Infertility affects more than 6 million people in the United States alone, or 1 out of every 6 couples, according to Lafayette-based Conceptions Reproductive Associates of Colorado.

And despite a common fallacy -- it's a woman's problem -- fertility difficulties are equally as likely to be caused by male difficulties. It is a combined issue in about 20 percent of infertility cases, Conceptions says.

For women, it is most commonly a problem with ovulation, according to Robyn Curtis, with the Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine, which has a Louisville office.

For men, it is mostly sperm health or motility, Curtis says.

But there are so many other influencing factors - dealing with a difficult conception can feel like a guessing game, says McGinnis, the new Boulder mom. That's why she recommends getting professional help after one year of trying -- and sticking to research-proven advice such as staying away from cigarettes and minimizing stress.

We've solicited the expertise of a spectrum of experts: a local acupuncturist, nutritionist-dietitians, reproductive endocrinologist-ObGyn, reproductive clinic, physician, Chinese herbal medicine practitioner, and the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, as well as the results from some studies and a nontraditional pharmacy.

Here's their take on some wives' tales -- and some truths.

Enhancing fertility

Drink raspberry leaf tea. FALSE.
-- This tea may promote uterine health after you're pregnant, but does nothing for fertility. (Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy)

Have sex during a full moon. FALSE.
-- Menstrual cycles can coincide with the phases of the moon, but it doesn't matter if the moon's full if you're not ovulating. (Pharmaca)

Eat organic foods and drink purified water; eat alkaline foods. 

1. Does the couple really need IVF? We look at whether they really do and offer holistic alternatives if needed.

2. Preparation - The lead up to the cycle is vital and couples need to look at five areas: medical tests and investigations, nutritional and lifestyle assessment, mental and emotional well-being, relationships, and stress management techniques. We offer all of these under one roof.

3. An individual approach - Attention to detail on every level. Ours is not ‘one blanket fits all’ policy.

4. Mind set – This is really key getting women to feel positive and prepared mentally. This is addressed at the clinic through hypnotherapy and counseling sessions.

5. Nutrition and lifestyle assessment - We offer this to all our clients as part of our package, ensuring that they are in optimum health prior to embarking. We look at micro-nutrient status, vitamin D and essential fatty acids.

6. Male factor fertility - This is often overlooked at clinics, but we know it can be crucial.

7. Relationship - The dynamic of a relationship has an important factor in fertility. Helping the couple to cope through what is often a stressful time,

8. Relaxation - We offer relaxation therapies and stress reduction techniques, as well as acupuncture, hypnotherapy and counseling.

9. Supplementation - We know that eggs and sperm are damaged by lifestyle factors creating free radical damage. We offer supplementation with antioxidants, and Omega three can improve this to produce healthier sperm and eggs.

10. Implantation failure and Immune factors - In the first year many of our couples have had up to 10 failures due to immune issues. Three or more miscarriages, three failed IVF attempts with good embryos, or a family history of immune issues; thyroid or endometriosis can all be reasons for implantation failure. We combine this with a holistic immune program.

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New Integrated IVF at Zita West assisted fertility (ZWAF) is the winning formula for successful pregnancy.

Our first year results:
New figures released by the Zita West Assisted Fertility Clinic reveal that a different approach to IVF greatly improves the chance of pregnancy. The first 13 clients have now delivered their babies despite having had 60 failed IVF cycles between them at other clinics.

Our statistics:
During October 2011 to August 2012 we carried out 155 embryo transfers. We achieved a positive pregnancy rate of 61% for women under 38 years of age, 46.4% for women aged 38 to 39 and 28.8% for women aged 40 to 44. All of the results are per fresh embryo transfer.

How we achieved them:
The ZWAF Team attributes the success to fostering a caring environment which considers clients individually. Women want a calm, relaxing, non-medical environment - not a conveyor belt system, says Zita. Our clinic takes an individual tailored approach looking at the whole picture. We look at five key areas – medical, nutrition, lifestyle, emotional well-being and the relationship with their partner. Preparation is the key and we use therapies such as hypnotherapy and acupuncture alongside other mind-body therapies.

