Natural/Alternative/Complementary
Methods in Trying to Conceive
By: Laurie Morse, L.Ac.
Did you know that recent studies show that there are more annual visits to complementary-alternative health practitioners than to primary care physicians? Whether you are trying to conceive naturally and you choose to use a Complementary-Alternative Medicine (CAM) to support your conception, or you choose to use it as an ancillary support to Assisted Reproductive Technology, the use of CAM resources could be well worth your time and money.
Why are people using Alternative and Complementary Therapies (62% of Americans use CAM)? One source of information The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM.org), has some published statistics:
Reasons for Using CAM: A survey asked people to select from five reasons to describe why they used CAM. Results were as follows (people could select more than one reason).
- CAM would improve health when used in combination with conventional medical treatments: 55%
- CAM would be interesting to try: 50%
- Conventional medical treatments would not help: 28%
- A conventional medical professional suggested trying CAM: 26%
- Conventional medical treatments are too expensive: 13%
The survey found that most people use CAM along with conventional medicine rather than in place of conventional medicine. (Taken directly from the NCCAM.org website)
Neither conventional Western Medicine nor any particular Alternative Medicine holds all the answers. Each offers its own unique pieces to a larger puzzle. When we take responsibility for our individual health, when we make conscious choices to create the recipe that works best for us, and when we stop chasing the magic bullet, we empower our own internal healing alchemy to support us centering into our natural state: health and balance. Your recipe may include any number of ingredients; for instance, ART (Assisted Reproductive Technology), combined with yoga and nutrition. Or, maybe you are trying to conceive naturally, in which case, your recipe has different ingredients, such as Acupuncture, herbs, guided imagery, and meditation. There is no right or wrong universal formula, just what works for YOU.
Let's imagine together for a moment. Let's say you've never tried Indian food. You are invited to a nice big juicy Indian buffet. You might try some dishes that your dining mates recommend, and you might try other things because of how they look or smell. When you begin eating your various choices, you will find that you really like some, while others you might not like as well. If you determine that you really don't like something, you just decide you won't choose it again. In general, you don't make yourself or the particular dish "wrong" for that, it just is. The guy on your right-hand side might love the dish, everyone is happy.
Because you're at a buffet, you can try a little bit of everything and determine what you enjoy most. You might even decide you don't really care that much for Indian food altogether as a cuisine. No problem, because next door is an Italian buffet to try for lunch tomorrow. The point is that there are choices for you to make, and that your choice may be different than someone else's.
So, if you are interested in using CAM, I encourage you to explore what works for you, because most people find this out through trial and error in just the same way as when they are at a buffet.
The most fundamental thing got you to know about Complementary and Alternative Therapies is that they tend to strive for understanding of the deeper roots of why things are out of balance. At this depth, true healing is invited in. I offer for your consideration on your journey to conceive, the following highly reputable CAM options:
- Chinese Medicine
- Acupuncture
- Herbs
- Qi Gong
- Hypnotherapy
- Meditation
- Yoga
- Massage
- Energy Psychology
- Nutrition
- My Fertility Success System
In general, benefits to using CAM therapies might include:
- Relaxation and stress relief
- Strength and flexibility
- Regulating the hormones
- Reduce the side-effects of ART medications
- Increase circulation to reproductive area (ovaries, sperm and uterine lining)
- Support the function of the ovaries for higher egg quality
- Strengthens the immune system
- Increase chance of conception** (see the research summary just below)
- Decrease chance of miscarriage
Just so you know just how impressive CAM can be in assisting with trying to conceive, consider the following study:
** Fertility and Sterility® Vol. 77, No. 4, April 2002 ©American Society for Reproductive Medicine
Objective: To evaluate the effect of acupuncture on the pregnancy rate in ART (Assisted Reproductive Technology) by comparing a group of patients receiving acupuncture treatment shortly before and after embryo transfer with a control group receiving no acupuncture.
Results: Clinical pregnancies were documented in an impressive 42.5% of patients in the acupuncture group (34 of 80 patients) who received ART combined with acupuncture, whereas the pregnancy rate was only 26.3% (21 out of 80 patients) in the control group who received ART without acupuncture. These are highly statistically significant results.
Conclusion: Acupuncture appears to be a useful tool for improving pregnancy rate before and after ART.
This is just the tip of the iceberg, in terms of what CAM methods may be able to do for you in trying to conceive and in giving birth successfully to a healthy baby boy or baby girl.
Remember...
The biggest secret of all to successful conception & pregnancy is the one you are least likely to learn from your primary care provider, conception specialist, or even CAM provider!
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Laurie Morse, L.Ac., is the author of the revolutionary e-book "7 Strategies to Fertility Success," providing skills and exercises to help women turn their fertility switch on by "pulling their weeds," optimizing their terrain and planting pregnancy seeds with their intentionality. She is the director of Holistic Health Services in San Diego CA , where she has successfully treated fertility for the past decade. In addition, she provides workshops and tele-classes on fertility success. For more information go to: http://www.myfertilitysuccess.com