Scientists from the University of Maryland School of Medicine derived the results from an experiment involving 1,366 women being treated with invitro fertilization. The women were given acupuncture treatment either right before or right after the test tube-grown embryos were implanted in their wombs.
The results yielded a 65 percent increase in pregnancy, and an 87 percent increase in the continuity of the pregnancy. A ninety-one percent increase was recorded for live births, said the Times Online.
Eric Manheimer, research associate at the University of Maryland, as well as the study's leader, described the findings as "somewhat preliminary."
"Acupuncture can improve the rates of pregnancy and live birth," he explained. "Some couples might want to choose acupuncture but others might want to wait until further research has been done."
The study, as well as its results, were considered by Edzard Ernst, a professor at the Peninsula Medical School. Considering the experiment's conclusion, Ernst expressed caution, as the effects observed in the study might have been due to a placebo response.
"IVF may not seem to be 'placebo-prone' but it probably is," he said. "If women expect it to be helpful they are more relaxed, which in turn would affect pregnancy rates."
Manheimer contested the response, according to The Guardian, saying that acupuncture does have the capability to stimulate the body's reproduction cycle.
The study was published in the Feb. 8 issue of the British Medical Journal.