The Clinic also has top medical director George Ndukwe, who has pioneered approaches for implantation failure and reproductive immunology.

I have always believed in holistic approach to IVF and have been a huge advocate of the Zita West approach, explains George. Having the opportunity to join forces is very exciting. We have perfected the art and science of IVF and it is more than just getting the sperm and eggs together. Preparation is the key to successful IVF. Looking and testing for nutritional status, (we are the only clinic in the UK, to offer a Nutritional and lifestyle assessment as part of our ivf package)as well as addressing mind-set and stress reduction are key factors.

Source

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
Zita West's Guide to Getting Pregnant
by Zita West

-- A pioneer in the field of fertility, Zita West's programme is invaluable for couples trying to conceive.

Harley Street's most popular fertility expert, and favourite consultant to celebrity clients, guides the reader through a process of vital physical and mental preparation.

The book is for every couple trying to conceive and has fascinating advice taken from Zita's 20 years of experience as midwife and 7 years as an acupuncturist.

It provides a structured, easy-to-follow step-by-step programme, complete with case studies and and enormously detailed questionnaire.

The guide includes details on:
• when and how often to have sex
• what can prevent fertilization and conception
• everything you need to know about sperm and ovulation
• nutrition, supplements and herbs
• complementary therapies such as acupressure, lymphatic massage and hypnotherapy
• how to overcome stress and other emotional blocks to pregnancy
• PCOS, endometriosis and other health issues
• tests and procedures if there is a problem
• and much much more.

Paperback: 400 pages
Click to order/for more info: Zita West's Guide to Getting Pregnant

Start reading Zita West's Guide to Getting Pregnant on your Kindle in under a minute!

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

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There is no doubt that undergoing infertility treatment is stressful, with high rates of anxiety and depression reported by many patients.

Mind/body therapies designed to help women reduce stress earlier in the treatment process result in higher pregnancy rates, but little is known specifically about the impact of these therapies on women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF).

A new study published June 1 in Fertility and Sterility, a publication of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, shows that women who participate in a mind/body program for stress reduction while undergoing IVF treatment have a significantly higher pregnancy rate than those who do not (52% versus 20%).

Read rest of article

Stock Photo Credit: wagg66
All rights reserved

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Stock photo by prototype7
Women undergoing IVF would be better “letting go” and relaxing than believing that exercise or prayer can increase their chances of having a child, according a new study.

Would-be mothers who coped with the stress of fertility treatment by accepting that there was little they could do to change the outcome were more likely to get pregnant, psychologists found.

Those able to ‘go with the flow’ were almost twice as likely to conceive, researchers found, after they adjusted for the patients' age, cause of infertility and the number of cycles.

Read more...



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Photo by kellidunn
Relaxation exercises and group therapy can up to double the chance that women undergoing fertility treatment will get pregnant, a small study suggests.

This is a Tele-Meditation class on awareness and self-soothing, a safe place to "just be", and profoundly connects you to the spirit and essence of your little one, whether pregnant or wanting to be, or just thinking about it.

* Meditation research has shown us it can increase circulation, reduce inflammation, enhance fertility by balancing the hormones and reducing harmful cortisol levels produced by stress, and add to a healthy pregnancy experience. That said it is possible to increase fertility success. BabySpirit is unique approach in that it is so much more than meditation, it is a profound healing journey, if you want it to be. Otherwise, just sit back and relax just "being!"

* Come away feeling more centered and complete in your understanding of a bigger picture at play. Fathers feel included and connected.

* BabySpirit is for both prenatal and preconception, and especially for fertility.

More info: http://www.consciousconception.net/babyspirit_meditation%E2%84%A2

Photo by www.dailymail.co.uk
After three years of trying for a second child, Kath and Murray Chapman had almost given up hope.

Doctors had told them Mrs Chapman had a hormone problem which meant fertility treatment would be a waste of time.

But the 40- year-old mother remembered she had read somewhere that reflexology could help with infertility.

