Acupuncture Improves Poor Ovarian Response in IVF: Recent Research

A recent randomized controlled trial conducted by Jihyun Kim and colleagues found that acupuncture can be particularly beneficial for women over 37 or those undergoing multiple IVF cycles by increasing the number of mature oocytes retrieved during IVF cycles.

Poor ovarian response (POR) is a significant challenge in people going through IVF. It is characterized by a reduced number of eggs being retrieved after hormonal stimulation, which impacts the chances of successful pregnancy. Factors contributing to POR include advanced maternal age and diminished ovarian reserves. The standard approach in treating POR is intensive hormonal treatments to stimulate the ovaries, however this can be physically demanding and comes with varying degrees of success. On particular challenge is the worsening of ovarian response across repeated cycles. I have seen this in many of my patients who had low ovarian reserves to begin with and each cycle yielded fewer and fewer mature eggs.

Studies have demonstrated that acupuncture can improve blood flow to the ovaries and modulate hormonal levels, thereby potentially enhancing ovarian response to IVF treatments. This study in particular demonstrated that 16 sessions of acupuncture over 2 months prior to another IVF cycle yielded an increase in mature eggs retrieved comparted to the group that did not receive acupuncture.

The implications of these findings are profound. First it offers a method to potentially enhance the outcomes of IVF treatments with people whose success rates are typically lower because of related decline in egg quality and quantity. It also shows benefit to people going through multiple IVF cycles with improvements in later cycles after 16 sessions of acupuncture.

Hopefully this could result a shift in how POR is managed with more fertility clinics including acupuncture as a standard adjunct to conventional IVF stimulation protocols for older people or those who have failed multiple cycles.

At Karuna Acupuncture in Longmont, Colorado I use acupuncture, herbal medicine, lifestyle adjustments and key supplements to support optimal fertility. Acupuncture in particular works by reducing stress, balancing hormones, increasing blood circulation and improving ovarian mitochondrial function to enhance fertility.

If you have been told you have low ovarian reserves or have had prior failed IVF cycles book a free consultation and we can talk about how we can help you reach your peak fertility.

You can read the full study here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8158119/