A Natural , Comprehensive
Program for Resolving Infertility
Infertility
Cultivate the soil before planting the seed.
While infertility may appear to be the core problem, it
is actually the manifestation of a deeper underlying imbalance.
Through our approach of creating a healthy and fertile body,
we correct the imbalance and leave it to the body to do
what it was created to do: live in vitality and fertile.
Our overall goal is to prepare the body for conception and
pregnancy.
Architect will tell you that the foundation is the most
important aspect of a building or a home. Much like everything
in life, the key to successful conception is also a strong
foundation. While it is important to live a healthy lifestyle
once you have conceived, it is even more important to do
so during the 3 months leading up to conception, since this
period will determine the health of the sperm and egg that
will eventually become your child.
There exists a Chinese parable about “ cultivating
the soil before you plant the seed”.
This parable with respect to infertility is one of the cornerstones
of our approach. It can be better appreciated by using the
following example.
[ You have a very health plant
growing in a healthy pot of nutrient rich soil. You also
have an unhealthy-sickly looking plant that is shriveling
up in poor quality overly dried soil. You switch the two
plants from their respective pots and you place the shriveled
plant in the healthy, moist soil and you maintain the soil
by watering and adding nutrients to it. You place the healthy
plant in the dried up soil and you neglect it so the soil
remains dry and lacking nutrients.
What do you think would happen
to the two plants?
There is a good chance that
the healthy plant will begin to shrivel and die in the poor
soil and the sick plant will recover in the nutrient rich
soil. We learn from this story that the health of the plant
is dependent on the quality of the soil. At our centre we
concern ourselves with cultivating your soil. We do this
by creating a healthy and optimum body environment in each
person.]
Understanding Traditional
Chinese Medicine
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) employs a broad spectrum
of treatment modalities including herbs, acupressure, acupuncture,
bodywork and dietary adjustments. One of least commonly
advertised uses of TCM is in the field of infertility. Successful
treatment of infertility dates back in China Dynasty (589
CE). Chinese medicine provides a noninvasive, holistic approach
to reversing infertility and has a surprising success rate
of sixty percent among infertile women; a very high number,
considering that many women discover TCM late in their search
for infertility solutions.
Traditional Chinese Medicine treats infertility using a
combination of specific herbs and the TCM therapy to strengthen
and regulate organ functions, primarily the production of
hormones, an essential component to fertility. In addition,
by activating the parasympathetic nervous system, Chinese
herbs and TCM therapy serve the fertility process by restoring
a deep relaxation in the mind and body.
Many women seek a single herbal approach for treatment
of their infertility – for instance, they take Ginseng.
We do not agree with self-diagnosing and self-prescribing
which often leads to loss of time and effort and in some
cases could be harmful (for instance, one does not use ginseng
when experiencing lots of anxiety, sweating at night, hot
body sensations, etc. because it can lead to further depletion).
One herb is not sufficient to make up for the health deficits
of a modern woman who in her late thirties is trying to
get pregnant. Many herbalists and health professionals who
understand all the possible infertility causes use up to
four different herbal patent remedies (each having up to
10 herbs) for the four cycles in the month. As a woman gets
older, many different organ systems need a tune-up.
It is our goal to have you conceive naturally, if possible,
without the use of IVF (In
Vitro fertilization) and other artificial
reproductive techniques (A.R.T). We recognize,
however, that there are couples, which without the use of
ART, they would not be able to have a child of their own.
For those who are unable to conceive without the use of
ART, it is our focus to prepare your body so your chance
of success is significantly increased.
Over the past several decades, extensive research on the
benefits of Chinese medicine has confirmed what’s
been known for thousands of years: these alternative treatments
offer effective solutions to a wide variety of causes of
fertility problems.
Chinese medicine can help improve the success rate of
ART or IVF
in the following ways :
- Improve the function of the ovaries to produce better
quality eggs
- Regulate the menstrual cycle (and its hormones) to produce
a large number of follicles
- Increase blood flow to the uterus and increase the thickness
of the uterine lining
- Prevent the uterus from contracting and therefore provide
a better environment for the embryo to implant
Chinese medicine techniques stimulate the body’s
natural healing potential by treating root causes of dysfunction,
rather than just symptoms
- A recent study of various herbal treatments to correct
luteal phase defects in a woman’s hormonal cycle
produced pregnancy rates from 33 to 56 percent –
far higher than the success rates achieved with Western
therapies.
- Another study found that 76 percent of women treated
with TCM therapy and herbs for fallopian tube obstruction
were able to conceive.
- The World Health Organization (WHO), the health branch
of the United Nations, list more than 40 conditions for
which TCM therapy is effective and infertility is one
of them.
- Chinese medicine, used along with Western therapies,
minimizes negative side effects and accumulated toxicity
from invasive procedures and drug therapies
- Chinese medicine may be used to strengthen and balance
one’s general health so that ART or IVF procedures
are more effective.
Stress and Unexplained
Infertility
TCM recognizes stress and emotional imbalance as one of
the reasons for being unable to conceive, which typically
coincides with a Western diagnosis of unexplained infertility.
TCM recognizes a pattern imbalance caused by emotional stress
and has a treatment protocol to reverse this process.
