Can Chinese herbal medicine support Fertility?
- mark
- Mar 20
- 2 min read
This question has intrigued many for centuries, can Chinese Herbal Medicine support
Fertility ?
Let's explore the historical and modern evidence to find out.
Historical Timeline:
400 BC: the first gynaecological texts; an inscription on tortoise shells regarding birthing problems and describing plants to treat infertility.
200 AD Sees the records of Gynaecologist or breast doctors and 30 herbal medicine formulas used for gynaecological disorders.
600 AD, seven volumes of Gynaecological and obstetrics texts describing
283 gynaecological syndromes.
1000 AD 10 chapters on infertility, 20 chapters on menstrual diseases 70 chapters on postpartum disorders.
Modern Evidence:
"A meta-analysis involving 4,247 women with infertility suggested a 1.74 higher probability of achieving clinical pregnancy with Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) treatment than with Western medicine (WM) therapy alone. The mean pregnancy rate in the CHM group was 60% compared to 33% in the WM group."
Another systematic review and meta-analysis in 2020 investigated the efficacy of Chinese herbal medicine in women undergoing IVF.
Herbal medicine consistently showed a higher likelihood of increasing both the live birth rate and clinical pregnancy rate compared to those not receiving adjunctive treatment. Out of 43 randomised controlled trials (RCTs), only eight studies reported mild adverse effects related to herbal medicine, with no severe adverse effects reported."
Remember, research is ongoing and findings may change over time.
Consult a trained practitioner so that you can make an informed decision on whether this is an option for.
Xia J, et al. Incorporating whole-systems traditional Chinese medicine into conventional in vitro fertilisation care: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial. J Integr Med. 2018;16(2):90-95.
Reid R, et al. Chinese herbal medicine and clomiphene citrate for anovulation: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. J Altern Complement Med. 2015;21(5):245-252.
Kwon, C. Y., Lee, B., Lee, S. H., & Jo, J. (2020). Herbal medicine in women undergoing in vitro fertilisation/ intracytoplasmic sperm injection: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 53, 102528–102528.
Ried, R. (2015). Chinese herbal medicine for female infertility: An updated meta-analysis. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 23(1), 116–128.
Zhou, F., Song, Y., Liu, X., Zhang, C., Li, F., Hu, R., Huang, Y., Ma, W., Song, K., & Zhang, M. (2021). Si-Wu-Tang facilitates ovarian function through improving ovarian microenvironment and angiogenesis in a mouse model of premature ovarian failure. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 280, 114431–114431.
The information contained here was reproduced from a blog by Amy Forth from the Acupuncture Pregnancy Clinic in Sydney.
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