Natural Medicine Can Improve Your Fertility
Did you know that one out of eight couples have difficulty getting pregnant and staying pregnant? Conventional fertility treatments can be expensive, complicated and an emotional rollercoaster. Many couples are seeking a more holistic, natural and manageable approach to help them conceive. Naturopathic medicine is the answer. Naturopathic medicine has helped numerous couples resolve their fertility challenges with cost-effective solutions. Natural lifestyle modifications and therapies can help address underlying health and hormonal problems and improve fertility outcomes. If you are currently undergoing IVF or IUI, naturopathic medicine can help optimize egg quality and sperm health.
Remove Obstacles and Build Vitality
The goals of a naturopathic approach to fertility is this: 1)remove any obstacles or underlying causes of infertility, 2) optimize and build-up you and your partner’s overall health and vitality. We look at the whole person, your family history, medical history, diet and lifestyle, sleep patterns, stressors, hormone levels, and consider how these factors impact your ability to conceive. Hormonal problems such as irregular periods, impaired ovulation, polycystic ovarian syndrome, endometriosis, decreased sperm production or sperm quality, obesity and metabolic syndrome, chronic stress and nutrient deficiencies may be an obstacle for fertility. One of the most common causes of infertility is poor egg quality which can decline with age. Causes of decline can be nutritional or hormonal.
Laboratory Testing to Get the Full Picture
It is important to get a baseline picture of your health with a detailed intake covering all physical, mental/emotional symptoms and evaluating your overall health and nutritional status. Past lab work is reviewed and additional lab work may be ordered to help identify any underlying sources of inflammation, insufficient hormone levels, and other physiological imbalances that may be interfering with your fertility. Some labs tested are a complete blood count, fasting blood chemistry, thyroid levels, blood sugar, ferritin and iron levels, vitamin D status, CRP and additional hormone testing. I consider any underlying sources of inflammation, insufficient hormone levels, or other physiological imbalances that may be interfering with your fertility. Once all the lab work is completed, the focus is to remove any obstacles and optimize your health and fertility.
Natural Treatments that Optimize Your Health and Fertility
Naturopathic treatments to improve fertility are centered on diet and lifestyle changes as well as herbal and antioxidant supplements. The focus is aimed at building up your hormones and antioxidant status while reducing toxin exposure and inflammation. Eating an organic, whole foods diet with a wide variety of colors, high protein, and quality fats will help support optimal fertility. Avoiding alcohol in the diet can improve fertility chances. Even 5 alcoholic drinks per week can decrease sperm quality in men. Seed cycling can do wonders for regulating hormone levels in women. Increasing antioxidant status with NAC, selenium, and CoQ10 have been shown to increase egg quality, increase testosterone and all semen parameters. There are a wide variety of herbs that improve fertility outcomes. Detoxification can help correct hormonal imbalances including decreasing exposure to xeno-estrogens from food, water bottle and cosmetics. When you take a holistic approach and assess all obstacles to conceive, we can create a targeted approach to optimize your health and improve fertility. It is usually beneficial to work with both partners when optimizing fertility.
Supporting You Through Postpartum and Beyond
Pregnancy and delivery can take a significant toll on a woman’s body. Resting and allowing your body to heal and recover after birth is essential. Postpartum mood imbalances can come from a combination of fatigue, disrupted sleep cycle, hormone drop, social isolation and nutrient imbalances. Fatigue, depression, anxiety, insomnia and other symptoms can arise during the postpartum months and can persist for years.
Naturopathic care can be a life-raft for you during this time of intense depletion. Encouraging sleep routines, healthy nutrition and self-care is a priority. It is crucial to replenish nutrient stores such as folate, B12, iron, omega 3 fatty acids, selenium, vitamin D, calcium and magnesium. There are safe herbal medicines, amino acid therapy and homeopathic remedies that can be used to boost your energy levels and your mood.
