 Acupuncture helped, but doctors do not know why Women undergoing fertility treatment could have their chances of success boosted by acupuncture.
German researchers said they have increased success rates by almost 50% in women having in vitro fertilisation (IVF).
The theory is that acupuncture can affect the autonomic nervous system, which is involved in the control of muscles and glands, and could therefore make the lining of the uterus more receptive to receiving an embryo.
But the scientists admit they do not know for certain why the complementary therapy helped, and plan to carry out more studies in a bid to find out. The German researchers worked with doctors at the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine at Tongji Hospital in Wuhan, China.
Of 160 women undergoing IVF, half received standard in vitro fertilisation, while half were given acupuncture treatments before and after.
The researchers chose acupuncture points which traditional Chinese medicine says relax the uterus.
They also used needles to stimulate meridians involving the spleen, stomach and colon, to improve blood flow and create "more energy in the uterus."
Key relaxation points were also stimulated.
The research team, led by Dr. Wolfgang Paulus and colleagues at the Christian-Lauritzen-Institut in Ulm, Germany, wrote in the journal: "Acupuncture seems to be a useful tool for improving pregnancy rate after assisted reproductive techniques.
They add: "To rule out the possibility that acupuncture produces only psychological or psychosomatic effects, we plan to use a placebo needle set as a control in a future study."
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