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Use of Acupressure in Artificial Pregnancy

(Supplementary material 9.)

Lisa Li-Chen Hsieh¹、Sheue-Feng Wu²

1 Ji-Din Clinic, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

2 National Sun Yat-Sen University

Introduction

Artificial pregnancy is a common medical technique to increase birth rate in Taiwan. Either in intrauterine insemination or in-vitro fertilization, females are required to receive ovulation-stimulating drugs, which induce the hypothalamus to release GnRH (gonadotropin-releasing hormone) and thereafter pituitary gland to release FSH (follicle-stimulating hormone) and LH (luteinizing hormone) to induce ovulation. Before ovulation, the serum concentration of LH is approximately a six to ten-fold increase in the non-ovulation period and FSH two to three-fold increase in the non-ovulation period. Meanwhile, the corpus luteum starts to secret progesterone and estrogen. After ovulation, progesterone and estrogen surges in great amounts, which facilitates the function of cilia of the fallopian tube, activates the development of breast, and stimulates the secretion of endometrium. It also decreases the strength and frequency of uterus contraction, which helps the implantation and nurture of fertilized eggs.

The surges of progesterone and estrogen inhibits the function of anterior lobe of pituitary gland and hence maintains the FSH and LH in low levels. Contrarily, when pituitary gland restores to secret FSH and LH, the ovarian cycle starts. The endometrial lining is shed, and the process of shedding involves the loss of the tissue and blood, called menstruation. Ovulation-stimulating drugs elevate the level of FSH and LH to induce ovulation in a dose-response relationship. However, overdose of ovulation-stimulating drugs may cause “supraphysiology”, namely the persistently elevated level of FSH and LH after ovulation, which suppresses the secretion of progesterone and estrogen and impairs the environment of fertilized egg implantation, including a decrease in the thickness of endometrial lining and impaired oxygen supply induced by arteriole vasoconstriction. These cause the breaking down of the endometrial lining and the tearing of small connective blood vessels, and affects the process of fertilization. This is the reason why women receiving artificial pregnancy are prone to have endometrial bleeding.

The potential complication of ovulation-stimulating drugs in artificial pregnancy causes a dilemma for clinicians due to the dysregulation of menstrual cycle, and the simultaneous activation of ovulation and fertilization. Accordingly, it is the goal for obstetricians to balance these two mechanisms (i.e. ovulation and fertilization) to facilitate the implantation and growth of fertilized eggs and increase the success rate of artificial pregnancy.

Acupressure

Acupressure uses the energy force (Qi) to activate the healing process and fertilization autoregulatory mechanism of human body, helps the human body improve its physiology functions of tissue and organs, and restores the health and body functions in women. Acupressure has a unique clinical implication for artificial pregnancy.

Acupressure plays no role in the evaluation of uterus, selection of sperm and ovum, the quality control of fertilized eggs, or implantation of fertilized eggs in artificial pregnancy. However, acupressure can help in improving the Qi and blood of maternal body and the health of uterus, facilitating the implantation of fertilized eggs and increasing the success rate of pregnancy.

The mechanism of acupressure is as the follows:

A. Before the implantation of fertilized eggs

(1) The improvement of maternal health

It is difficult for women with frailty, comorbidities, old age or organ dysfunction to become pregnant by nature. The success rate of artificial pregnancy for those women is low, too. In order to increase the success rate of artificial pregnancy, it is essential to improve the maternal health first. We can use acupressure to elevate the strength of Qi and blood, improve the circulation system, and normalize the physiology function of tissue and organs in maternal body. In addition, it is important to treat the sequela of preexisting comorbidities as much as possible. Thereafter, the tissue and organs in maternal body restore normal functions, increasing the pregnancy rates naturally. In this way, women even do not need artificial pregnancy to be pregnant.

(2) The regulation of menstruation

A sizable proportion of women have menstrual disorders, including dysmenorrhea, menorrhagia, hypomenorrhea, headache, dizziness, general weakness, etc. These symptoms are associated with congenital or acquired anemia, and traumatic bleeding. It is often caused by hypovolemia, the stagnant Qi and blood, and dysregulation of endocrine system. Acupressure uses a strong level of Qi to dredge the Qi and blood and remove the obstruction in the circulation of Qi and blood, relieving the pain and treating the weakness in a natural way. Hypermenorrhea and hypomenorrhea can be treated using acupressure without hormonal therapies to avoid unnecessary disturbance in human body and its related subsequent adverse effects. Acupressure is effective in the regulation of menstrual cycle and treatment of menstrual disorders.

(3) Improvement of the uterine environment

The uterine environment is one of the important factors for the success of artificial conception. The health of the uterus, the thickness of the endometrium, the blood flow of the blood vessels, and even the anteversion or retroversion of the uterus can affect the success rate of conception. In this aspect, there are related acupuncture points on the skin can manipulate the treatment to improve the physiological function of the reproductive organs, thereby increasing the chance of success in artificial conception.

(4) Hormone drug effects

Human sex hormones and pituitary gland, liver and kidney function, blood circulation and sexual organs all have a close relationship with each other. Disability of any link can cause disability of the reproductive system. Because the human body is an autonomic organism when a certain link is disabled, such as lack or excess of sex hormones, it is not only a supplement of artificial sex hormones or an inhibitor can restore the autonomic function to work properly. It may cause other undesired side effects or complications. In the process of artificial conception, this phenomenon often occurs, causing a lot of discomfort for the human body. Acupressure can just replace or remove these undesirable reactions.

