Acupuncture, when used alongside assisted reproductive technology, may enhance clinical pregnancy and implantation rates.
The methodology involved searching six different databases from their inception to January 19, 2026, namely PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus, the Cochrane Library, and Ovid MEDLINE. Eligible studies and review reference list were also screened. The study included randomized controlled trials of women undergoing fertilization, intracytoplasmic sperm injection, or embryo transfer where acupuncture, in the forms of manual acupuncture, electroacupuncture, or transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation, was used as an adjunctive intervention. Pairwise random-effects meta-analysis estimated overall effects, while network meta-analysis compared intervention timing, modality, and needle-retention time. A model-based network meta-analysis examined dose-response associations by treatment sessions.
From the investigation of forty-two trials which included 9,390 women, it was found that acupuncture was associated with higher clinical pregnancy rates and implantation rates. The conclusions on the influence of acupuncture on live birth remained uncertain. There were suggestions towards more significant outcomes when acupuncture was performed during controlled ovarian hyperstimulation, or during both this procedure and embryo transfer, compared to when it was limited to only embryo transfer. Treatment session quantity was observed to be closely correlated with timing. Nonlinear dose-response models also indicated potential associations between treatment sessions and reproductive outcomes.
