Reference: Smith, C. A., de Lacey, S., Chapman, M., Ratcliffe, J., & Norman, R. J. (2019). IVF, acupuncture and mental health: a qualitative study of perceptions and experiences of women participating in a randomized controlled trial of acupuncture during IVF treatment. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 19(1), 1-10.DOI: 10.1186/s12906-019-2505-1URL: https://bmccomplementmedtherapies.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12906-019-2505-1 In vitro fertilization (IVF) is often a physically and emotionally challenging journey for many women. The process can bring hope but also stress, anxiety, and uncertainty. To better understand how acupuncture might influence women’s experiences during IVF, a recent qualitative study explored the perceptions and feelings of women who took part in a randomized controlled trial combining acupuncture with IVF treatment. What the study did? Researchers interviewed women undergoing IVF who were randomly assigned either to receive acupuncture or to a control group without acupuncture. The interviews focused on how women perceived acupuncture’s effects on their mental and emotional wellbeing throughout the IVF cycle. This approach gave insights beyond the usual medical outcomes by listening closely to women’s lived experiences. Key Findings: Acupuncture and Emotional Wellbeing Many women who received acupuncture described it as a source of relaxation and emotional support. They felt the treatment helped reduce their stress levels,…

Article title: A qualitative study on the experience of acupuncture treatment in infertile women PubMed ID: 33665089 Authors: Lee, H.W., Choi, T.Y., Lee, M.S., Lee, H., Shin, B.C., & Ernst, E. Published in: Integrative Medicine Research, 2020 DOI: 10.1016/j.imr.2020.100686 Infertility can be one of the most emotionally and physically draining challenges a woman may face. It often affects not just the body, but also mental health, relationships, and even a woman’s sense of identity. While modern medicine offers treatments like IVF, many women are also turning to acupuncture as a supportive therapy to improve their overall wellbeing during the fertility journey. A 2021 study conducted by the Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine provides deep insight into how acupuncture is experienced by women with infertility. Instead of focusing on numbers like hormone levels or pregnancy rates, this research listened to women themselves—how they felt, what changed in their bodies, and how the treatment influenced their emotions and mindset. Feeling Warmer, Stronger, More Balanced Women interviewed in the study described how acupuncture helped them reconnect with their bodies. Many of them had struggled with symptoms such as feeling cold, tired, or emotionally disconnected. After a few months of treatment, they began to…

Infertility affects millions of couples worldwide, bringing emotional, physical, and financial challenges. Assisted reproductive technologies (ART) such as intrauterine insemination (IUI) and in vitro fertilization (IVF) offer hope, but they also come with high costs, demanding protocols, and variable success rates. While these advanced treatments are often necessary, many couples overlook an important complementary option that could significantly support their fertility journey: acupuncture. Acupuncture, a key component of traditional Chinese medicine, involves the insertion of fine needles into specific points on the body to promote balance and healing. Over the last two decades, it has gained increasing scientific recognition for its role in reproductive health. What makes it particularly valuable is how and when it’s used. Why Timing Matters Too often, couples wait until their hormone levels—such as AMH (Anti-Müllerian Hormone) or FSH (Follicle-Stimulating Hormone)—have already declined significantly before seeking alternative support. By that stage, egg quality, ovarian response, or uterine receptivity may already be compromised, making it harder for even the most advanced treatments to succeed. Incorporating acupuncture early in the fertility process can improve key reproductive parameters before couples even reach the point of needing IUI or IVF. This early intervention may lead to better outcomes—and in some…

Infertility affects approximately 16% of couples worldwide (1), and the use of assisted reproductive technologies (ART), such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), is becoming increasingly common. However, IVF is an invasive, expensive, and emotionally taxing process, with success rates that range between 25–35% per cycle depending on factors like age and hormone levels. Given these realities, exploring complementary approaches before committing to IVF could be a valuable strategy, particularly when hormonal imbalances are still manageable. One promising complementary method is acupuncture, a traditional Chinese medicine technique involving the insertion of fine needles at specific points in the body. Multiple studies have suggested that acupuncture can positively impact fertility by improving blood flow to reproductive organs, regulating hormone levels, and reducing stress—all crucial factors in conception. A systematic review and meta-analysis published in the Journal of Healthcare  (2025) found that Asian traditional medicine, particularly acupuncture, appears to be a safe and effective complementary therapy that can be used to improve assisted reproductive technologies outcomes. Another study in Fertility and Sterility (2002) reported that acupuncture performed before and after embryo transfer increased IVF success rates from 26.3% to 42.5%. Importantly, many couples wait until their hormone levels—such as AMH (anti-Müllerian hormone) or…

