During the past three years of my studies at the Canadian College of Naturopathic medicine, I gained a strong interest in the field of obstetrics. One area in particular that has fascinated me is in vitro fertilization (IVF). This rather novel procedure is used across the country to help couples who cannot otherwise conceive a child naturaly to have a chance at getting pregnant. For this to happen, the required cells are donated by a man and surgically extracted with a needle from the woman who wants to get pregnant. They are then combined in a medical lab to make an embryo. Once it has been established that the embryo is growing, it is transferred back into the woman’s uterus with the hope that it will implant there and grow into a baby which will be born 9 months later.
 
This technique has been used for years to help couples conceive, but despite many medical advances its success rate is still only about 25%. This means that for every four couples who undergo IVF, only one will achieve pregnancy. This is quite a serious problem, not only because of the time and effort involved, but also because each cycle is quite expensive and can cost couples up to $20,000. It therefore makes sense to investigate any adjunctive therapy that might improve this technique and reduce the costs.
 
One such therapy that caught my eye, because a reasonable amount of research has been done with it, is acupuncture. Acupuncture has been tested fairly rigorously to see it can improve the pregnancy rates of women undergoing in vitro fertilization. So far the results are fairly mixed, with some trials reporting no effect, where others report a strong impact of acupuncture on pregnancy rates. From my own readings and interpretations it is my opinion that acupuncture has the potential to raise the average success rate of IVF cycles from 26% to as high as 40% (as seen in multiple trials).
 
For me, this is incredibly exciting because it is yet another example of a situation where allopathic methods (IVF) and naturopathic therapies (acupuncture) can come together to help people achieve something as wonderful as having a baby. Although the research isn’t yet conclusive enough to make widespread policy changes, it is my hope that someday soon we will see acupuncture as a common addition to typical IVF cycles. What wonderful times we live in where we are beginning to see the medicines of the east and west come together to incorporate the best of both worlds!