Céline Dion uses acupuncture and IVF to get pregnant with twins

Celine Dion and family in 2010. --Associated Press photo

Céline Dion is pregnant again---with twins! After undergoing her sixth in-vitro fertilization (IVF) attempt and turning to acupuncture to improve the IVF success rate, the singer announces that she is 14 weeks along with twins. Needless to say, Dion, her husband/manager Rene Angélil, and 9-year-old Rene-Charles are thrilled.

This news is a welcomed turnaround for Dion who suffered heartbreak while trying to have a second child. Last year, she and Angelil joyously announced they were expecting a second child followed by the sad disclosure later in the year that they were no longer were expectant parents.  Dion was tearful when she discussed her miscarriage on the Oprah Winfrey Show in February 2010.  “I will be the happiest one to tell you when I'm pregnant," she told Winfrey. "And if not, I'm the luckiest artist, especially wife and mother of a wonderful son. So I'm glad."

But now their sadness has turned to joy with the news that Dion is pregnant with twins. Speaking to People magazine, her husband says, "We're ecstatic! Céline is just hoping for a healthy pregnancy. She was hoping for one baby, and the news that we are having two is a double blessing."  Next month Dion and Angélil will find out the gender of the twins that were conceived using IVF.

What is IVF? The American Pregnancy Association describes In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) as the process of fertilization by manually combining an egg and sperm in a laboratory dish. The resulting embryo is then transferred into the uterus.

Some may be surprised that Dion turned to an unconventional treatment such as acupuncture to benefit her IVF experience. But many scientific research studies show that there is a powerful connection between acupuncture and IVF success.

According to Mayo Clinic, this ancient remedy has a definite positive effect on the success rate of IVF. During acupuncture, needles are inserted into key points in the body to improve the flow of energy and the balance of certain body chemicals. Acupuncture also has been shown to increase optimism and reduce anxiety during the IVF process.

The British Medical Journal, the London Daily Mail, and the London Times report that numerous additional scientific studies subsequently confirmed that IVF, when used simultaneously with acupuncture, can increase the success rate by 65 per cent. 

Researchers documented the connection between acupuncture and IVF success rates in multiple published studies. Although researchers are not completely certain, they speculate that the increased IVF success rate may have to do with the ability of acupuncture to lower stress levels in women undergoing IVF treatment. Stress has been demonstrated to have a negative effect on fertility rates. So it seems obvious that acupuncture, while lowering stress rates, will subsequently increase pregnancy rates. 

Acupuncture combined with IVF certainly worked for Céline Dion! The news that Dion and her family will soon be welcoming twins is certain to increase the popularity of acupuncture among those undergoing IVF treatments. 

Many acupuncturists in Portland, Oregon specialize in fertility issues. To locate an acupuncturist with a fertility specialization, visit the website of the Oregon Association of Acupuncturists and Oriental Medicine and qualify your search with the search term “fertility.”

Read more about the powerful connection between acupuncture and IVF.