Natural Fertility Treatements

If you or your partner is having difficulty conceiving, you should know that there are a wide range of natural fertility treatments available. There are many reasons that those wishing to conceive may want to use natural fertility treatments. One common reason is the desire to avoid surgery or pharmaceutical drugs, many of which have some undesirable side effects. Many couples decide to try natural fertility treatments before seeking IVF, while others may use some natural fertility treatments alongside traditional medical treatments (for example, a recent study showed that women who use acupuncture while simultaneously having IVF treatment have a higher success rate with the in-vitro fertilization). Still others may have already exhausted a slew of other medical fertility treatments and they see natural fertility treatments as their final opportunity for pregnancy.

Regardless of how you have arrived at the decision to learn more or pursue natural fertility treatments, this hub aims to provide you with useful information about a variety of different natural fertility treatments. This natural fertility remedies includes practices such as acupuncture and massage, as well as herbal treatments, dietary changes, and a comprehensive natural treatment system that combines many different natural treatment practices into a successful, holistic framework.

Acupuncture is an Chinese medical practice that has increasingly found acceptance in the West as numerous scientific studies have shown its remarkable efficacy at treating a wide range of health problems. Some insurance companies now will pay for acupuncture treatment, so if you have health insurance you should check and see if such treatments are covered by your insurance policy.

Chinese medicine is developed around the idea that we all have a central and vital life force in us, which in Chinese is called “Qi”. Our lifeforce, or Qi, is said to move along very specific pathways in our body. These pathways connect certain organs and body parts to each other, which is why needles placed in one part of the body can treat ailments in a different part of the body.

In terms of treating infertility, acupuncture has been used successfully to treat fertility both independently and in conjunction with traditional medical fertility treatments. A recent study published in the British Medical Journal used seven randomized and controlled trials to study the effects of acupuncture on IVF treatment. 1366 women participated in the studies, and the studies conclusions were significant regarding the positive influence of acupuncture. There was a 65% greater pregnancy rate with those using acupuncture along with IVF treatment, and 87% improvement in having a viable pregnancy after twelve weeks, and 91% better chance of having a live baby with the acupuncture group.

There are several ways in which acupuncture is thought to work when it comes to promoting pregnancy. One way is through reducing stress, particularly for women undergoing IVF and similar treatments. Others suggest that acupuncture may also promote the release of hormones beneficial to achieving pregnancy.

Traditional medical practitioners have been prescribing herbs to treat fertility disorders for several thousands of years. Many of these herbs have informed Western pharmaceutical practice, but Western medicine still has an ambivalent relationship with herbal medicine. Long dismissed as ineffective or backwards, herbal medicines have in recent years been looked at more seriously in Western clinical studies and many have been shown to be remarkable effective. The video to the right discusses some of the clinical studies of different fertility herbs.

There are many herbs to treat fertility disorders from a variety of medical traditions. Some of the most commonly known herbs to treat fertility include:

• Chaste Tree (often combined with Green Tea)
  
• Black Cohosh
• Raspberry Leaf
• Nettle Leaf
• Red Clover (Leaf and Blossoms)
• Oatstraw

There are also a wide number of Chinese herbs that are use to treat infertility. In general, Chinese herbs are combined into complex formulas based on the form of fertility the Chinese medical practitioner diagnosis the person has suffering from (including treating hormonal deficiencies or imbalance, infections and inadequate blood circulation). Some common Chinese herbs for fertility are:

• Dong Quai
• Ginseng
• Gardenia
• Phellodendron
• Honeysuckle (lonicera)
• Astragalus

While there has yet to be a scientific study showing the massage improves fertility, massage has been shown in at least one study to reduce stress and anxiety levels, and stress has been shown to have a detrimental effect on getting pregnant. This study, published in Neurosciences in 2004, focused on 36 healthy adults undergoing massage therapy. The study focused on three different levels of massage (light pressure, medium pressure and the drumming massage technique) and it showed that the study participants stress and anxiety levels decreased with all forms of massage but that the medium massage level was most effective. This reduction was accomplished in just ten minutes of massage therapy.

Massage, like acupuncture, can be used both independently and in conjuncture with traditional and alternative fertility treatments to help improve the success rates of these treatments. Fertility massage can either be practiced by a practitioner or partner on an individual (there are some fertility centers that specialize in fertility massage), or there is also a form of self-fertility massage, as demonstrated in the attached video.

What you consume is thought by many, including many doctors, to have an important effect on your ability to get pregnant. Two doctors have recently published The Fertility Diet (see Amazon link below to purchase) which they argue can improve your fertility by 80%. There are some basic items these doctors suggest you avoid when trying to get pregnant, such as sodas and trans fats. But what is most interesting is what they suggest you do eat - they suggest you should eat a healthy diet that is high in iron from sources other than meat (beans and greens, for example) and consume lots of full fat dairy products.

Being overweight can significantly reduce your chance of conceiving as well, so if you are overweight you should not only pursue a healthy diet stressing certain foods, you should restrict your caloric intake and develop an exercise program that can help you lose weight.

Finally, some fertility specialists advocate using a fertility cleanse program to eliminate toxins and other harmful elements in the body that may be interfering with your ability to get pregnant. This can include everything from mercury residues from eating fish to many other chemicals we are exposed to during our daily life. A fertility cleanse should only be done prior to becoming pregnant and women who are already pregnant or breastfeeding should not use such a program.