A recent study concluded that rates of pregnancy and live birth among women undergoing in vitro fertilization could be significantly improved when acupuncture is given with embryo transfer.

Scientists from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the VU University in Amsterdam looked at seven trials that included 1,366 women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF). In the trials, some women were given genuine acupuncture, others “sham” acupuncture, such as putting needles in the wrong places, and some others no treatment at all. The results were surprising: women given genuine acupuncture improved their chances of pregnancy by 65 percent.

"Complementing the embryo transfer process with acupuncture seems to increase the odds of pregnancy by 65 percent, compared to sham acupuncture or no adjuvant treatment," said lead researcher Eric Manheimer, a research associate at the University of Maryland School of Medicine's Center for Integrative Medicine.

Menheimer also added that results of the study were not necessarily a reason for every infertile woman to seek out acupuncture.

“I think the findings should be regarded as somewhat preliminary. Acupuncture can improve the rates of pregnancy and live birth. Some couples might want to choose acupuncture but others might want to wait until further research has been done,” he said in the study.

Professor Edzard Ernst, from the Peninsula Medical School in Plymouth, welcomed the results of the study with doubt.

“One the face of it, these results sound fantastic, I would, however, be very cautious as much of the observed effect could be due to a placebo response. IVF may not seem to be ‘placebo-prone’ but it probably is: if women expect it to be helpful they are more relaxed which, in turn, would affect pregnancy rates,” he said quoted by BBC News.

Dr. Manheimer said that more study needed to be done to be sure that acupuncture really helps women who chose IVF to get pregnant.

“Acupuncture may be useful adjuvant treatment in the IVF process. However, I think there need to be more studies to confirm these findings, because they are still preliminary,” he said.

Almost 10 to 15 percent of couples seek fertility treatment because they have difficulty conceiving at some point in their reproductive lives. About 200,000 babies worldwide were conceived through IVF in the year 2000. However, IFV costs around $12,000 per attempt made doctors and patients to consider new drug and technologies in order to improve success rate.

Acupuncture has also been found to be effective in treating nausea, neck pain, back pain and headache in previous study. Scientists believe the procedure has existed for thousands of years, originating in China. The technique remains controversial, with many specialists denying its authenticity as a medical treatment.

Dr. Manheimer’s study was published in the February 8 issue of the British Medical Journal.