Dr. Susan Schiff Outlines When to Start Acupuncture for IVF in Wellington

Dr. Susan Schiff advises Wellington IVF patients with a January cycle to start acupuncture for IVF now and book transfer day acupuncture once a date is set.

WELLINGTON, FL, UNITED STATES, November 4, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- 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 for IVF now, about three months ahead, and to book transfer day acupuncture once their clinic sets a date. A trial of 848 women reported in JAMA in 2018 found live births of 18.3 percent with acupuncture and 17.8 percent with sham treatment.

The decision lands in late October for a simple reason. Calendar-year health plans reset on January 1, and a patient who plans a cycle for the weeks after that has a runway that starts this month. Waiting for the transfer date leaves one or two sessions on a single day, which is the version of treatment the research has tested most.

When should acupuncture start before IVF?

Treatment can begin as close as one week before a cycle and as far out as three months, under the IVF support plan Dr. Schiff uses at her Wellington office. The longer runway lets weekly visits fit the clinic's stimulation calendar instead of being squeezed in around it. Once the cycle starts, sessions typically run once or twice a week.

Does acupuncture on transfer day improve IVF success rates?

The research is split, and Dr. Schiff says patients deserve to hear both halves. A 2002 trial of 160 women in Ulm, Germany, published in Fertility and Sterility, gave acupuncture around embryo transfer and reported clinical pregnancies in 42.5 percent of the acupuncture group against 26.3 percent of the control group. The 2018 JAMA trial, run at 16 IVF centers in Australia and New Zealand, compared real and sham acupuncture over three sessions, one during stimulation and two around transfer. Its authors concluded that the findings do not support using acupuncture to improve live birth rates.

Dr. Schiff's position is that both trials tested a short protocol, and that a course begun months ahead of stimulation is a different plan that has been studied far less. She does not tell patients acupuncture will raise their odds. She tells them what was tested, what was not, and how the timing fits the clinic's calendar. Decisions about the IVF protocol itself stay with the patient's reproductive endocrinologist.

Can acupuncture be done at the fertility clinic on transfer day?

Yes, where the clinic allows it. Dr. Schiff travels to fertility clinics across Palm Beach County and treats patients in two short sessions, the first ahead of the transfer and the second while they rest afterward, each lasting about twenty to thirty minutes. Some clinics do not permit outside practitioners, and in that case both sessions are scheduled at the Wellington office around the transfer time. Patients who are not already in care can book transfer day on its own after a brief phone consultation.

Who provides the treatment?

Dr. Susan G. Schiff, A.P., DOM, is a Florida acupuncture physician with more than 25 years in practice. She holds diplomate certification in acupuncture and in Chinese herbal medicine from the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, is board certified by the American Board of Oriental Reproductive Medicine, and is the author of Fertility Fuel. She is the only practitioner at the practice and sees every patient herself, by appointment. Visits take place in the Wellington office or on site at fertility clinics. Home and video visits are also available. Dr. Schiff is available to speak with reporters about IVF timing and the research.

This release is general information and is not medical advice.

About Dr. Susan Schiff: Dr. Susan Schiff is an acupuncture and Chinese medicine practice at 12773 Forest Hill Blvd., Suite 1215, Wellington, FL 33414. The practice provides fertility acupuncture, acupuncture for IVF, on-site transfer day acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, pregnancy and menopause care, and acupuncture for pain to patients in Wellington, Royal Palm Beach, West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, Boca Raton and across Palm Beach County. All visits are by appointment. Phone: 561-859-7720. More information is available at https://www.gotacupuncture.com.

Ansh Shah
Acupuncture Associates
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