So for around a year now I have been feeling the pressure of running a busy practice trying to be all things to everyone.  My passion for fertility has developed over the last four years and came out of nowhere really as I hadn’t anticipated focusing on just one aspect of acupuncture.  I have found that 95% of my patients are now fertility and this takes up so much of my time not just treating them but also supporting them outside of my practice.  I have felt that something had to change.  This week I have decided to change my focus entirely to fertility.

 

This doesn’t mean I won’t treat existing patients or previous patients but it is a shift.  My husband will still treat musculoskeletal and muscle pain and might sometimes call on me to use my skillset to help but these things won’t be my priority.

 

I have to follow my heart and look after my well-being because if I am not in a good place I can’t treat you to my best ability. I hope that you will understand and if you need treatment I can refer you to two of my colleagues who are excellent TCM Practitioners.

 

I am looking forward to the future with all of its challenges with fertility and to helping to grow more babies!

Food for fertility is really important when starting to consider having a family. When you come to see me for fertility support you will also get advice on food for fertility that can help you. Now, I hate discussing ‘diet’ because that imediatley makes you think weight loss, chinese medicine doesn’t view food in this way. Food is seen as health and medicine, not weight loss so you will get a list of foods from me that will support any imbalances that you have in your diagnosis. This could be for kidney, liver, spleen or blood stagnation. These foods are primarily to improve any imbalances.

We say eat a rainbow of food on your plate because each food has a variety of minerals and vitamins and if you eat a ‘beige’ diet then you are not getting all the vitamins and minerals you need. We also suggest eating seasonally and organically if you can and avoid processed foods wherever possible. Yellow and orange vegetables contain lots of beta carotene, an antioxidant, which has been shown to maintain hormone balance and prevent miscarriage. Red vegetables such as tomatoes contain lycopene, a carotenoid, which has been shown to increase sperm counts. Leafy green vegetables contain folic acid which is important for preventing birth defects and is a vital ingredient for healthy sperm and eggs. Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and cabbage contain a phytonutrient called DIM which helps with estrogen metabolism and prevents fibroids and endometriosis. In fact, a 2004 study found that women who ate the most fruits and veggies had the lowest rates of endometriosis.

A lot of people don’t realize that you do need some fat in your diet in order to create certain hormones it’s important to include healthy sources of fat in your diet such as olive oil nuts, seeds, avocado, and oily fish. Therefore a low fat diet when trying to concieve is a no no.

Some people don’t get enough protein which is unfortunate because the amino acids in protein are vital for egg and sperm production, and for making LH and FSH which are important fertility hormones. You can get your protein from meat, fish, eggs and dairy products, of course, but there are plenty of vegetarian sources of protein too, including beans, lentils, brown rice, quinoa and other whole grains, nuts and seeds (especially sunflower seeds).

One key thing that is often overlooked for fertility is water. It’s really important to hydrate properly for eggs and sperm to be of good quality. None of us drink enough water but it is the key to life and so should be at the top of your priority list throughout the day. Drinking herbal teas is good to help hydrate if you are not a fan of plain water. Dehydration can lead to lower production of the fertile cervical fluid needed at ovulation and can lower semen volume.

Last week I had an article published on the British Acupuncture Federation website.  I am a member of BAF and so it was an honour to be asked to write an article for them.  Of course it had to be about fertility and I wanted to write it for other practitioners so they get an understanding about what it is like to work with fertility as an acupuncturist.

It is a very emotional job I find because although as a professional practitioner you should keep yourself at a distance from your patients I find that can be hard to do when dealing with such emotive issues.  I do sometimes let myself get affected by their stories and by their emotional state on the day, but I guess that is why people come to me because I understand and feel their pain.  I am not a councellor but I do find that talking about the issues surrounding fertility does really help patients.

 

If you would like to read the article click HERE

 

One of my fertility acupuncture patients recommended this book to me.  She had read this and it turned her life around from working all the hours she could in a very stressful job she had a miscarriage and realised that there was more to life than working for money. Happily she is pregnant now and is 21 weeks as of the date of writing this blog post.  This book is written for anyone on the fertility journey not just TCM practitioners.

She came across this book and the messages in it along with the case studies of fertility acupuncture that were shared really made her think about her life and re-evaluate what was important.  So often I see ladies struggling with fertility who are working all hours in stressful jobs, and this has a massive detrimental effect on their fertility.