With nothing to lose, she had three months of foot massage and, at the end of her course, was delighted to hear that her hormone levels had returned to normal.

She soon became pregnant and gave birth to second son Fraser five months ago. While doctors insist there is nothing to prove the alternative therapy was responsible, she is sure it worked.

Mrs Chapman, who also has a four-year-old son called Jake, said: 'I am convinced I wouldn't have become pregnant without the reflexologist's help. I was absolutely shocked, but obviously delighted, to find I was pregnant after being told we couldn't have a second child. It's a dream come true.'

Mrs Chapman, from Deepcar, Sheffield, said she was 'devastated' to be told she would never conceive again.

'I was told that there was no point in attempting IVF treatment because it would be a waste so I would have to resign myself to the fact that we couldn't have another baby,' she added. A hormone test - which indicates if a woman is entering the menopause - showed levels were too high, suggesting her ovaries had stopped producing enough oestrogen, which controls the reproductive cycle.

To become pregnant, a woman needs a hormone rating of ten or below but Mrs Chapman's was above 25. Following reflexology, however, it dropped to below eight.

' I told the doctors about the reflexology but they dismissed it and just said it was possible that hormone levels can drop when you become more relaxed and less anxious.

'The effect of the reflexology was amazing. It seemed to relax me so much. I became pregnant quite quickly and everything went smoothly. The doctors never admitted that the reflexology had anything to do with it but I have no doubt at all.'

Mr Chapman, who runs a catering recruitment business with his wife, said: 'We're just delighted now the family is complete.' Reflexologist Sue Calvert said: 'The technique works on pressure points on the feet which correspond to different parts of the body. Massaging these areas helps to restore balance to the body.'

There is little accepted medical evidence to back up reflexologists' claims. One trial in Denmark examined 108 women with an average age of 30 who had been trying to conceive for up to seven years. Many dropped out of the trial, but 19 of the remaining 61 conceived within six months of completing the treatment.

Polly Hall, of the Association of Reflexologists, said last night: ' Doctors would say that reflexology had nothing to do with this.

'We don't make any claims to cure any conditions but we have anecdotal evidence that reflexology can help with infertility problems and bring the body back into balance.'

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/womenfamily.html?in_article_id=172952&in_page_id=1799

The stress, money and marital problems were bad enough. But after months of trying and failing to get pregnant, the ultimate blow came when a good friend didn't invite Paula Dowd to a baby shower for fear it would be hurtful.

"People can't relate," Dowd said. "They don't understand what you're going through. You start to feel more and more socially isolated."

Dowd's struggle with infertility, which she eventually overcame, led to a new outlook on life - and a major career change. A few years after her ordeal began, Dowd quit her job as a marketing director, went back to school and become a counselor to help infertile women.

This month, Dowd will begin support classes at her new MindBodyWellness clinic in Redondo Beach, a practice that she hopes will complement fertility physicians in the South Bay.

"As a society, we tend to minimize the impact that infertility has on women," Dowd said. "For some women, particularly in some minority cultures, child-bearing is their sole purpose in life. It's like, if I can't do this, who am I?"

More women than ever are struggling with fertility problems. Roughly 15 percent of couples - whether the problem be with the woman, man or both - can't conceive for a variety of reasons, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Health experts say one of the factors is that women are waiting longer to have children. The number of new mothers over 40 tripled from 1980 to 2005, according to the California Public Policy Institute. Nationally, the average age of first-time mothers rose to an all-time high of 27 in 2005. After the age of 35, it becomes much more difficult for women to conceive naturally.

Dowd was certainly in tune with today's trend. At 32, she and her husband decided they were emotionally and financially ready for a family. After a year of failed attempts, she started to get worried.

They spent thousands of dollars on various medical procedures, but nothing worked. She was also diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome, a condition in which the female body produces a high level of androgens, or male hormones, that inhibit pregnancy.

Tensions were running high, she said. Dowd had no problem adopting, but as an only child, she wanted at least one biological child.

