I was reading a post from a well-known herbalist about his experience working at an ART clinic on the east coast. He found that most of the treatments were not effective. He had to quit due to the nature of the roller coaster. He is an expert Chinese herbalist. 

As I see many fertility clients, this got me thinking. Fertility has it's own timing. That kind of setting sets people up for failure. Many people traveled there, leveraging their finances, leaving their lives to pursue having a child. That stress in itself can lead to infertility. 

Babies have their own timing and will, as do our bodies. Getting treatments at our clinic, may take a few weeks, may takes years (sorry). Western medicine can be a great adjunct, but we are potentially, unwinding years of stress and imbalances. Some damage from BC. or childhood trauma, or other hormonal imbalances can take time.  Making acupuncture and other lifestyle changes are key. You may have to slow down, some women change careers. 

For some, Infertility is a wake up call. His post just made me think, how lovely and more effective it is to come to a relaxing space, and get treatments without upending your entire life. The journey of fertile/ infertility will certainly lead you down a path of change, learning about your body, yourself, you may see places in your life that aren't working, that are stuck, as we get your qi and blood flowing. It's our honor to be there with you, on the path to unwinding, the ups and downs, leading you to the joy that is really wrapped in fertility. 
#fertilityacupuncture #chinesemedicine #healthieryou

It's so hard to choose. The best in my opinion is to do your due diligence and find out what might best fit your lifestyle and body. 

Here is a link to a great Podcast from an OBGyn on Birth Control. If you are planning on trying for a child, she has some good recommendations for options that don't impact your fertility. This is just to provide more information as this topic comes up a lot, and we do deal with repercussions of the Pill at times. 
We can help your body detox with herbs, supplements and acupuncture to clear it out of your system and get your body functioning naturally. How long it takes depends on a variety of factors. 
Please contact us with any questions or to set up a consult. 
Warmly, Stefanie 

I always wondered this..
xenoestrogens are in our lotions and beauty products, sunscreens, parabens, and in insecticides/ pesticides. 
www.ewg.org/

This is a great website, for you to check and see if your skin products and even vitamins to see if you are using "Clean" products. 
Also making sure not to use plastics with BHA and even some preservatives in our food. These can bind onto our estrogen receptor sites and then the cellular process isn't complete and can also affect men! 
It can affect our HPA, Hypothalamic- Pituitary axis. 
So simply said, we highly recommend that you eat organic during this period. 

Phew.. This is a HUGE topic, with many contradicting and confusing information. 

This is my take on it after reading several different books...
First here is a good quiz to take to check and see if you have inflammation. 
This is a quiz by Amy Raup, founder of the egg quality diet. I find her diet to be very extreme, like I say later in this blog, that. may be necessary, but if a diet or lifestyle creates more stress, it can be counter productive. 
If you have certain conditions, you may, including, thyroid issues, stress (like all of us), PCOS, endometriosis, or any autoimmune conditions, and any gut issues. 
One key thing I can say is that most inflammation starts in the gut. There are small adjustments we can start to make to address those concerns, if necessary we can do some other testing for SIBO and candida. 
I do not personally believe in huge drastic changes, unless you are extremely ill and have severe food intolerances. I myself do not do well with drastic extreme diets or lifestyle changes. 
BUT we can make adjustments in your habits and if need be do an elimination anti-inflammatory diet. Now, what is inflammatory ? There are so many different opinions! It can get so overwhelming. We need to find what is right for YOU. 

For starters, and these are stricter if you are serious about getting pregnant is, 
- Cut out coffee, you can taper off and switch to green/ white tea. 
- Cut out alcohol completely. 
- I recommend cutting out gluten and it is inflammatory even if you aren't allergic. 
- Manage stress. 
- exercise regularly, 5 times a week for 30 minutes add in yoga or pilates. 
With more assessment and questioning we can add in more supplements. 

I will be going over more dietary suggestions in future blocks this is just an intro. 
Here are some links to references and suggested reading for your fertility and also pertaining to diet. 
References: 
aimeeraupp.com/eqdiet/eqdietresources/
itstartswiththeegg.com/
​https://www.thefertilesoul.com/

Phew, this can be a HUGE overwhelming subject. 

In Chinese Medicine our digestion is KEY. Most of us westerners do not have the greatest digestion (even if we think we do). 
There are probably many reasons for this, we tend to run on a lot of adrenaline, our food quality has gone way downhill, with the use of pesticides, and unfortunately we have Monsanto here in the US. Europe refuses to let them cover there FYI. 

The spleen/ stomach are the root of our digestion in Chinese Medicine. The stomach receives the food and it rots and ripens, and then the spleen takes the the Qi/ energy from the food and lifts it up to the heart to make blood. The stomach sends the turbid food down. The organs are not really the same in TCM vs WM. They aren't as literal, though they are in the same places, they are more about function. 

In Western Medicine, our digestion is also key. Our food absorption, and inflammation can start in the gut. Most people have more inflammation than they realize. This can greatly interfere with our hormonal health and overall sense of wellbeing. We can have your Dr. check for certain inflammatory markers. 

So, In our treatments, we will want to focus on both aspects, after a thorough diagnosis.  

Now. FOOD. 

Here are some basic suggestions. and some reading suggestions. And of course depending on your western Diagnosis, we can adapt your diet. So if you are struggling to get pregnant, I am sorry but you are going to have to change, I hate to ask people to change, cause I myself am not a fan. But with great love and compassion you are going to have to give some things up, think of it as a start to motherhood. You will give up a lot to get a LOT. 
 
- Reduce/ eliminate sugar and high glycemic foods. Foods that spike insulin cause irregular cortisol, can lead to insulin resistance and have shown to reduce fertility, there are plenty of great recipes and things you can substitute, even with sweets. 
- Reduce/ ideally eliminate alcohol. Alcohol jacks with your neurotransmitters hormones and more. It is really hard on the body. If you want to get serious about your fertility, it needs to go for now. We can talk about the occasional beverage and what to drink. Like I said on the page, I believe there are three different levels of how strict we need to get with diet/ lifestyle.
- Reduce/ eliminate caffeine, or if you have it, eat first, and don't have it everyday. It constricts blood vessels, therefore constricting blood flow, and we need blood flow.  
- Move, you need gentle movement, yoga, walking, pilates, you need blood flow but not to jack up your adrenals. 
- Good sleep, do whatever it takes, movement and hydration, bed time habits all play a part. 
- Healthy fats and plenty of protein fruits and veggies. eat consistently, have breakfast. 
- Stress management, Meditation and Breathwork.  Yoga is designed to heal the endocrine system, each pose acts as a tourniquet to a gland then when the pose is release, blood flows through the gland. TO create that baby, you need ample blood and blood flow.  
- Patience: it takes time to transform our health and 90 days for an egg to develop. 
- Get your partner on board, it takes two to tango, even if sperm shows up as "ok", it can still be healthier and there are things to do to improve motility and quality. after all they need to be strong swimmers! 

This is only a rough of things you can start to change and look into. I have links to books on the main page and those are a good start. 
Please contact us for more information and/ or assistance on your journey. 
Warmly, 
Stefanie Rothert