Infertility: Getting Informed
Mainstream medicine is sometimes unable to explain why a couple cannot conceive. This is because there is not always a single underlying pathology, but rather layers of imbalances stemming from many sources: nutritional, lifestyle, energetic, immunological, chemical and hormonal, to name a few. Naturopathic medicine can address these issues in an active way, by engaging both partners, and empowering a couple to increase their chances of conceiving. This can be done either as a stand alone or in conjunction with allopathic fertility clinic approaches. I believe most cases don’t stem from a single problem, but rather the cumulative effect of multiple imbalances.
It is essential to remember the goal of fertility work is not to get pregnant, but rather to carry to term a healthy infant who will thrive. Some of the many factors that will, for example, affect the odds of pregnancy in a woman, are her level of physical activity, weight, stress levels, toxic exposures (ex. heavy metals, smoking, and radiation), quality of cervical mucous, age, and nutritional levels. But many of these factors are not part of the normal screening process for those trying to conceive. Yet, they are so fundamental and can be both detected and corrected or at least improved upon through the use of an array of approaches including herbal medicine, acupuncture, homeopathy and lifestyle changes.
Naturopathy is a wonderful and necessary complement for those doing fertility monitoring and treatments, because the very treatments used to address infertility can also be disruptive. For example, the fertility drug Clomid has a drying up affect on the women’s cervical mucous. This fertile mucous is vital to obtaining pregnancy in the first place.
Chinese herbs can be used in conjunction with Comid to maintain a woman’s healthy mucous. Or, the stress of cycle monitoring itself can cause a disruption in many hormones that play an important role in the complex cycle of fertility for both men and women.
Acupuncture is an integral part of my fertility treatments. In April 2002, German researchers reported that acupuncture increased the success rate by nearly 50% in women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF). In the area of female health and fertility, acupuncture has been shown to be beneficial for women with PCOS and anovulation, and it has been shown to increase uterine blood flow. In 1996 the World Health Organization endorsed acupuncture treatment for a wide range of conditions including infertility.
I teach women the Sympto-Thermal Method (STM) of cycle monitoring. They are able to do their own cycle monitoring by following different key markers for fertility including temperature fluctuations and mucous patterns. These can be helpful to detect subtle as well as gross imbalances during menstrual cycles as well as to monitor their improvements during the course of treatments. It is empowering as well as affective.
The most important part of fertility work is to realize it is a team effort and that it is the emotional and physical health of both partners that are key to success. It really does take two to tango.
