I had a request for information about yoga for infertility, so I did some investigating. When I say investigating, it means I checked PubMed, which is considered "the source" for medical research. Here's what I found.
To date, no published studies have actually documented yoga in relation to fertility outcomes (so here's a novel study idea for the complementary and alternative medicine [CAM] researchers out there). However, a single article on yoga and meditation for infertility published in the journal Fertility and Sterility did suggest that yoga and meditation can help patients to handle the challenges of fertility treatments, including developing patience (which is a requirement when first attempts at assisted pregnancy fail), reducing overall stress, and growing more in touch with their bodies.
Studies have documented, however, the use of acupuncture as an adjunct therapy to infertility treatments, and specifically IVF. A recent review of these studies suggested that acupuncture may indeed be a useful aid in improving the success rate of IVF, as well as improving the quality of life of women who undergo it.
According to another review of the effectiveness of vitamins and herb supplements, too few studies have been conducted on how well they work for infertility. However, the author noted preliminary evidence suggests chasteberry, antioxidants, and Fertility Blend may have some benefit.
One thing that is important, couples who decide to use CAM therapies in conjunction with fertility treatments should inform their doctors, so they can be certain doctor-prescribed therapies are not contraindicated with the naturopathic remedies. Also, while there are no published studies on the subject, if you do want to try yoga for infertility you might find some ideas here.
(Note: As stated in my sidebar, always check with your doctor before starting any physical activity.)
No comments:
Post a Comment