acupuncture has been shown to improve your sperm count, vitality and normal sperm. It also increases libido.

Your sperm may be abnormal, may have reduced mobility or you may have low numbers of sperm; all of these factors reduce fertility as a couple.

When coming in for treatment we ask that you bring a copy of your seamen results with you to help us treat you more accurately. As part of the consultation your diet and lifestyle will also be reviewed.

Where do the needles go?

Acupuncture treatment for male infertility primarily focuses on your legs, lower back and abdomen. We will always discuss where the acupuncture points are before we start any treatment.

How many treatments will I need?

Male fertility relies on sperm which take around 90 days to be produced, as such it is recommended that you attend regular treatments for at least 3 months.

Research on Acupuncture & Male Fertility

1. Success of acupuncture treatment in patients with initially low sperm output is associated with a decrease in scrotal skin temperature. Siterman S et al, Asian J Androl 2009 Vol 11(2):200-8 Asian Journal of Andrology. This study discovered that the success of acupuncture in improving sperm quality was associated with a drop in temperature of the testes. 2. A prospective randomized placebo-controlled study of the effect of acupuncture in infertile patients with severe oligoasthenozoospermia. Dieterle et al Fertil Steril 2009 Oct; 92 (4): 1340–3 Fertility and Sterility. This small clinical trial randomised 57 patients who had extremely low sperm counts, to acupuncture and placebo acupuncture groups. After receiving acupuncture twice weekly for 6 weeks motility of sperm (but not overall count) was found to increase significantly. The authors conclude that the results of the present study support the significance of acupuncture in male patients with severe oligoasthenozoospermia. More evidence with larger trials needs to be accumulated before the efficacy and effectiveness of acupuncture in male infertility can be evaluated. 3. Influence of acupuncture on idiopathic male infertility in assisted reproductive technology. Zhang M et al J Huazhong Univ Sci Tech Med Sci.2002;22(3):228-30 Journal of Huazhong University (Abstract in Chinese). This trial looks at sperm behaviour in an IVF setting. It was a “before and after” study involving 82 infertile men with pathological semen abnormalities and who’s sperm achieved a poor fertilization rate in at least 2 IVF/ICSI cycles. They were given acupuncture twice a week over 8 weeks and the IVF/ICSI cycles were repeated. The fertilization rates after acupuncture (66.2%) were significantly higher than that before treatment (40.2%) (P

Grimsby Acupuncture is a member of the Acupuncture Fertility Network. The Acupuncture Fertility Network is a specialist intrest group of acupuncturists dedicated to helping individuals with fertility issues across the UK.