Did you know that your infertility can be treated with a combination of acupuncture and IUI? This may sound strange, seeing that acupuncture is more than 2,000 years old and intrauterine insemination or IUI is a relatively newer and more scientific procedure. But it is a fact. However strange it may seem to some, these two treatments have become partners in the fight against infertility.

Acupuncture is the old veteran in this partnership. It originated in ancient China over 2,000 years ago. Basically, acupuncture uses needles to treat diseases. This is done through the manipulation of the flow of qi which is believed to be the energy of the body. When the needles are inserted into the right places on the body the flow of qi through the body is changed. This can help improve the qi flow or redirect the qi to places in the body that need help, which in this case is the reproductive organs. This might sound backward and almost superstitious to some but even the World Health Organization (WHO) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) recognize it as an effective and reliable alternative treatment in today’s medical scene. In fact, the WHO’s official list of diseases that can be treated with acupuncture includes infertility as well as other ailments of the reproductive systems. The NIH has supported and funded researches and studies to better understand the science behind acupuncture.

IUI is the relatively younger procedure. It aids pregnancies by getting the man’s sperm as close as possible to their objective, which is the uterus where they meet the woman’s egg. Normally, during intercourse, the male penis deposits the sperm near the cervix where the sperm travels up into the uterus. However, sometimes the female cervix or the cervical mucus is hostile to sperm or the male penis or sperm is unable to perform their respective duties, thus causing infertility and requiring an alternative method for the sperm to reach their goal. In an IUI, the sperm is first "washed" and checked. Only quality sperm is used to minimize the chances of other complications like infections or uterine cramps. The washed sperm is inserted into the uterus through a catheter, a very long tube attached to a syringe like device. This device goes into the woman’s uterus through the cervix, bypassing any hostile mucus. The success rate of this procedure can range from about 6% to 20% largely depending on the cause of infertility as well as the over-all health of the patient.

When used together, these two produce great results for people suffering from infertility. Success rates for IUI have been higher when the patients also undergo acupuncture treatments. Acupuncture helps out the process of IUI in many ways. It has the capability to control the blood flow to the reproductive organs. With an increase in blood flow to the uterine arteries, acupuncture can help improve the quality of the eggs a woman produces and promote better endometrial lining growth in her uterus, both essential for a successful and healthy pregnancy. Acupuncture also helps the body with hormone regulation and balance, stress reduction, and immune system function. All of these when combined help IUIs achieve better pregnancy and live birth rates, especially since acupuncture applied after IUI treatments also help with post-IUI side effects and reduce miscarriages.

To learn more about this seemingly odd-couple in the fight against infertility you can visit websites of organizations like the American Board of Oriental Reproductive Medicine and the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture. These two organizations provide valuable information on acupuncture and its uses in today’s modern world. They also have resources to help you find reliable practitioners of acupuncture in conjunction with treatments like IUI.

With these two treatments from the past and present working together, you might now have the right weapon for you in your battle with infertility. You might call this partnership unusual, strange, or odd but it starting to help out people and it might be the help you need as well.