Naturopathic Fertility
Deciding it's time to have a baby can be a huge decision. Making sure your body is as healthy has possible can help improve fertility and pregnancy. Because, let's be honest, conceiving on the first try is everyone's ideal, whether trying to conceive naturally or through assistance (IUI, IVF).
Naturopathic Fertility looks at all aspects of health to boost fertility and set the stage for a smooth and healthy pregnancy. There are 3 main steps that are recommended to begin at least 4-6 months prior to trying to conceive, though, the time line recommendation will vary depending on the individual and their unique health picture.
Naturopathic Fertility looks at all aspects of health to boost fertility and set the stage for a smooth and healthy pregnancy. There are 3 main steps that are recommended to begin at least 4-6 months prior to trying to conceive, though, the time line recommendation will vary depending on the individual and their unique health picture.
Healthy Body Prep
Did you know studies have shown that cord blood (blood from the umbilical cord) contains an average of 200 different industrial chemicals and pollutants? Reducing your chemical burden isn't just beneficial to your health but also to your child's.
To begin, we will look at your exposure to chemicals (personal care products, household cleaners, medication history, etc) and discuss how you can reduce or eliminate these.
We will also discuss how well your pathways of elimination are working by optimizing diet, digestion and liver function. In addition, we will look at your stress and adrenal function which can negatively impact fertility.
To begin, we will look at your exposure to chemicals (personal care products, household cleaners, medication history, etc) and discuss how you can reduce or eliminate these.
We will also discuss how well your pathways of elimination are working by optimizing diet, digestion and liver function. In addition, we will look at your stress and adrenal function which can negatively impact fertility.
Hormone Balancing
A healthy balance of female hormones is paramount to achieving conception. We will go through your menstrual cycle and assess if there are any imbalances that we can address to increase fertility, as well as making sure ovulation is occurring.
Depending on your hormone/menstrual picture, this stage can often take the most time. Because menses only happens once a month, it takes a full month to see changes. On average it can take about 3-4 cycles to see big shifts. Different factors can affect how quickly the shifts happen, such as whether there has been a long course of oral contraceptive pills in the past, if you've been diagnosed with PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome), endometriosis, poor egg quality, etc.
Depending on your hormone/menstrual picture, this stage can often take the most time. Because menses only happens once a month, it takes a full month to see changes. On average it can take about 3-4 cycles to see big shifts. Different factors can affect how quickly the shifts happen, such as whether there has been a long course of oral contraceptive pills in the past, if you've been diagnosed with PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome), endometriosis, poor egg quality, etc.
Conception
It's go time! Once we have your body primed for conception, hormones balanced and ovulation tracked, it's time to focus on actual conception. This is where we will use fertility acupuncture to boost chances of conception. Acupuncture has been shown to not only improve conception naturally but also increases chances of conception following IUI and IVF. Guided Meditation, including fertility specific meditations by Circle and Bloom, while receiving acupuncture, is a great way to add an extra layer of support and relaxation. Guided meditation helps combat stress, balance cortisol and reduce that racing mind. This can be especially important during fertility- both natural cycles or during fertility treatments. We may use nutraceuticals such as vitamins, minerals and herbals to ovulation and implantation.
What to expect from all this?
Throughout all this we are really working to:
Whether you are just starting out on your conception journey or you have been given a diagnosis (infertility, PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome), poor egg quality, endometriosis, etc), Naturopathic medicine can help support you on your fertility journey.
- Improve egg quality
- Improve circulation to the reproductive organs
- Improve implantation
- Prevent miscarriage
- Reduce stress
- Regulate hormones
- Improve success of IVF or IUI
- Improved fertility
Whether you are just starting out on your conception journey or you have been given a diagnosis (infertility, PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome), poor egg quality, endometriosis, etc), Naturopathic medicine can help support you on your fertility journey.
Dr Jessica Gurske, Naturopathic Doctor Kitchener Waterloo
