Acupuncture is one of the most popular forms of alternative medicine used to improve fertility and possibly treat infertility. But How does it work?

“It can allow you to cross the line from infertile to fertile by helping your body function more efficiently, which in turn allows other, more modern reproductive treatments, like IVF, and inducing ovulation to also work more efficiently.

 In an excellent study of 160 women, published April 2002 in Germany in the reproductive journal Fertility and Sterility, researchers found that adding acupuncture to the traditional IVF treatment protocols substantially increased pregnancy success.

In addition to relieving stress, acupuncture can help increase a woman’s fertility by improving blood flow to the ovaries and uterus. This improved blood flow can help thicken the lining of the uterus, increasing the chances of conception.

It may also help correct problems with the body’s neuroendocrine system. Acupuncture can help activate the brain to release hormones that will stimulate the ovaries, adrenal glands and other organs that are involved in reproduction. Acupuncture’s effect on the neuroendocrine system may also help infertile men by stimulating sperm production, she said.