Here are a few common effects of stress:
- Stress can affect the hypothalamus, which affects a
women’s ability to ovulate
- Stress leads to the adrenals borrowing more progesterone
to make more adrenal hormones therefore chronic stress
can lead to lowers progesterone levels.
- Stress can increase cortisol levels, which can blocks
progesterone receptors and interfere with the embryo implanting
into the uterine lining
- Stress can increase prolactin levels and interfere with
ovulation
More Detail :
In Chinese medicine, body, mind and emotions are an integrated
whole with no beginning or end, which the internal organs
are the major sphere of influence. The emotions become causes
of diseases only when they are particularly intense and
, most of all, when they are prolonged over a period of
time, especially when they are not expressed or acknowledged.
The link between stress and disease and how stress affects
the delicate balance of the hormonal system:
“ Hormone production is intimately affected by psychological
stress. Women have always known that emotional stress affects
their ovarian function and their menstrual cycles. Excessive
stress may even inhibit menstruation. The body’s hormonal
system is inextricably linked with the brain centres where
emotions are experienced and interpreted. In turn, the hormonal
apparatus and the emotional centres are interconnected with
the immune system and the nervous system. These are not
four separate systems, but one super system that functions
as a unit. It is impossible for any stressful stimulus,
chronic or acute, to act on only one part of the super system.
What happens to one will affect all “
TCM has recognizes for thousands of years that stress has
an effect on health and reproduction, and more recently
so has Western medicine. Current research has documented
the benefits of TCM therapy for stress relief.
Reproductive Enhancement
with TCM
TCM therapy and Herbal medicine function to restore balance
to the energies of nature contained within us. Traditional
Chinese Medicine would suggest that we look at the processes
in nature and make parallels with the internal processes
of change occurring within us. An ancient Chinese master
described the energies of nature contained within us:
• The first energy, the Fire
Energy, is
like the sun, always warming the body/ mind/spirit, bathing
you with love. Experience this manifestation of nature within
you as the urge to love, and express that love.
• The Earth
Energy is like
the soil, always giving to the body/mind/spirit, providing
you with nourishment. Experience this manifestation of nature
within you as the urge to nurture, and express that nurturing
to yourself and your loved ones.
• The Metal
Energy is like
the gem, always sustaining to the body/mind/spirit, endowing
you with strength. Experience this manifestation of nature
within you as the urge to be strong.
• The Water
Energy is like
the spring, always refreshing to the body/mind/spirit, forming
you and your relationships in change. Experience this manifestation
of nature within you as the urge to change.
• The Wood
Energy is like
the tree, always supportive of the body/mind/spirit, seeding
you in growth. Experience this manifestation of nature within
you as the urge to grow.
Reproduction requires all of these “Energies”
which can be translated into “Processes”
to be in balance for conception to occur.
FIRE may be
thought of as your body’s thermoregulatory center
and thyroid functioning..
EARTH is the
effective functioning of your digestive and metabolic systems.
METAL may be
considered as your basic defensive and immune systems.
WATER is your
genetic constitution and reproductive capacity.
WOOD is the
process of renewal and regeneration.
We will help
you balance the disharmonies which have been preventing
conception.
It is very common for couples today to feel like “it
is getting too late; we must employ severe measures”.
While its true that the average couple waits until later
in life to conceive, TCM may help “turn back the reproductive
clock”
You are not alone. Approximately one in six to ten couples
experience problems with fertility. Innumerable women grieve
the loss of a potential child once a month, and lose a little
more hope with each period. We believe that we can give
you reason for optimism.
TCM has become increasingly popular in recent years as
more and more women are waiting until they are in their
mid-thirties and older to start a family. It is undisputed
that women starting their families later in life have more
difficulty becoming pregnant, and many couples spend up
to RM 20,000 on attempting to conceive – with no guarantee
of success. TCM offers rate of success for far less money.
Preconception -
Planning for a Health Baby
The health of the parents before and at the time of conception,
and the mother’s health during the early stages of
her pregnancy have an influence in the health of the baby.
The effect of the mother’s nutrition prior to conception
and during pregnancy on the health of her children in later
life. His early conclusions are as follows : “it looks
as though getting it right at the beginning may be a key
to good health throughout life”. Ensuring optimum
health in both parents in the period leading to conception
(as well as in the mother during pregnancy) can do a great
deal to enhance fetal growth and to minimize the risk of
fetal abnormalities.
Although ovulation should occur monthly, the recruitment
process begins about 100 days before the actual time of
ovulation. So the quality of the egg to be fertilized is
highly dependent upon the health of the body and hormonal
system during those 100 days of recruitment. This is consistent
with the TCM approach of treating a woman for at least 3
full menstrual cycles in order to regulate her cycle. In
essence, the health of the baby is dependent on the quality
of the egg and sperm, which is actually determined during
the 3 months prior to conception. It is consistent with
the Chinese expression about “cultivating the soil
before you plant the seed”
TCM stresses the importance of the parent’s health
in general, and specifically at the time of conception,
in determining the health of the child. If the parents conceive
when too old (biologically vs chronologically), or in poor
health, the constitution of their child may be weak. Getting
it right during the preconception period can help “turn
back your reproductive clock”
Please talk to us for further
treatments information and details.
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