"I had a strong desire to carry that genetic link to the future," she said.

She decided to try a 10-week mind-body class suggested by her fertility doctor. In the group meetings, participants talked about what they were going through, meditated, practiced yoga and learned how to take care of themselves.

Armed with a calming CD of music, she went to her doctor for in vitro fertilization, an expensive procedure in which the eggs and sperm are fertilized in a petri dish. A month later, at age 34, she was pregnant.

"It was totally different that time," she said. "I went into it completely relaxed, centered."

Research shows that when stressed, the body triggers the "flight or fight" response and releases toxins to ward off danger. Those toxins can lead to a number of health problems, including infertility, she said.

Dowd was resigned to adopt a second child - she and her husband had already spent about $30,000 on fertility treatments, which weren't covered by insurance. But she continued to practice her relaxation techniques, and became pregnant again at 37 without any medical assistance.

That's when Dowd became a believer. After being approached by a few women at work who struggled with similar problems, the new mother decided on a new career path.

She became a licensed counselor and began working with women individually at a MindBodyWellness clinic in Santa Monica. Dowd, who is now 40, plans to hold her first group meeting at her new offices on Palos Verdes Boulevard later this month.

In addition to helping women conceive, she said she hopes her work will create happier women, and therefore happier mothers. Even if women can't conceive, "they will become parents if they want to be," she said, referring to adoption and other options.

"We don't realize how much control we have over our bodies," she said. "For me this is about giving women possibility and hope."

FIND OUT MORE

For information about the MindBodyWellness clinic in Redondo Beach, call 310-373-9355 or go to http://www.mindbodywellnessla.com/ .

Source: http://www.dailybreeze.com/ci_8170715



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IT'S a mystifying phenomenon - IVF mothers conceiving spontaneously months after childbirth - and experts say it may be on the rise.

Women who have resorted to IVF after years of failure are regularly falling pregnant naturally soon after baby No. 1.

According to some doctors, the number of IVF parents conceiving naturally second time around may be growing.

"Twenty-five per cent of women who've been through IVF will conceive within the next two years," said IVF Australia director Prof Michael Chapman.

"It's probably increasing, and that's because IVF is being used more and more to treat unexplained infertility."

The IVF couples conceiving naturally second time around are not completely infertile, but rather have reduced fertility.

So they may have fallen pregnant naturally the first time if they had kept trying.

Other experts say the rise in the phenomenon may simply be because more people are using IVF as it becomes more affordable.

Some experts believe the secret to falling pregnant naturally after IVF lies in a relaxed state of mind.

"I have a personal belief that part of it is related to relaxation," Prof Chapman said.

"You've got your baby, and you're not trying any more. That's one factor, and maybe the body does know how to get pregnant."

Spotswood bookkeeper Penny Stevens tried for 18 months to conceive naturally before having IVF baby Jack 14 months ago.

So she was stunned to discover only months after Jack's birth she was pregnant naturally.

Ms Stevens, 39, is convinced the stress of desperately wanting a baby, combined with work stress, was the reason she failed first time, and the absence of that stress was why she succeeded for baby No. 2.

"You think you're doing the right thing - you go to uni, work really hard, you get a beautiful house. It wasn't until I got to 34 or 35 I thought, 'OK, I'll have babies now'," said Ms Stevens, who is due in weeks.

"And suddenly I couldn't. It frightened the living daylights out of me. It was my worst fear to not have a baby.

"This time there was no stress, no pressure, because I had Jack.

" I was amazed that we were pregnant naturally because I just had it in my head that we wouldn't."

Prof Chapman recently advised the mother of two IVF babies to use contraception if she didn't want another baby.

Eleven weeks later she was pregnant.

Monash IVF national medical director Gab Kovacs treated one woman who tried for seven years to conceive naturally before having an IVF baby.

Prof Kovacs said the woman tried naturally for two more years before having a second IVF baby, then about six months later conceived a third naturally.

Prof Kovacs believes the phenomenon of IVF mums conceiving naturally for subsequent pregnancies comes down to pure chance.