(5) Support for maternal and physical health

There are many problems in our daily life, such as getting colds, gastrointestinal diseases, headaches, insomnia, poor breathing, etc., or work stress, psychological and emotional distress, fear and anxiety, etc., They can be relieved by acupressure so that women can be in a comfortable body and mind. The comfortable body state helps to receive artificial pregnancy and implantation of fertilized eggs.

B. Fertilized egg after implantation

Generally, it is necessary to perform acupressure treatment after determining that the fertilized egg is successfully implanted into the uterine for at least three weeks. The acupressure treatment of pregnant women is different from the treatment of ordinary people. There are many acupuncture points that can cause danger. Therapists need more acupressure techniques and knowledge. They should be very careful when operating, so they are often treated by experienced healers. At this stage, the general transmission of "Qi" can give pregnant women the strength to cope with physical and mental stress, and can successfully nurture new life.

C. During pregnancy until production

During pregnancy, most of the medications are not recommended for pregnant women. For those pregnant women have fallen, trauma resulting from physical injuries, headaches, insomnia, etc., we usually use external medication. Those pregnant women need to endure the pain through the pregnant process. With the growth of the fetus, the abdominal muscles extraction and the compression of the diaphragm, heart, lungs and the gastrointestinal tract to the end of pregnancy. The kidneys increase the burden of urination, the lower limbs have heavy edema and thus slow the blood return. Blood pressure rise results in a headache, difficulty breathing, heart weakness. In the course of pregnancy, pregnant women may have past disease recurrence, or pregnancy-related symptoms, resulting in pregnant women suffering from illness. However, these symptoms can be relieved or soothed by acupressure treatment without the use of drugs, helping pregnant women to successfully through the pregnancy process and have safe production.

Clinical cases presentation

(1) A woman who has been married for more than ten years in her forties has more than 10 experiences of artificial pregnancy failure, uterine injuries. Both physical and mental are exhausted. After more than one year of acupressure treatment and adjustment, an artificial pregnancy was successful, with twins and smooth labor.

(2) A woman in her thirties difficult to get pregnant after many years of marriage. The doctor diagnosed that the body is not full of blood and the uterus is not strong. After acupressure treatment until confirmation of the health of the body and the uterus, an artificial pregnancy is a successful and smooth labor.

(3) A woman in her thirties is diagnosed with a retrograde uterus and cannot get pregnant. After acupressure adjusts the uterus, two children have been bred.

(4) There are several cases in which women who have failed several times due to unexplained artificial pregnancy have successfully get pregnant after the acupressure treatment to adjust their body and uterus.

(5) A married woman in her thirties with successful artificial pregnancy. After 32 gestational weeks, her legs were severely edema, difficult to move, difficult to breathe, heart weakness, high blood pressure, headache, and insomnia. Although the doctor recommended an immediate cesarean, she treated with acupressure. All symptoms disappeared within three days and deliver the baby for an expected period.

There are still too numerous pregnant women with artificial pregnancy to enumerate. This is the application of Qigong acupressure therapy in artificial conception. It can help the artificial pregnancy success with the following factors:(1) transmitting energy; (2) initiating human body repair mechanism; (3) activating the human body autonomic system; (4) improving the health of the human body, especially the uterus; (5) regulating the function of tissues and organs without drugs; (6) maintaining and supporting physical and mental health.

Discussion

Acupressure will not be able to intervene in the artificial pregnancy or IVF operations, such as administration of hormones, ovulation, egg retrieval, fertilization, and implantation of fertilized eggs. However, Qigong acupressure treatment can improve the health of the mother's overall body and improve the health of the uterus. As long as the therapist is skilled, it can promote the mother to prepare for artificial conception, she will be able to successfully pregnant. Acupressure can replace drugs, help pregnant women, especially when accidental injuries, illness, cold, gastrointestinal discomfort occur during pregnancy to relieve symptoms, restore to normal conditions. It is a safe, effective but without any additional invasive treatment. It will not affect the growth and development of the fetus or the possibility of teratogenicity.

However, acupressure is not a panacea but it has conditional restrictions. For example, genetic defects have limitations that cannot be repaired; if people's automic system has the poor functional capacity or its autonomic repair, autonomic adjustment and reproduction mechanism failure or difficult to recover in time, the treatment will be longer, and this is not acceptable for the most of people. In addition, during the period of acupressure treatment, the reacting pain generated is not accepted by everyone.

Moreover, successful artificial conception relies on the functioning of the genital function in the human autonomic system. If the body organ is dysfunction, sex hormone has a deficiency, sperm-egg has defection, artificial fertility techniques are insufficient, it needs further technological improvement, objective environment changes, body/uterus improvement, sufficient energy to support embryo development, growth, and maintenance are required. Pregnant women's body, free from trauma, internal sensation, disease and other injuries. These are worthy of further thinking and evaluation before artificial fertilization.

Reference

Arthur C. Guyton and John E. Hall, Textbook of Medical Physiology 2008.