Australian women's use of complementary and alternative medicines to enhance fertility: exploring the experiences of women and practitioners

Abstract

BackgroundStudies exploring the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) to enhance fertility are limited. While Australian trends indicate that women are using CAM during pregnancy, little is known about women's use of CAM for fertility enhancement. With the rising age of women at first birth, couples are increasingly seeking assisted reproductive technologies (ART) to achieve parenthood. It is likely that CAM use for fertility enhancement will also increase, however this is not known. This paper reports on an exploratory study of women's use of CAM for fertility enhancement.MethodsThree focus groups were conducted in Melbourne, Australia in 2007; two with women who used CAM to enhance their fertility and one with CAM practitioners. Participants were recruited from five metropolitan Melbourne CAM practices that specialise in women's health. Women were asked to discuss their views and experiences of both CAM and ART, and practitioners were asked about their perceptions of why women consult them for fertility enhancement. Groups were digitally recorded (audio) and transcribed verbatim. The data were analysed thematically.ResultsFocus groups included eight CAM practitioners and seven women. Practitioners reported increasing numbers of women consulting them for fertility enhancement whilst also using ART. Women combined CAM with ART to maintain wellbeing and assist with fertility enhancement. Global themes emerging from the women's focus groups were: women being willing to 'try anything' to achieve a pregnancy; women's negative experiences of ART and a reluctance to inform their medical specialist of their CAM use; and conversely, women's experiences with CAM being affirming and empowering.ConclusionsThe women in our study used CAM to optimise their chances of achieving a pregnancy. Emerging themes suggest the positive relationships achieved with CAM practitioners are not always attained with orthodox medical providers. Women's views and experiences need to be considered in the provision of fertility services, and strategies developed to enhance communication between women, medical practitioners and CAM practitioners. Further research is needed to investigate the extent of CAM use for fertility enhancement in Australia, and to explore the efficacy and safety of CAM use to enhance fertility, in isolation or with ART.

Extent of acupuncture practice for infertility in the United Kingdom: experiences and perceptions of the practitioners

“…Research suggests that acupuncture increases sperm output where scrotal temperatures are high and genital tracts inflamed (28). Patient (29,30) and practitioner (30) experiences of acupuncture fertility treatment were positive in two small studies.…”

Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use in Infertility: Cultural and Religious Influences in a Multicultural Canadian Setting

“…Patients are often reluctant to discuss CAM use with treating physicians and mention that they would like to receive more information about such alternative treatments. 6,15,33 Fertility clinic staff seldom document CAM use, 34 suggesting a lack of awareness of such use among their patients or a lack of consideration of the role such treatments might play in their physical and emotional well-being.…”

“…14 The profile of Western women who use CAM in the context of infertility is that of the older, well-educated, and affluent patient who has been trying to conceive for a relatively long period of time, and for whom assisted reproductive technology has been unsuccessful. [14][15][16][17] In general, Western women enjoyed the relaxation/well-being, empowerment, and satisfying patient-practitioner relationship afforded by CAM use. 17 The limited research on CAM use among infertile men indicates that 12%-30% of men may use CAM, 18,19 but their reasons for doing so have not been studied.…”

Complementary And Alternative Medicine Practice in Infertility

“…Avustralya'da yapilan çalişmalarda, hastalarin refahi için bu tedavilerin kullanilabileceği uygun görülmüştür. Fakat tipta yaygin olarak kullanilan CAM, infertilite tedavisinde yeni kullanilmaya başlanildiği için daha fazla çalişmalara gereksinim duyulmaktadir (5) .…”