Fertility, Stress, and Acupuncture Articles

Stress and Fertility

Boivin J, Schmidt L. Infertility-related stress in men and women predicts treatment outcome 1 year later. Fertility and Sterility. 83(6): 1745-1752, 2005.

Boyles S, Ness, RB, Grisso JA, Markovic N, Bromberger J, CiFelli D. Life event stress and the association with spontaneous abortion in gravid women at an urban emergency department. Health Psychology. 19(6): 510-514, 2000.

Campagne, DM. Should fertilization treatment start with reducing stress? Human Reproduction. 21: 1651-1658, 2006.

Domar AD. Infertility and the Mind/Body Connection. The Female Patient. Signature Series, 2005.

Domar, AD. The relationship between stress and fertility. A Synopsis for Harvard Medical International and their Centers for Excellence and Constituents. The Mind Body Center for Women’s Health at Boston IVF. Unpublished.

Domar AD, Clapp D, Slawsby EA, Dusek J, Kessel B, Freizinger M. The impact of group psychological interventions on pregnancy rates in infertile women. Fertility and Sterility. 73(4): 805-811, 2000.

Domar AD, Clapp D, Slawsby E, Kessel B, Orav J, Freizinger M. The impact of group psychological interventions on distress in infertile women. Health Psychology 19(6): 568-575, 2000.

Domar AD, Zuttermeister P, Friedman R. Distress and Conception in Infertile Women: A complementary approach. Journal of the American Medical Women's Association. 54(4): 196-199, 1999.

Domar AD, Zuttermeister P, Friedman R. The psychological impact of infertility: a comparison with patients with other medical conditions. Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetric Gynaecology. 14: 45-52, 1993.

Dunkel-Schetter C, Wadhwa P, Stanton AL. Stress and reproduction: Introduction to the Special Section. Health Psychology. 19(6): 507-509, 2000.

Gallinelli A, Roncaglia R, Matteo ML, Ciaccio I, Volpe A, Facchinetti F. Immunological changes and stress are associated with different implantation rates in patients undergoing in vitro fertilization–embryo transfer. Fertility and Sterility. 76(1): 85-91, 2001.

Hjollund NHI, Jensen TK, Bonde JPE, Henriksen TB, Andersson A, Kolstad HA, Ernst E, Giwercman A, Skakkebæk NE, Olsen J. Distress and reduced fertility: a follow-up study of first-pregnancy planners. Fertility and Sterility. 72(1): 47-53, 1999.

Lee A, Duckworth AL, Elkind-Hirsch KE, Seligman ME Scott RT. O-131: Negative emotion predicts poor outcome in poor prognosis IVF patients. Fertility and Sterility. 86(3): S55-S56. 2006.

Lindheim SR, Legro RS, Morris RS, Vijod MS, Lobo RA, Paulson RJ, Sauer MV. Infertility: Altered responses to stress in women undergoing in-vitro fertilization and recipients of oocyte donation. Human Reproduction. 10(2): 320-323, 1995.

Sanders KA, Bruce NW. A prospective study of psychosocial stress and fertility in women. Human Reproduction. 12: 2324-2329, 1997.

Sapolsky, RM. How stress affects your health. Talk of the Nation, National Public Radio. 10 September 2004. Listen at NPR. Date Accessed: 1 May 2007.

Schmidt L, Holstein BE, Christensen U, Boivin J. Communication and coping as predictors of fertility problem stress: cohort study of 816 participants who did not achieve a delivery after 12 months of fertility treatment. Human Reproduction. 20: 3248-3256, 2005.

Wasser S, Sewal G, Soules M. Psychosocial stress as a cause of infertility. Fertility and Sterility. 59: 685-689, 1993.

Acupuncture and Fertility

Benson MR, Elkind-Hirsch KE, Theall A, Fong K, Hogan RB, Scott RT. P-18: Impact of acupuncture before and after embryo transfer on the outcome of in vitro fertilization cycles: A prospective single blind randomized study. Fertility and Sterility. 86(3): S135, 2006.

Chang R, Chung P, Rosenwaks Z. Role of acupuncture in the treatment of female infertility. Fertility and Sterility. 78(6): 1149-53, 2002.

Knardahl S, Elam M, Olausson B, Wallin BG. Sympathetic nerve activity after acupuncture in humans. Pain. 75(1): 19-25, 1998.

Kovacs P, Matyas S, Boda K, Kaali SG. The effect of endometrial thickness on IVF/ICSI outcome. Human Reproduction. 18(11): 2337-2341, 2003.

Magarelli PC, Cridennda D, Cohen M. The demographics of acupuncture's impact on IVF outcomes: infertility diagnosis and SART/CDC age groups. Fertility and Sterility. 87(4): S10-S11, 2007.

Noyes N, Liu H, Sultan K. Endometrial thickness appears to be a significant factor in embryo implantation in in-vitro fertilization. Human Reproduction. 10(4): 919-22, 1995.

Paulus WE, Zhang M, Strehler E, El-Danasouri I, Sterzik K. Influence of acupuncture on the pregnancy rate in patients who undergo assisted reproduction therapy. Fertility and Sterility. 77(4): 721-724, 2002.

Smith C, Coyle M, Norman RJ. Influence of acupuncture stimulation on pregnancy rates for women undergoing embryo transfer. Fertility and Sterility. 85(5): 1352-1358, 2006.

Stener-Victorin E, Waldenstrom U, Andersson SA, Wikland M. Reduction of blood flow impedance in the uterine arteries of infertile women with electro-acupuncture. Human Reproduction. 11(6): 1314-1317, 1996.

Westergaard LG, Mao Q, Krogslund M, Sandrini S, Lenz S, Grinsted J. Acupuncture on the day of embryo transfer significantly improves the reproductive outcome in infertile women: a prospective, randomized trial. Fertility and Sterility. 85(5): 1341-1346, 2006.

Acupuncture and Menopause

Huang MI, Nir Y, Chen B, Schnyer R, Manber R. A randomized controlled pilot study of acupuncture for postmenopausal hot flashes: effect on nocturnal hot flashes and sleep quality. Fertility and Sterility. 86(3): 700-710, 2006.

Nir Y, Huang MI, Schnyer R, Chen B, Manber R. Acupuncture for postmenopausal hot flashes. Maturitas. 56(4): 383-395, 2007.

Integrative Medicine

Amoils S, Korte D, Nelson CF, Rosner AL, Friedman R, Zuttermeister P, Benson H, Roter B, Meserole L, Rahlmann J, Santosh S, Stackhouse FA, Dawson HR., Stotland NL, Gellert GA, Campion T, Eisenberg D, Delbanco T, Kessler R, Campion EW. Unconventional Medicine. New England Journal of Medicine. Correspondence. 329(16): 1200-1204, 1993.

Eisenberg DM, Kessler RC, Foster C, Norlock FE, Calkins DR, Delbanco TL. Unconventional Medicine in the United States -- Prevalence, Costs, and Patterns of Use. New England Journal of Medicine. 328(4): 246-252, 1993.

Freeman MP, Helgason C, Hill R. Selected Integrative Medicine Treatments for Depression: Considerations for Women. Journal of the American Medical Women’s Association. 59(3): 216-224, 2004.