According to a review published in Complementary Therapies in Medicine, Traditional Chinese herbs were found to be more effective in treating female infertility than Western Medical treatment.  Rates of pregnancy resulting from Traditional Chinese herbs were compared with the results of in vitro fertilization and other forms of Western Medical treatment, and were shown to produce more positive results than drug therapy alone.

The Menstrual Cycle and Infertility

A correlation was found between diagnoses relating to infertility in Traditional Chinese Medicine and the quality and symptoms of the menstrual cycle.  Traditional Chinese Medicineincludes evaluation of the menstrual cycle as a central component of diagnosis and treatment, and this is thought to be a key factor in its success.  Western Medicine often has a different focus when it comes to treating infertility, but menstrual issues may be more pertinent to infertility than practitioners initially thought.

Research and Results

Researchers complied results from multiple studies involving almost 2,000 women who were infertile, and the results show a 60% pregnancy rate after four months for those who used Chinese herbs whereas there was only a 30% rate of pregnancy for those who used IFV for the duration of one year.  Within a much shorter period of time, Chinese herbs actually doubled the chances of getting pregnant compared to Western Medical infertility treatment or IVF.

The compiled studies revealed that when added to Western Medicine drug therapy, Chinese herbs increased the probability of pregnancy by about 95%.  This suggests that while Chinese herbs are more effective in increasing the chances of getting pregnant, a combination ofTraditional Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine may be the most effective treatment plan for infertility.