Research Article Prior to Conception: The Role of an Acupuncture Protocol in Improving Women’s Reproductive Functioning Assessed by a Pilot Pragmatic Randomised Controlled Trial Suzanne Cochrane, 1 Caroline A. Smith, 2 Alphia Possamai-Inesedy, 3 and Alan Bensoussan 2 1 School of Science & Health, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia 2 National Institute of Complementary Medicine, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia 3 School of Social Science & Psychology, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia Correspondence should be addressed to Suzanne Cochrane; s.cochrane@westernsydney.edu.au Received 23 September 2015; Revised 25 February 2016; Accepted 30 March 2016 Academic Editor: Kieran Cooley Copyright © 2016 Suzanne Cochrane et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Te global average of couples with fertility problems is 9%. Assisted reproductive technologies are ofen inaccessible. Evidence points to acupuncture ofering an opportunity to promote natural fertility. Tis study asked whether providing a multiphasic fertility acupuncture protocol to women with sub/infertility would increase their awareness of fertility and achieve normalisation of their menstrual cycle compared with a lifestyle control. In a pragmatic randomised controlled trial sub/infertile women were ofered an intervention of acupuncture and lifestyle modifcation or lifestyle modifcation only. Tere was a statistically signifcant increase in fertility awareness in the acupuncture group (86.4%, 19) compared to 40% (=8) of the lifestyle only participants (Relative Risk (RR) 2.38, 95% confdence interval (CI) of 1.25, 4.50), with an adjusted  value of 0.011. Changes in menstrual regularity were not statistically signifcant. Tere was no statistical diference in the pregnancy rate with seven women (adjusted  = 0.992) achieving pregnancy during the course of the study intervention. Tose receiving the acupuncture conceived within an average of 5.5 weeks compared to 10.67 weeks for the lifestyle only group ( = 0.422). Te acupuncture protocol tested infuenced women who received it compared to women who used lifestyle modifcation alone: their fertility awareness and wellbeing increased, and those who conceived did so in half the time. 1. Introduction Fertility problems have become a major presenting condition in gynaecological clinics. Estimates of the number of couples encountering fertility problems vary from one in six to one in ten, with 9% currently cited as the probable global average [1]. As the biomedical response to infertility IVF remains “absent, inaccessible, or unafordable for the majority of the world’s infertile couples” [1, page 2], populations may utilise their traditional medical health systems. Chinese medicine has been used to treat female fertility problems using a range of methods throughout its history. In Western settings acupuncture is used as a primary intervention for fertility problems [2, 3]. Acupuncture is increasingly used as an adjunct to assisted reproductive technologies [4] and more widely in the complementary health care system. Outside the context of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) clinics, there has been little research that supports the role of acupuncture in promoting women’s reproductive health. Research of Chinese medicine’s supportive contribu- tion to fertility largely consists of case reports. In a survey of Australian and New Zealand acupuncturists [5] it was found that general fertility health treatments were the most common treatments administered to women. Tis emphasis in clinical practice has also been reported in the UK [6]. Clinical case reports support the value of acupuncture in the lead up to conception, although no clinical trial has been reported to date that either supports or contradicts this case- based evidence [7–10]. A prospective consecutive case series study of a course of 3 months of acupuncture for amenorrheic women with premature ovarian failure has found, compared to baseline, serum follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and Hindawi Publishing Corporation Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine Volume 2016, Article ID 3587569, 11 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/3587569