Acupuncture and Chinese herbal treatment for women undergoing intrauterine insemination

Abstract 

Aim

To assess the effect of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM, acupuncture and medicinal herbs) as a therapeutic adjuvant to ovulation induction with intrauterine insemination (IUI) procedures and evaluate its contribution to pregnancy and “take-home baby” rates.

Materials and methods

A comparative retrospective study was carried out in a university – affiliated municipal hospital. All women undergoing artificial insemination by donor spermatozoa (AID) and concomitantly treated with TCM were invited to participate. The enrolled women underwent weekly TCM in parallel with medical therapy. The treatment lasted between 2 and 36 cycles (equivalent to a time period ranging from one month to one year). The control group was comprised of women who underwent AID without TCM and whose data were retrospectively retrieved from hospital files. Pregnancy was assessed by human chorionic gonadotropin findings in blood 12–14 days after IUI. The birth rate was calculated during follow-up.

Results

A total of 29 women aged 30–45 years were enrolled in the study. The historical control group included 94 women aged 28–46 years. Women who combined TCM with the procedures for undergoing IUI had significantly higher pregnancy (OR=4.403, 95% CI 1.51–12.835, p=0.007) and birth rates (OR=3.905, 95% CI 1.321–11.549, p=0.014) than the control group.

Conclusions

TCM appears to be beneficial as an adjunctive treatment in IUI procedures. Randomized controlled trials are needed to further assess the role of acupuncture and herbs in this setting.

Keywords: Traditional Chinese medicine, Infertility, IUI, Integrative medicine