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In general, donor eggs are often recommended to those wome whom has repeated failed IVF treatments, who are in late 40, who have low ovarian reserve or early ovarium insufficiency. It is absolutely reasonable to really think about using donor eggs, because at that stage, women are facing 2 options: (1) to using their own eggs with chance of success is as low as a few percentage. In theory, among those over 40, chance of getting pregnant is around 5-8% for each cycle. This chance even getting worse rapidly as the women is aging. (2) to have donor eggs with much higher chance of getting pregnancy: the chance of a fertilized donor egg producing properly developing embryos is about 80%, the chance that those embryos will implant in an uterus is about 75-85%, and the chance of clinical pregnancy is about 55-65%. Certainly, there are other factors which can affect the success of a pregnancy, but around 60% can be expected from a donor egg’s outcome. In Hungary, using donor eggs is not a social norm. There are stil social attitute barrier and legal restrictions to have this: the egg donor can only be a direct relative of the couple,…

Author: Dr. habil. Hegyi Gabriella MD.PhD. Department of Complementary Medicine, Institute of Dietetic and Physiotherapy, University of Pécs Full article can be found here One of the main parts of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM, HKO) is acupuncture. Its classical basis is given by the “doctrine of the system of energy flow”, the underlying “channels”, or in other words, meridians and points. During the treatment, very thin, sterile needles are inserted into the acupuncture points on the skin surface at different depths. The inserted needles generates a sensory – which is activated pulse that travels to the spinal cord and then crosses the large ascending pathways through the nuclei of the thalamus to the cerebral cortex. Recent radiological examination methods (PET, fMRI) prove that acupuncture also activates other central nervous system structures such as nucleus accumbens, amygdala, habenula, thalamus nuclei. The mechanism of action of acupuncture are: The immune strengthen effect:  Acupuncture increases the amount of triglycerides, certain hormones, prostaglandins, white blood cells, gamma globulins, opsonins, and antibodies. Pain relief effect: Acupuncture stimulates the production of endorphins, mostly enkephalins and dynorphins. Anti depression effect: Acupuncture can affect the production and secretion of certain neurotransmitters such as serotonin and noradrenaline which help…

A beautiful summer is coming with sunny days, green trees, blooming flowers and smiles on our faces. This summer we are full of hope that an usual life is coming back. A better life will flush out those worried eyes and uncertainty of future  hide behind boring masks…    This spring and summer also bring so much happy for me to welcome little angels to the world. They are arriving to us in the next few months…I feel so thankful and grateful to be beside  you in your journey for baby. It is hard to express how happy I am when you tell me that your pregnancy test is positive, when you bring me your Body Temperature chart with the line going up beautifully, and your very-first ultrasound test confirmed the pregnancy.. You also make me worried when sent me emails at 10 p.m. asking about your progesterone level, or your abdomen pain.. And then you comeback to me with the following Ultrasound test with the baby is growing little by little… In a strange and happy way, I also feel a deep contact with your babies, and you should know that I am also eager to meet him/her as much…

Miscarriage is the spontaneous loss of a pregnancy before the 20th week, in most of the cases, it occured before the 12th week of pregnancy. Common symptoms are: Vaginal spotting or bleeding Pain or cramping in your abdomen or lower back Fluid or tissue passing from your vagina It is important to note that having one or two symptoms does not confirm the miscarriage. In fact, the majority of pregnant women also experience some extend of vaginal spotting or bleeding in the first trimester and they still go on to have successful pregnancies. There is also silent miscarriage,  also known as a missed abortion. It occurs when a fetus is no longer alive, but the body does not recognize the pregnancy loss. As a result, the placenta may continue to release hormones, so women may continue to experience signs of pregnancy. Missed abortion is often diagnosed during medical check up, when a fetal heart beat is absent and/or an underdeveloped fetus is shown in ultrahang sound. In this case, many women may or may not experience these above symptoms so the news can come as a complete shock. Causes of miscarriage Abnormal genes or chromosomes: About 50 % of miscarriages…

The progesterone hormone play such an important role in helping a women get pregnant. It ensures the development and secretion of nutrients of the uterine lining, which is essensial for the embryo implantaion and development. For this reason, low level of progesterone is one of the main risks of infertility and miscarrage. If you experience short menstrual cycles, low basal body temperature, severe breast tenderness, bleeding between periods, repeated miscarriage, infertility, it is likely that you may suffer from low progesteron level. Therefore, in order to increase chance of successful pregnancy, it is pretty much useful for you to (self help) increase your progesterone level by some natural ways: Avoiding stress. Your stress levels should always be kept under control if you are trying to get pregnant. When you are stressed, hormones like adrenaline and cortisol is produced more in the body and consequently interfere with the production progesterone. In fact, stress is unevitable but you totally can minimize its negative effect by doing some stress-detox simple exercise. Foe examples, a short walk (30 minutes), playing with pets, do hobbies, read favourite book, talk with family/ friends, spend a romantic night with your partner, stb. Try to distractyour mind from things…