Electro-acupuncture for Pain Relief and Relaxation During Oocyte Retrieval: A Case Study

During in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment a woman’s eggs are surgically removed from her ovaries, enabling fertilisation to occur outside of the body. Known as ‘oocyte retrieval’, this process uses a needle that passes through the vaginal wall into the ovarian follicles, guided by ultrasound, to aspirate the eggs. Women are usually given intravenous anaesthetic because of the painful nature of this procedure. This case study describes how electro-acupuncture was used to provide pain relief when intravenous anaesthetic was contraindicated.