Natural selection IVF ARTICLE
- January 28, 2011
- Acupuncture,Female Infertility,Fertility,IVF Support,Male Infertility,Research Articles
Natural selection
Paula Goodyer, Sunday Life
December 21, 2009
Interest is growing in the benefits of traditional Chinese medicine – herbs and acupuncture.
If you can’t get pregnant, IVF is usually the next port of call – but there are alternatives, as Paula Goodyer discovers.
It was 2005, and after nine months of IVF treatment and a positive pregnancy test, 36-year-old Jill King was having a routine ultrasound to check that all was well. But when she turned to the screen, expecting to see a heartbeat, there was just an empty embryonic sac. In a cruel biological hoax, the sac minus its embryo – called a blighted ovum – was causing positive signs of pregnancy. There were more disappointments to come.
Finally, she approached Jane Lyttleton, a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioner in Sydney who specialises in treating infertility. After three months of using Chinese herbs and acupuncture, King conceived naturally and gave birth to a daughter last year. “My message to other couples is be open-minded about alternative treatments,” says King. “I know that for many people, IVF is the answer – but when both partners have been tested for all the typical causes and your infertility is still classed as ‘unexplained’, then Western medicine may not be the best approach. How can it successfully treat a problem it can’t diagnose?”
Lyttleton is the first to admit that TCM is no cure-all for infertility, but it can help to normalise hormone levels, thus making ovulation more regular. It also improves the lining of the uterus and helps to prevent endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome (common causes of fertility problems in women). Sluggish or abnormally shaped sperm can benefit from Chinese medicine, too. “But it can’t help with blocked Fallopian tubes – even if tubes are scarred rather than fully blocked,” cautions Lyttleton. “I’d encourage a woman to try IVF in those circumstances.”
Some cases of unexplained fertility may have a cause that is overlooked if IVF is used as a first, rather than a last, resort, says Dr Anne Clark, medical director of Fertility First, a clinic in Sydney’s Hurstville.
Being overweight, smoking or drinking too much – even a lack of vitamin D or iodine – can sabotage conception or increase the risk of miscarriage, points out Clark. While the clinic offers IVF treatment, 25 to 30 per cent of couples conceive without it after correcting certain lifestyle factors.
“Women are hammered for being overweight or for smoking, but we know that with men, nine kilograms of extra weight can lower fertility by altering hormone levels,” she says. “We also know that fragmentation of DNA in male sperm is a common cause of miscarriage, and that factors such as smoking, alcohol and possibly caffeine may be contributing.”
”Achieving a pregnancy can be a bit like painting a wall,” she says. “It’s all in the preparation.”
East meets West
Acupuncture and IVF might come from opposite sides of the medical fence, but there’s growing interest in combining them. Some studies show an improvement in pregnancy rates if acupuncture is used at embryo transfer, says Jane Lyttleton, a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner who works in partnership with IVF clinics. “We need more research to understand how it works,” she says. “It may be that acupuncture increases blood flow to the lining of the uterus, creating a better environment for the embryo to grow. It may lower levels of stress hormones or, by having a calming effect on a woman’s immune system, it may reduce the chances of her body rejecting the pregnancy.”
Adds fertility specialist Dr Gavin Sacks of IVF Australia: “On balance, the research shows there may be a benefit. Some IVF clinics have taken it up, and I think it’s worth exploring. I don’t tell women they should have acupuncture – but if they ask what they can do to improve their chances, I encourage them to try it.”
http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/lifematters/natural-selection-20091221-l9l1.html
