Dr. Susan Schiff urges early IVF acupuncture planning in Wellington

Dr. Susan Schiff is advising South Florida IVF patients with January or February cycles to start acupuncture now and schedule transfer-day treatment once their clinic sets a date. The guidance comes as patients navigate reset health plans, clinic calendars and mixed evidence on whether acupuncture improves IVF outcomes.

Why it matters: - IVF patients often have limited time to fit acupuncture into an already packed stimulation and transfer schedule. - Starting early can make weekly visits easier to coordinate with clinic appointments and insurance timing. - The treatment question matters because patients are trying to understand whether acupuncture can affect IVF outcomes or mainly support the care plan.

What happened: - Dr. Susan Schiff, an acupuncture physician in Wellington, is advising IVF patients in Royal Palm Beach, West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter and Boca Raton who expect a January or February cycle to begin acupuncture now, about three months ahead. - Dr. Schiff is also telling patients to book transfer-day acupuncture once the fertility clinic sets the transfer date. - The advice was issued in late October, when many calendar-year health plans are about to reset on January 1. - Dr. Schiff says patients who wait for the transfer date may end up with only one or two sessions on a single day.

The details: - Dr. Schiff’s IVF support plan allows treatment to begin as close as one week before a cycle or as far out as three months before. - Once the IVF cycle starts, sessions typically continue once or twice a week. - A trial of 848 women reported in JAMA in 2018 found live births of 18.3% with acupuncture and 17.8% with sham treatment. - A 2002 trial of 160 women in Ulm, Germany, published in Fertility and Sterility, reported clinical pregnancies in 42.5% of the acupuncture group versus 26.3% of the control group. - The 2018 JAMA trial ran at 16 IVF centers in Australia and New Zealand and compared real and sham acupuncture over three sessions, including one during stimulation and two around transfer. - The JAMA authors concluded the findings do not support using acupuncture to improve live birth rates. - Dr. Schiff says both of those studies tested short protocols, not a course that starts months before stimulation. - Dr. Schiff does not tell patients acupuncture will raise their odds. - Dr. Schiff says the IVF protocol itself remains the responsibility of the patient’s reproductive endocrinologist. - Dr. Schiff travels to fertility clinics across Palm Beach County when clinics allow outside practitioners. - Transfer-day care is done in two short sessions, one before transfer and one during rest afterward. - Each transfer-day session lasts about 20 to 30 minutes. - If a clinic does not allow outside practitioners, both sessions are scheduled at the Wellington office around transfer time. - Patients who are not already in care can book transfer-day acupuncture on its own after a brief phone consultation.

Between the lines: - The release frames acupuncture as a timing and care-coordination decision as much as a fertility decision. - Dr. Schiff’s pitch is less about promising better outcomes and more about matching treatment to the IVF calendar. - The mixed research helps explain why the release emphasizes what has been studied, what has not, and when treatment is easiest to deliver.

What's next: - Patients planning January or February IVF cycles can start acupuncture now and set transfer-day treatment once the clinic provides a date. - Dr. Schiff says she is available to speak with reporters about IVF timing and the research. - Patients can receive treatment in the Wellington office or on site at fertility clinics, with home and video visits also available.

The bottom line: - Dr. Schiff is urging early planning because acupuncture is easier to schedule before IVF gets underway, while the evidence on fertility benefits remains mixed.