I'm due a second FET in a few weeks. Recently, I've spent a bit of time trying to get my head around what the good quality evidence on acupuncture and fertility is telling us, because the whole thing seems so damned woolly and unclear. Anyway, I thought it might be an idea to start a thread on the subject - it might be useful for anyone trying to make up their mind as to whether or not to acupuncture alongside IVF etc.
Please don't give anecdotal/personal experiences here - the internet is full of them! Just links to recent studies.
Here's what I've picked up so far.
NHS The NHS Knowledge Service reviewed a 2007 study of efficacy of acupuncture that got a lot of press coverage; it showed higher rates of pregnancy and live birth for those that had acupuncture on the day of embryo transfer. This was a systematic review of randomised controlled trials - so good quality evidence. The NHS article concludes that it does suggest a benefit, but maybe not as much as might first appear to be the case:
'The results of this review suggest that acupuncture has a positive effect of pregnancy rates when given with IVF. An interpretation of the 65% benefit quoted by the papers must be considered in light of the fact that they represent relatively small absolute benefits considering that the rates of pregnancy in the non-acupuncture groups were high.'
See article here
NICE guidelines According to the NHS, the NICE guidelines currently only recommend acupuncture for headaches and migraines, so not for fertility. (NICE used to recommend acupuncture for lower back pain but stopped doing so last year after new evidence showed it was no better than sham treatments - see here)
Cochrane review A 2013 Cochrane review, where they systematically assess all the existing primary research in a field and then review the good quality research, asked: 'does acupuncture improve the outcomes of assisted reproduction?' They concluded:
'There is no evidence of benefit for the use of acupuncture in participants undergoing assisted conception treatment around the time of embryo transfer or at egg collection in terms of improving the live birth rate, ongoing or clinical pregnancy rate. There is also no evidence that acupuncture has any effect on miscarriage rate or had significant side effects.'
They also called for more research, as the methods and quality of research are v mixed in this field.
WHO - In 2003, WHO published a review of the evidence re acupuncture generally (so quite dated) pdf here The only mention in it that I could find regarding fertility is 'Although acupuncture was reported to be effective in the treatment of female anovular infertility (156), no methodologically sound, controlled trials have been reported.'
And: ' Acupuncture is also worth trying in the treatment of female infertility due to inflammatory obstruction of the fallopian tubes, where it seems to be superior to conventional therapy with intrauterine injection of gentamicin, chymotrypsin and dexamethasone (158).'
This report lists female infertility as a 'condition for which the therapeutic effect of acupuncture has been shown but for which further proof is needed'.
The US-gov agency NCCIH has a page on acupuncture in general here. It says 'research suggests that acupuncture can help manage certain pain conditions, but evidence about its value for other health issues is uncertain'.