I think that the last two years with Covid has made lots of people look at their lives both working and family life and re-think what is important to them.

If you are struggling with fertility issues then I would recommend you buy this book, oh and also go and find an acupuncturist that specialises in fertility acupuncture.

The main things I learned from this book:

  • Even though you are going through the fertility process try not to let it be your sole focus in life.
  • Stop trying so hard – get back to enjoying life and sex (not just at ovulation time).
  • Drink lots of water.
  • Eat good food but most of all a good breakfast including fats, carbohydrates and protein.
  • Rest! At least an hour a day of complete rest from everything- that could be reading, going for a walk, or sitting doing nothing. Whatever makes your mind and body rest.
  • Find something that makes you happy – truly happy that makes your heart sing and do it.
  • Most of all include your partner in these conversations and activities.
  • Contrary to popular belief “fertility- it’s not just all about you ladies!”

You can find the book here on amazon.co.uk

Contact me to book your appointment today

A few weeks ago this beautiful little bundle of joy arrived. I supported her mum through IVF treatment with a series of acupuncture sessions and we got the positive result we hoped for. I went to see her last week and was so happy to have a little cuddle.

If you are having concerns surrounding fertility give me a call to see if I can help you

Or if you are going through IVF or supported fertility again give me a call for further information

 

Over the last six months I have been so honoured to be a part of many fertility journey’s. From July to now I have had ten positive pregancies including identical twins which was something of a surpirse to everyone. I currently have five more ladies in treatment and last week this began to weigh a little heavy on my shoulders.  While it is amazing to help people it does bare a huge responsibility for me to get the best outcome possible.  Of course I cannot 100% guarantee that what I do will work, in the same way that going through any fertility treatment does not guarantee an outcome.  But I do always expect to get a good outcome if patients follow my guidance and recommendations. I have had one lady since July that the treatments didn’t help naturally but she is now persuing help from IVF and hopefully I can assist with this nearer the time. I am always open and honest about the results we can expect and the outcome does involve both partners, the men have to do their bit for the process to work.  After all the men do have a small but very significant part to play.

It is no surprise that it is a very complex matter to have a baby, while some women fall pregnant straight away there are many factors at play if you struggle. Often it is down to an imbalance or blockage in the system from a TCM point of view. It is then my job to clear those blockages and re-balance your system. Re-balancing can happen very quickly and can be seen with symptoms changing or disapearing. Diet and lifestyle is always a factor with stress being one of the biggest. I will work to help reduce your stress and give you strategies to help with this.  From a diet point of view I will ask you to add in one or two things to support the meridian that is out of balance or I may ask you to take one or two things out of your diet.

Whatever happens we will work together to get you where you need to be and fingers crossed there will be a baby at the end of it!

According to TCM

That’s a big statment right there I know! But hear me out for a couple of minutes.  According to Traditional Chinese Medicine if you have all of the parts for fertility still intact inside your body then there is no reason why you cannot concieve.

The reason is that we believe if you are not getting pregnant then it is down to your body being out of balance. When you come to an acupuncturist because you need support with fertility issues we will do an in depth TCM diagnosis which will allow us to see what is going on with your internal systems.  More often than not the reason is that either the woman is running too cold or the man is running too hot. In TCM both of these syndromes will cause blockages or stagnation which in turn prevents you from getting pregnant.

Your practitioner will work with you on many levels including lifestyle, diet, exercise and identify where the imbalances lie.  They will give you advice on these areas to help you to create balance.  You will get an individual plan of action to help you to get the result you want.  You will both be asked to attend appointments in the beginning to prepare you for your journey, you may also be asked to attend individually depending on the issue.  If the issue is with the woman you will need ideally to have two appointments per week for a number of weeks.

Acupuncture can help at all stages of planning a family, whether you are getting ready before you start trying, or you have been trying for a while, acupuncture will boost your chances of a natural conception.  It can also support during the IVF process or can be used around the time of embryo implantation.  In the last few weeks I have worked with two mums to support them at implantation who have had previous failed attempts and they have both now had positive pregnancy results.

If you are planning a family right now or are going down the IVF route contact me for information on how I can support you through this to boost your chances of having the family you want.