FERTILITY

Helping women step fully into their biologic potentials is exciting and rewarding! Gently, determinedly, we work to optimize the likelihood of conception and full-term pregnancy.

Many women in their 30's and 40's come here with long and expensive histories of unsuccessful IUIs, IVF's, ICSI's, and other procedures. Some have files inches thick of tests, diagnoses, procedures, drugs, etc. Others are at the beginning of wondering why they have not yet conceived. Yet others have suffered the heartbreak of multiple miscarriages.

Together we make sense of the data and what western medicine can tell us, and consider how to make best use of what it can offer. We work our way through the past to make sense of the present. We dialogue with one another and sometimes request more information from the biomedical experts that may not have been considered to date. We also look underneath the reports. We begin to address underlying imbalances that are subtle enough to make the testing come out within normal limits, but throw the body off enough to prevent reproduction. We discover and correct deficiencies and overloads on various system(s) that may be interfering with or draining fertility. Procreating is often possible once the woman [or couple] has moved into a higher state of health, perspective is regained, and the psyche is calmed down.

Centuries of women have turned to acupuncture and herbs to enhance their fertility. Modern research and clinical trials have recently begun to explain some of the reasons behind the success. Some of these include balancing the HPO and HPA, stabilizing the uterine pulsatility index, increasing pelvic blood flow and therefore nutrition to the ovaries for egg development and to the uterus for implantation and embryonic development.

More science and reading on these specifics.

THE 40'S

The forties are a dynamic time when women are typically hitting their stride and on top of their game. Having all the energy and resources to enjoy it makes it even better! Often, however, this decade is characterized by a kind of hormonal instability between our peak reproductive years and the onset of menopause [which may still be many, many years away!]. New problems with sleep, bizarre stress responses, return of acne, weight fluctuations, changes in our periods and more can interrupt us and make us feel off kilter. Here we work to soften the down regulation process, prolong and stretch the fertile years, prepare for a healthy and more peaceful transition down the road, and develop habits that will serve us well far into our future.

More information on the 40's and Perimenopause

MENOPAUSE & POST-MENOPAUSE

This is a time of great identity shift as women transition from the reproductive years to the wisdom years.  The physiologic shift can be burdensome and provoking: temperature fluctuations, emotional upheaval and fatigue, concentration and sleep deficits, and sexual difficulties, etc. These can all come into play simultaneously at a time when aging parents and young or adolescent children can present their own sets of challenges. Acupuncture, herbs, and some changes in the way we eat and organize ourselves can ease this transition tremendously, help take some of the pressure off, and offer much needed support. In the subsequent post-menopausal years, nutrition and herbs can become very important in preventing and addressing associated health challenges such as osteoporosis and heart disease.

More information on Women's Health Books and Links.