"The longer you try, the greater the chance," he said.

Source: http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23039873-661,00.html

Aspiring to go from being pampered to becoming parents, a growing number of couples are turning to spas to increase their chances of conceiving.

Instead of taking hormone injections, prospective mothers are submitting to acupuncture needles. Meds are being traded for massage. And in place of a cold doctor's office, couples enjoy feng shuied rooms, cascading waterfalls, and enough New Age music to turn a pit bull into a poodle.

It's all part of the philosophy that relaxation is the drug-free path to reproductive success.

"You become a big believer when it works for you," says Kristi Slemko, a Calgary woman who credits acupuncture for helping her to get pregnant.

Like her mother, who needed fertility drugs to conceive, Slemko was diagnosed with anovulation, a condition in which the ovary doesn't regularly release a ripened egg. While waiting to start using the drug Clomiphene citrate, she read an article linking acupuncture with fertility and thought she'd give it a try.

Three months into the treatment, and with not a single infertility drug ingested, Slemko was pregnant.

"The lights are dim, there's that nature-type music playing, you're covered up with warm blankets," recalls Slemko, now the mother of a healthy six-month-old boy. "It was just like a spa treatment, except my medical plan covered it."

According to the president of SpaFinder, a global industry monitor, the union of holistic fertility treatments with a spa or wellness centre is one of the hottest developing trends of 2008.

"People are waiting longer to get pregnant - and age, of course, has an effect on their ability to do that," says Susie Ellis. "So we're seeing these trends coming together."

One in six North American couples struggles with infertility, according the Infertility Awareness Network of Canada. Though circumstances vary, a medical infertility treatment such as in vitro fertilization typically offers women ages 35 to 39 a 30 to 45 per cent chance of conceiving. Ellis acknowledges scientific evidence for the efficacy of spas in fertility treatments "isn't overwhelming," but says "I think most of us recognize that relaxation is a healthful thing that provides a more conducive environment for sexual intimacy and conception."

The Spa at Little Dix Bay in the British Virgin Islands offers "fertility yoga" and "fertility reflexology." In Mexico, staffers at the Tides Riviera Maya take couples through an ancient fertility ritual in the spa's "house of fertility." At The Raj Ayurvedic Spa in Iowa, a daily three-hour program of massage, heat treatment and mild herbal enema is collectively claimed by the staff to create "the ideal internal physical environment for healing."

Fitting with Las Vegas's reputation for all things physical, the strip's famed Caesars Palace began offering its own fertility program last year. Patrons of the hotel's Qua Baths & Spa can undergo "lunaception" massage treatments, which are conducted during the full moon in the presence of a rose-quartz fertility idol.

"In the western world, we tend to approach everything with chemicals and science. So for us, it was a unique opportunity to bring some holistic healing to people," says Jennifer Lynn, spa director at Qua, where a 75-minute lunaception package costs $420.

"Couples are always anxious to get out of the treatment room and go upstairs (to their hotel room)."

Acupuncturist Leslie Ring-Adams, whose focus as founder of Calgary's Body in Balance is reproductive health, gynecology and obstetrical disorders, says she does not advocate abandoning medical treatments for couples trying to conceive.

"The worst thing you can tell a woman who's trying to get pregnant is that she just needs to relax," says Ring-Adams.

Although Ring-Adams has seen patients such as Slemko get pregnant without the aid of medical therapies, she believes a woman's best chance is to use acupuncture as an adjunct to assisted reproductive technologies.

A 2002 study published in the journal Fertility and Sterility found the use of acupuncture to relax the uterus during in vitro fertilization cycles led to twice as many pregnancies than in cases where women did not use acupuncture.

"We say you need to cultivate the soil before you plant the seed," says Ring-Adams. "The idea is that if you get everything ready, when the seed is planted in a perfect environment, it's going to grow into a beautiful, perfect baby."

Source: http://www.canada.com/topics/bodyandhealth/story.html?id=e0d733ac-4afd-40b1-9aa9-c39392985275&k=22468


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