Acupuncture Studies Show Clinical Significance in Improving IVF Outcomes
Written By: Dr. Kristen Burris, DAcCHM Women’s Health Expert, Infertility, Miscarriage, Menopause and All Challenging Menstrual and Hormonal Problems Aka: Dr. BabyMaker Burris
Acupuncture for fertility in and near Boise just got a huge boost. Hope has arrived for 1 in 4 who have had a miscarriage and 1 in 6 suffering from infertility. A 2025 study came out with remarkable results showing the scientific benefit of why acupuncture and its accompanying treatments improve fertility in women.
Acupuncture and moxibustion (the gentle warming of the herb, mugwort) significantly improve clinical pregnancy and live births in women with recurrent implantation failure (RIF) during in-vitro fertilization (IVF). Included in this meta-analysis were 15 randomized controlled trials. This incorporated 1,029 women going through IVF procedure. The patients who received acupuncture outperformed estrogen and estrogen–progesterone, hormone drug therapy for multiple implantation-related endpoints, with the most consistent benefits experienced by those getting electroacupuncture combined with warming acupuncture, with treatments administered over three complete menstrual cycles. [1]
Recurrent implantation failure (RIF) , is defined as failure to achieve clinical pregnancy after a minimum of three embryo transfers. RIF is also considered relevant after an IVF transfer of multiple high-quality embryos. The cause of the failure is frequently the result of impaired endometrial receptivity rather than the embryo quality itself. Treatment modalities included acupuncture, electroacupuncture (the addition of a gentle electrical current to the acupuncture needles for a stronger stimulation), warming acupuncture with heat therapy, moxibustion (the gentle burning of the herb), and a combination of protocols. All of these modalities were used integratively with standard IVF protocols and were compared against conventional hormone-based IVF regimens. [1]
887 patients were examined with ultrasound to confirm pregnancy in 12 different studies and trials. Acupuncture and moxibustion were associated with substantially higher pregnancy rates than control IVF hormonal therapies alone, with minimal heterogeneity across studies. The live birth rate of these babies, as printed in three randomized trials, also favored acupuncture-treated groups, demonstrating that efficacy of acupuncture extended beyond early embryo implantation to continue on to sustained gestation and delivery of a live baby. [1]
In the women in these studies the endometrial thickness was evaluated by transvaginal ultrasound in 12 different studies and consistently increased in the women who received acupuncture in addition to their IVF treatment. Post study analysis demonstrated that treatment duration of acupuncture was a critical determinant of outcome, with the recommended time of treatment lasting three menstrual cycles producing greater results than in shorter courses of administering acupuncture . Comparing acupuncture modalities, electro-acupuncture combined with warming acupuncture produced the greatest improvements in endometrial thickness, outperforming manual acupuncture, electroacupuncture alone, or warming acupuncture alone. [1]
The endometrial morphology (the structure, appearance and changes of the uterine lining called the endometrium) was assessed throughout six different studies. Women receiving acupuncture demonstrated higher rates of favorable morphology of their endometrium, compared to women treated with typical IVF hormone and drug therapy controls. Due to the fact that endometrial morphology is a recognized sonographic marker of uterine receptivity during pregnancy, these findings provide structural corroboration of the improved implantation outcomes observed in the successful pregnancies. [1]
Serum estradiol (E2) levels were monitored throughout four studies. The acupuncture group had increases in serum estradiol levels following acupuncture and moxibustion treatment compared with drug controls. Subgroup analysis indicated that three month long cycle treatment courses with acupuncture were associated with the largest endocrine and hormonal improvements. These hormonal improvements are clinically relevant, as estradiol plays a critical role in endometrial proliferation, vascularization, and functional preparation for implantation of embryos during IVF cycles. [1]
Electroacupuncture treatments paired with lower abdominal and lower-limb acupuncture points connected to low-frequency electrical stimulation, while warming acupuncture incorporated moxibustion or heat applied to needle handles to enhance uterine perfusion. Needle diameters typically ranged from 0.25 to 0.30 mm, about twice as thick as a human hair, had insertion depths adjusted according to anatomical location and patient body size. The length of treatment was consistent with retention times that are intentionally timed to support deficiency-pattern TCM presentations commonly diagnosed in RIF women. [1]
In the majority of studies treatment frequency ranged from two to three sessions per week, initiated during the menstrual or early follicular phase and continued throughout the entire IVF process including the embryo transfer. Acupuncture protocols were specifically modified from a variety of acupuncture point selection according to follicular, ovulatory, and luteal phases—were associated with superior outcomes compared with fixed-point prescriptions all cycle long. These findings suggest that cumulative treatment dose and cycle-specific timing are critical variables in optimizing embryo implantation success. [1]
From a biomedical perspective, the reviewed data indicate that acupuncture and moxibustion enhance uterine microcirculation, regulate autonomic nervous system activity, and additionally modulates molecular markers of endometrial receptivity; all of which enhances IVF outcomes in a positive way. Furthermore, positive effects from acupuncture include critical aspects of reproductive health as it relates to getting pregnant and also supporting IVF attempts: increased expression of integrin αvβ3 (crucial cell surface protein receptor that helps cells stick to the extracellular matrix (ECM), HOXA10 (essential mediator in endometrium that regulates expression of endothelin type; a critical gene for the proper development of the female reproductive tract), leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF plays an indispensable role in embryo implantation regulating multiple processes before and during implantation including transforming uterine into a receptive state, decidualization, blastocyst growth and development, embryo-endometrial interaction, trophoblast invasion and immune modulation), estrogen receptor-α, and progesterone receptor, as well as enhanced pinopode formation (the development of progesterone-induced, short-lived micro-protrusions on the uterus’s endometrial surface as the key marker of the brief window of receptivity for embryo implantation), collectively supporting improved embryo–endometrium signaling . [1]
Risk-of-bias assessment classified most of these studies as very low risk. Furthermore, sensitivity analyses demonstrated stability of study outcomes across pregnancy, hormonal, and sonographic testing. While heterogeneity within the studies were present for some secondary outcomes, subgroup analyses consistently favored electroacupuncture combined with warming acupuncture administered throughout three consecutive menstrual cycles. [1]
Reference:
1. Junjun Chen, Yan Lyu, Xuzhen Cheng, and Fang Zhang. “The Impact of Acupuncture and Moxibustion Treatment in Individuals with Recurrent Implantation Failures: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Medicine 104, no. 51 (2025): e46587.