IVF

Game changing research into acupuncture supported IVF & ICSI

Game changing research into acupuncture supported IVF & ICSI – a review of the evidence base by Lianne Aquilina and Mark Bovey, British Acupuncture Council, 2019 (with minor editing by myself) If you don’t want to read the full article here is my take home message: The latest research finds more evidence for acupuncture improving…

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Optimizing Female Fertility

Patient’s Factsheet – optimizing women’s fertility. Weight Ideally, aim to keep your weight between a BMI of 19 and 24 kg/m2 because a BMI outside these limits has been linked to subfertility, poor IVF outcomes, and miscarriages. If you need to lose weight regular exercise (minimum 30 min of moderately intense exercise at least three…

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Acupuncture improves pregnancy rates after IVF failure

Acupuncture improves pregnancy rates after IVF failure. Brazilian researchers have found that acupuncture improves pregnancy rates after IVF failure.  They claim that this is the first study of the use of acupuncture specifically when embryo implantation has failed. The research. Brazilian researchers carried out a prospective randomised controlled trial with 84 patients who had experienced…

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Stress gives a double punch to fertility

Researchers show how stress gives a double punch to fertility. Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, have found a critical missing piece of the puzzle about how stress causes sexual dysfunction and infertility.  The research, to be published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows how stress gives a double punch…

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Increase in Gloucestershire paid IVF cycles.

NHS announces an increase in Gloucestershire paid IVF cycles. Since 2004 NICE has been recommending up to three cycles of IVF for qualifying couples.  Now Gloucestershire NHS, which previously allowed just one cycle, has announced an increase in Gloucestershire paid IVF cycles. This will be for couples fulfilling certain criteria, including the woman being aged…

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Chinese Herbal Medicine Found To Be More Effective for Female Infertility Than Modern Medicine.

In an Australian Government-funded study, Ried and Stuart of Adelaide University reviewed 8 RCT’s and 22 smaller studies involving a total of 1851 women with poor fertility. Meta-analysis of studies involving over 1000 women found roughly double the likelihood of achieving pregnancy with Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) than with western drug therapy. Over a 4…

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Acupuncture books: then and now.

I’ve been reflecting this week on how much the acupuncture profession has changed here in the UK.  When I started my studies at The College of Traditional Acupuncture, back in 1984, acupuncture was still to most people a mysterious and exotic therapy. My interest in acupuncture was piqued by the Acumedic Centre in Camden Town,…

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