The study found that women who were given acupuncture were 37 percent less likely to conceive than those who were not, reports BBC News.
97 patients who took part in the study were divided into two groups. One group received acupuncture for 25 minutes before and after the embryo was transferred from the test tube to the womb. Pregnancy rate among this group was 44 percent compared to 70 percent among those who were not given the therapy.
Previous studies have highlighted benefit of acupuncture therapy for women receiving IVF treatment.
While admitting that the current findings contradict previous reports, researcher Dr LaTasha Craig said: "We know that stress matters in pregnancy rates. If you take a high stress situation of driving in busy traffic and parking to get to an acupuncture session and then getting to your embryo transfer on time, the benefits of acupuncture may be counteracted by the extra stress", reports the Daily Mail.
According to BBC News, Mark Bovey from the British Acupuncture Council said: "This seems to fly in the face of all the published research. Up to now all the published research has indicated an increase in pregnancy rates and take-home baby rates. Some practitioners treat hundreds of women having IVF each year and largely have good results with it."
Previous research findings have suggested that acupuncture could double a woman's chance of getting pregnant when combined with IVF.
