Infertility clinics and acupuncture: a qualitative web-based study.
J Assist Reprod Genet
; 40(10): 2367-2373, 2023 Oct.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-37526808
ABSTRACT
The increasing demand for fertility treatments has led to the rise of private clinics offering complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatments. The most frequently offered CAM infertility treatment is acupuncture. However, there is no good evidence to support the effectiveness of acupuncture in treating infertility. This study evaluates the scope of information provided by CAM fertility clinics in the UK. A content analysis was conducted on 200 websites of CAM fertility clinics in the UK that offer acupuncture as a treatment for infertility. Of the 48 clinics that met the eligibility criteria, the majority of the websites did not provide sufficient information on the efficacy, risks and success rates of acupuncture for infertility. This has the potential to infringe on patient autonomy, provide false hope and reduce the chances of pregnancy ever being achieved as fertility declines during the time course of ineffective acupuncture treatment.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Complementary Therapies
/
Acupuncture Therapy
/
Infertility
Type of study:
Qualitative_research
Aspects:
Ethics
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
/
Pregnancy
Language:
En
Journal:
J Assist Reprod Genet
Journal subject:
GENETICA
/
MEDICINA REPRODUTIVA
Year:
2023
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Reino Unido