he ancient Chinese believed that energy-forces called meridians ran through the body. Blockages along these meridians could lead to sickness and other ailments, including infertility. Chinese acupuncture practitioners treat these blockages by painlessly inserting slender needles at different points along the meridians.

Today many health professionals believe that acupuncture stimulates nerves and causes the body to release chemicals that help it to heal itself. So how could this impact your fertility?

The use of acupuncture for fertility is just beginning to be explored by modern fertility experts. Studies are already showing that women who choose acupuncture along with other fertility boosting strategies have a higher rate of conception.

It is possible that acupuncture stimulates the brain to produce more endorphins, which help relax the body and make you more open to conception. Relaxation and stress relief have long been proven to help women conceive.

Acupuncture may also stimulate the nervous system and allow it to function more effectively. When this occurs your body receives all the signals that it needs. These signals range from the already mentioned cue to produce more endorphins to signals that tell your reproductive organs to function.

Your body needs clear and open nerve channels to interpret signals to produce the hormones that help to make your body open to conception. It is also vital that it get all signals to produce the hormones that will sustain your baby once conception has occurred.

It has also been suggested that acupuncture may help to improve blood flow to the body, including to the vital ovaries, where your eggs are stored and ripen each month. Increased blood flow to the uterus allows a thick and nourishing lining to build up in preparation for your newly conceived baby.

Research is pointing to acupuncture as a viable and cost effective way to improving fertility and overall health. Acupuncture practitioners also study herbs and use them in tandem with acupuncture techniques. A trained acupuncturist will be able to advise you on herbs to boost your fertility along with your acupuncture treatment.

According to a new recent report (dated: February 8, 2008) in the British Medical Journal that found pairing acupuncture with in-vitro fertilization can raise a couple's odds of getting pregnant by 65 percent. In absolute terms, the report found that for every 10 women who supplement IVF with acupuncture, one extra pregnancy will occur.

Although that's a "modest" effect, it's important given the emotions and considerable expenses associated with assisted reproduction, said Eric Manheimer, the lead author and a research associate at the University of Maryland Medical School. The new report -- a synthesis of seven previously published studies involving 1,366 patients -- doesn't address why acupuncture promotes fertility, which patients benefit or what protocol is optimal.

But experts have several ideas. They suggest that the ancient Chinese practice -- which involves inserting needles at strategic locations on a person's body -- might enhance blood flow to the uterus, improving the chance that an embryo will successfully implant. Also, it's thought that acupuncture might stimulate the production of hormones that regulate ovulation and fertility and regulate stress, which can interfere with a pregnancy.

Some fertility centers have responded with enthusiasm. "We offer acupuncture to all our IVF patients" and between 10 and 20 percent elect to use it, said Dr. Brian Kaplan, a fertility specialist at Fertility Centers of Illinois. Kaplan cautioned, however, that he couldn't recommend acupuncture as a stand-alone fertility treatment, without IVF.

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