Ethical IVF Options: Why Couples Deserve a Voice In Infertility Treatments Beyond IVF
Written By: Dr. Kristen Burris, DAcCHM
As a fertility doctor of TCM with nearly two and half decades of expertise in women's health, infertility, miscarriage prevention and hormonal imbalances throughout a woman's life with Traditional Chinese Medicine, including acupuncture, herbal medicine and functional medicine, I have witnessed the life-changing, miraculous application of ancient medicine. Yet, time and time again, I see women's voices, doctor's successes and proven alternatives dismissed and ignored in favor of one dominant narrative: IVF.
Let me be very clear, IVF is a modern marvel and has helped many couples. I have been present, doubling IVF outcomes during, before, and after countless embryo transfers (the last step in the IVF process). But it is not the only answer to habitual miscarriage and infertility. For couples struggling, Traditional Chinese Medicine deserves a seat at the table. It is more affordable, it is ethical, it is holistic, less invasive and for women under 40, only 5% of my patients actually need a referral out to IVF. Only 5%.
Studies have repeatedly confirmed what practitioners and doctors of TCM have known for centuries. One study in 2018 showed TCM herbal medicine improved sperm parameters in suboptimal semen qualities. Another study published in NIH in the journal Medicine (Baltimore)
proved that acupuncture combined with traditional Chinese medicine, is a viable treatment for ovulation dysfunction infertility, that not only improves the efficacy rate, pregnancy rate, ovulation rate, maximum follicle diameter, and endometrial thickness but also enhances sex hormone levels, relieve patients' clinical symptoms, improve the quality of follicle development, and improve the pregnancy environment of outcome. I have had these successes in my private practice and my telemedicine coaching practice for all diagnosis for female and male factor infertility. I had a patient who had 9.9 million sperm (suboptimal male factor infertility) and a wife with anovulation for two decades. I was able to increase his sperm count to 137 million and get her ovulating. They have one daughter and another on the way.
These are not anecdotal or fringe findings, these are peer-reviewed validations of the effective, low-risk, high outcome medical treatments. Moreover, TCM focuses on restoring balance, regulating menstrual cycles, improving endometrial receptivitiy and enhancing emotional balance and well-being during a critically trying time in a couple's life This is not symptom relief, although it has been proven to alleviate the devastating side-effects of IVF, this is a root-cause, individualized medicine for each woman (and man's) body and medical history.
Ethically, we must ask: why are so many women, if not all women, are funneled directly to expensive, high-intervention procedures without first being offered evidence-based, gentler, safer, more ethical alternatives. IVF is emotionally, physically and financially demanding. For most, it is not the first right step. It should always be the last option. With Ethical IVF hanging in the balance, now, more than ever, is the time to share options.
This is a call to reprioritize women as the center of their tortuous infertility journey. We must stop silencing centuries of wisdom and proven success. The babies don't lie. They are the curative proof that this medicine works for the majority of couples who use it for complex infertility and miscarriage cases. Women's stories matter. Women have a right to this medicine, but if kept hidden, how will they ever know their medical options? Their choices matter. It's time to elevate the conversation, be truthful and forthcoming about this viable, reasonable, and ethical, medicine and expand their awareness, knowledge, and options. And remember, it isn't only women. 50% of unexplained infertility is male factor infertility. We treat male factor and unexplained male factor just as effectively as female factor infertility.
Ethical IVF proponents are fighting for IVF where only one embryo is created at one time. Any embryos not used by the woman or couple, must be put up for embryo adoption. This would cause an huge upheaval in the current IVF climate where more is better, in that the attrition rate and death rate of embryos is currently extraordinarily high with most IVF clinics. I witness in my practice many clinics who must retrieve 15-20 follicles (eggs) to only have half fertilized (7-10), where only 3-5 of those mature and only 2-4 of them are healthy. On average, many IVF clinics take up to 3 transfers of embyros for only one to stick and result in a pregnancy. Our patients' success is much higher than these typical results due to improved egg quality, sperm quality and endometrial lining thickness prior to transfer. We also refer to IVF clinics, that when prepped in our office 3 months in advance, they often only need one transfer to be successful, but this is not the typical results throughout the U.S. without proper TCM preparation before IVF. More often than not, our prepped patients only need one or two transfers to have a healthy pregnancy. But every case is different and every couple is different.
IVF as we know it, may not be available to anyone. May 20th 2025 is the supposed date the Trump Administration will reveal its Ethical IVF plan.
For a thorough article on what is hanging in the balance for women, IVF and couples struggle to conceive read this powerful article written by Emma Haslett: https://www.thepersistent.com/ethical-ivf-donald-trump-ivf-infertility-executive-order/
Sources:
The Persisent Online Journal
Mo J, Zhang Y, Jin N, Zhou Y. Effectiveness of traditional Chinese medicine formulas combined with acupuncture in the treatment of ovulation dysfunction infertility: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Medicine (Baltimore). 2023 Jul 7;102(27):e34310. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000034310. PMID: 37417606; PMCID: PMC10328600.
Zhao M, Chan CPS, Cheung CWC, Alqawasmeh O, Wang RCC, Wu JCY, Lin ZX, Li TC, Chung JPW, Mak JSM, Law TSM, Chan DYL. A double-blinded, randomized placebo-controlled trial on the effect of traditional Chinese medicine formula Wuzi Yanzong pill on improving semen qualities in men with suboptimal parameters. Trials. 2019 Aug 29;20(1):540. doi: 10.1186/s13063-019-3647-2. PMID: 31464617; PMCID: PMC6716803.