Infertility and Chinese Medicine
Urban Herbs
Infertility has become a startlingly common problem, with the CDC estimating that one out of every eight couples has difficulty conceiving and/or carrying a baby to term. Like all gynecological issues, Chinese medicine has has great success in this area for centuries.
While painful and irregular menses are commonplace for many women, they truly are indications of an underlying disharmony within the body. The same, often goes for infertility. (That being said, we always recommend that you get a full work up with your OB to rule out any structural issues and find out as much as we can about hormone levels. It should also be noted that 30% of infertility cases is America are caused by issues with the male partner).
While painful menses is often correlated with stress, and as we call it "Liver Qi Stagnation" the kidneys are often the issue when we treat infertility patients. The kidneys, which are the foundation of health in Chinese medicine, are often over taxed with our busy and stressful lifestyles. This crashes the cortisol levels and throws the hormonal balance out of line by disturbing the Hypothalamus Pituitary Adrenal axis (HPA Axis). Poor dietary habits and our increasingly toxic environment further tax the kidneys.
Herbs and acupuncture are great for balancing hormones so that your body is working as optimally as possible. By treating the underlying patterns of disharmony, we often have great success where Western medicine may fail. To regulate a woman's menstrual cycle (and yes, that includes helping with the emotional fluctuations) we generally see solid results within three cycles. For fertility treatments we recommend 3-6 cycles of herbs and, if possible, acupuncture.
Acupuncture and Herbs are also helpful during and after pregnancy. More and more research is showing how important a woman's state of health is during pregnancy for the developing fetus. By affecting the neuro-endocrine system we can keep you happy and healthy.
Give us a call to see how we can help you on your journey to optimum health (and possibly a baby!). :) 720-638-6622.