A UNIQUE clinic is planning to treat couples with fertility problems using acupuncture and other complementary therapies. Chartered physiotherapist Jackie Brown opened the clinic in Cardiff after helping more than 50 women to become pregnant over the last 18 months.

She has advised couples across South and West Wales who have been unable to conceive because of conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome, irregular periods and low sperm count.

Acupuncture is an ancient Chinese treatment and is thought to restore the natural energy balance of the body, known as "Qi", by inserting fine needles into energy channels called meridians. Recent scientific research shows that it also stimulates the brain to produce the feel-good hormones endorphins, which reduce pain and generate a feeling of wellbeing.

It is also thought to affect the autonomic nervous system, which controls muscles and glands, and make the lining of the uterus more receptive to an embryo.

Jackie, director of the Natural Health and Fertility Clinic in Whitchurch, Cardiff, said, "Emotional disturbances such as anxiety, anger, grief, poor diet, overwork or stress can make the energy unbalanced and stagnant. The needles free this stagnation."

Jackie's patients include those who are on a waiting list for conventional IVF treatment but who want to try acupuncture in the meantime, those who use it as a complementary therapy while they are completing an IVF cycle, and those who want to alter their hormone levels to allow them to start treatment.

Research carried out at the Christian-Lauritzen-Institut, in Ulm, Germany, has shown that acupuncture can increase the IVF success rate by almost 50%.

The World Health Organisation recognises more than 100 conditions that can be helped by acupuncture and it is estimated that more than one million treatments are given on the NHS and some two million in the private sector in England and Wales each year.

Most of Jackie's patients have been referred by consultant obstetricians, gynaecologists and IVF clinics. But the publicity from high-profile couples announcing that acupuncture has helped them become parents - such as Chancellor Gordon Brown and his wife Sarah - has also led to a raft of inquiries and positive results.

For more information about the clinic call 029 2062 4344 or visit www.acupuncture4women.co.uk

Baby joy after unsuccessful IVF treatments
Anouska Basterfield, from Llanharry, and husband David, spent six years wondering whether they would become parents. The couple had undergone unsuccessful IVF treatments, before they heard about Jackie Brown.
Anouska, 30, said, "I had quite a bad case of endometriosis and initially went to see if she could help with that, as well as the infertility. I had just two sessions of acupuncture before discovering I was pregnant."
Anouska - who works as a midwife, - is now the proud mother of baby daughter Hari.