Complementary and alternative fertility therapies may be effective; however, these can often be costly. Most patients find that using routine cycles of proven fertility treatment without resorting to these therapies is enough.
Regular yoga sessions may help fertility treatment by raising positive hormones and improving circulation. To get maximum benefit, attend restorative classes that don’t strain the body.
1. Acupuncture
Acupuncture is an ancient Chinese therapy which involves inserting needles at specific points on the body to stimulate and improve energy flow, stimulating pain relief and fertility for some patients as well as providing relief from menstrual cramps and bloating symptoms. Some insurance providers now cover acupuncture treatments.
Studies indicate that acupuncture may produce natural compounds known as endorphins that act to alleviate pain and relieve stress, making acupuncture an invaluable treatment option for couples undergoing fertility treatments, helping significantly to lessen stress and anxiety levels during treatment sessions.
Acupuncture is part of Traditional Chinese Medicine, with roots in Confucianism and Taoism. According to this philosophy, health results from aligning one’s “qi”, or vital energy, throughout all parts of their bodies. Acupuncture can also help alleviate some side effects associated with medications by helping align this vital energy more evenly across the entire organism.
Recent research of couples receiving IVF revealed that those who utilized complementary therapies experienced better pregnancy outcomes than those who did not participate. Acupuncture and herbal therapy were among the most frequently employed complementary therapies by this group; yoga and meditation practices also played an integral part of this approach to conception.
Before beginning acupuncture, it is advisable to first consult your fertility specialist. Certain herbs could interact negatively with fertility medications and cause adverse side effects in some individuals; it would therefore be prudent for you to wait until after your IVF cycle has completed before taking part in alternative or complementary therapies. At City Fertility we advise our patients not to engage in alternative or complementary therapies until their regular IVF cycle has concluded.
2. Yoga
Yoga is a mind-body practice that can help manage stress, improve sleep quality and restore balance between mind, body and spirit. Yoga may also relieve neck, back or other musculoskeletal pain as well as mental wellbeing by providing relaxation techniques and encouraging healthy lifestyle practices. When combined with acupuncture therapy for in vitro fertilization treatments such as IVF treatment plans, yoga may prove an invaluable adjunct therapy to assist the process by decreasing anxiety and depression while decreasing hormones that suppress fertility while improving sperm quality; additionally it increases blood flow to pelvis while strengthening muscles supporting reproductive organs while supporting IVF treatments.
3. Meditation
Stress associated with infertility and traditional treatments can create emotional instability, negatively affecting Fertility Quality of Life (Fertility QoL). Meditation or mindful awareness practices have proven invaluable in creating calmness, clarity and hope during times of uncertainty; alternative therapy has even shown its efficacy by decreasing stress levels and helping the body regulate hormones more efficiently in order to foster conception.
Consistent mindfulness exercises like guided meditation and deep breathing can be powerful ways to manage stress and promote a positive outlook on infertility treatment journeys. Coupled with healthy nutrition, regular physical activity, and plenty of restful sleep, this holistic approach to wellness may promote hormonal equilibrium, improve mood and help facilitate fertility processes more smoothly.
Studies show that women who engage in mindfulness practices experience higher pregnancy rates than their non-participating peers, demonstrating the positive influence these practices have on Fertility Quality of Life and overall fertility treatments. It’s essential to take steps to keep stress at bay as too much cortisol production interferes with reproductive hormone production, thus delaying your fertility treatment journey.
Begin to incorporate meditation into your daily routine by setting aside just 10-15 minutes each day to focus on relaxation and focus. Apps like Headspace, Insight Timer, Ten Percent Happier and Circle + Bloom offer guided meditation routines designed to reduce physical tension. You could also try performing simple breathing exercises or focusing on various body parts – like feet and hands – in order to increase calmness and reduce physical tension. If meditation becomes challenging to you during this period of time, try journaling as an expressive writing technique that may allow release some of those feelings associated with infertility.
4. Herbal Supplements
Herbal medicines are composed of plants, roots or flowers sourced from nature and taken either as teas, tinctures or supplements in pill form. Although many herbal treatments claim scientific proof or clinical trial validation, there may still be potential interactions with certain medications or adverse side effects that require discussing with a healthcare provider before beginning herbal remedies. If considering herbal treatments as possible treatments, be sure to discuss it first with a doctor or nurse first before embarking upon them on your own.
Intrauterine Insemination (IUI), while not as well-known, is another effective and less invasive fertility treatment option. IUI involves placing washed sperm directly into the uterus during its fertile window to increase fertilization odds by not having to travel as far before finding their target egg. When combined with ovarian stimulation drugs for maximum results.
Women unable to conceive using IUI often turn to IVF as an alternative therapy. Not only can this method provide a more reliable means of conception, but it may also improve prognosis for women with unexplained infertility or tubal disease compared with natural conception methods. More research needs to be conducted in this regard.
Women suffering from low complexity infertility often find IUI-OS more cost-effective than IVF, although more research needs to be conducted into its efficacy for treating such cases. Further evaluation of ovarian stimulation regimens and IUI-OS with clear underlying pathophysiologie must also take place, along with longer term follow up of children born from couples treated by IUI-OS. Prognostic models will assist clinicians and facilitate easier comparison between different treatments; until then all patients should receive appropriate therapy according to their individual circumstances.
5. Glucocorticoids
Glucocorticoids are potent immunosuppressive drugs that reduce immune cell activity. When transplantation takes place, glucocorticoids help prevent organ rejection by dampening down immune responses; similarly they may enhance fertility via IVF alternative therapies by suppressing immune systems; yet few well-designed clinical studies have produced satisfactory conclusions as to the indications and effectiveness of glucocorticoid therapy within IVF cycles.
Studies involving patients suffering from unexplained infertility or IVF failure require studies involving them to ascertain effective indications and clinical protocols for using glucocorticoids in order to minimize bias in future randomized clinical trials (RCTs). All inclusion/exclusion criteria must be made clear, with results reported using an established protocol in order to reduce bias in RCT results reporting.
It is well-documented that glucocorticoids exert direct influences on ovarian cyclic physiology and steroidogenesis by altering the function of granulosa cells, cumulus cells and luteal cells [27-29]. Their mechanism of action involves both cell death (via cellular apoptosis in Granulosa cells) as well as differential induction or suppression of steroidogenesis depending on both dosage administered and stage of follicular development [27-29].
A meta-analysis of five RCTs failed to demonstrate any evidence that preimplantation glucocorticoids increased clinical pregnancy rates (OR 1.44; 95% CI 1.00 to 2.08; I2 = 0%; low certainty evidence) when compared with no treatment or placebo treatment (Table 1). Trials included in this analysis used different dosages, administration times and types of assisted reproductive technologies (ART).
The results of this study were limited by its small sample size and variability in clinical trial methodology, in addition to not addressing underlying causes and type of assisted reproductive technology (ART) used. Some trials included were not randomised while only one (Shohayeb 2005) provided data. Additional research on glucocorticoids’ role in assisted reproductive technology cycles is essential, particularly among women suffering endometrial immune dysfunction.
