by Jasmine | Oct 30, 2015 | Fertility, Fertility Boss, Fertility Expert, ivf
After doing some tests, is your doctor recommending IVF as your best option for getting pregnant? Have you spoken to other couples or women that have gone through this and aware of the time commitment and what is involved in the process? Are you prepared to go through this process more than once? What books are resources are you using to educate and inform yourself?
Have you spoken to your insurance to find out what is and what is not covered? IVF can be a time intensive, very painful, very uncomfortable and incredibly invasive and very expensive process that many have to attempt more than once. IVF involves a series of painful, uncomfortable and time consuming procedures as well as giving yourself injections at home. It’s a serious health commitment that will be all-consuming for a period of your life. Being as informed and educated as possible can reduce frustration and confusion so going into the IVF process without doing your due diligence is not a wise idea.
Being prepared for this process both mentally, physically and financially is critical before you embark on this. Make sure your partner is well informed as well since his support is going to be critical. You might need to plan to take some time off of work as well since many visits to the clinic will be involved so plan for some days off during egg retrieval days and after taking fertility drugs as well.
Make sure to nourish and rest before and after procedures so that can feel replenished instead of depleted. Even if you go this route instead of purely using holistic fertility methods, being as healthy and having as much vitality as possible will boost your chances for success.
by Jasmine | Oct 26, 2015 | Fertility, fertility health, Foods For Fertility, infertility
Food has such a direct link between conception and health. If you are not eating foods that are nutrient dense then your reproductive system will be much more challenged. Foods runs our bodies……. in this country we mostly eat food for survival but not to flourish.
Is the produce you are eating loaded with fungicides, pesticides and other “cides”? Do you ever buy organic? How often? Have you ever heard of “the dirty dozen? The top produce that has the most pesticides in them? Usually the produce with thinner skins and peels such as peaches, strawberries absorb more pesticides.
What is a typical breakfast, lunch and dinner for you? Do you make your own food or do you always buy fast, processed or frozen food? How do you feel after you eat? Are you lethargic and ready for a nap or does it give you the energy to keep on going?
How can you “eat the rainbow” more… filling your plate with more colorful fruits and vegetables and reducing empty calories with things like white breads, white rice and white flour.
When you read the ingredients are they filled with chemicals? Making your own food is one of the most nourishing things you can do for yourself and it will have the side benefit of making your wallet happy as well.
Keep your wallet fat, not your waistline.
What is one choice you can make today about the food you eat that can become a habit? Can you eliminate the candy bar after lunch? Can you choose to buy mostly organic?
Can you incorporate a salad into your dinner every night? Can you order a side of vegetables instead of french fries when you eat out. If you are overweight or obese that will make getting pregnant more difficult. Do you need additional support to get down to a healthy pre-pregnancy weight?
Here are some specific nutrients that can boost your fertility health.
IODINE FOR FERTILITY
Iodine, a non metallic trace element, is required by our bodies for making thyroid hormones. As in, if you do not have enough iodine in your body you can not make enough thyroid hormones.
When our bodies are deficient in this element, it affects our thyroid, adrenals, and entire endocrine system. Not only is it important in a fertility diet, it’s essential in the prenatal and nursing period as well.
Infant mortality rates start to climb in areas known for iodine deficiency, and it’s also been linked to higher rates of miscarriage and still birth.
It used to be prevalent in our soil, but unfortunately we’ve destroyed so many of the nutrients with bad farming practices and chemicals that much of what we currently grow is lacking in key nutrients, iodine being one of them.
While it’s not found in our soil near as much, it is still prevalent in seafoods. Our bodies can not make it on their own, so you must consume iodine in your diet.
- Fruits and Vegetables grown by the sea, including coconut products
Blackstrap molasses
- Saltwater fish; haddock, whiting, herring
- Butter from cows fed on iodine rich soil
- Dried Kelp
- Spinach
- Milk and dairy products (at least 20% of iodine is lost during pasteurization so raw is best)
- Eggs
What about Iodized salt?
(and while iodized salt is actually quite high in iodine, it’ can be rather hard for our bodies to assimilate)
The recommended RDA is a small 150 mcgs for women and increase to 220 when pregnant and 290 when nursing, but are you even eating foods that contain iodine in them?
On the other side of the deficiency coin, is that to much in your body isn’t a good thing either. And because iodine directly affects your thyroid and hormones it may be something you want to work with a health professional on.
OMEGA 3 FATTY ACIDS FOR FERTILITY
There are 3 different types of omega 3 fats; alpha-linolenic acid (ALA- plant based), eicosapentaenioc acid (EPA – animal based), and docosahexaenioc acid (DHA – animal based). Plant based ALA can be found in:
Super Foods For Fertility – Eat To Conceive
- Walnuts
- Chia Seeds
- Flaxseed
- Hemp
Animal based EPA and DHA can be found in:
- Egg yolks from pastured chickens {contain two to four times the amount of omega 3’s as conventional eggs and oily
- Coldwater fish like salmon, herring, tuna, cod, and trout
These healthy fats have been shown to help increase a womans fertility by regulating hormones and ovulation as well as increasing both the quantity of fertile cervical mucous and the blood flow to the reproductive organs.
It is also thought that these good fats help women who are suffering from endometriosis.¹
And a study done last year suggests that women suffering from infertility, on average, have lower levels of omega 3 fats.
Men who do not have enough omega 3’s in their system may have issues with sperm production since the DHA within these good fats help protect the sperm from free radicals and damage.
So, how often do you eat foods that are high in nutrients for increased fertility? Other the last few weeks we’ve looked at some of the many things our bodies need – where are you lacking?
by Jasmine | Oct 25, 2015 | Acupuncture, Fertility, Traditional Chinese Herbs, yoga infertility
You’ll meet plenty of women who will gleefully tell you how they just had some acupuncture treatments and also traditional chinese herbs and medicine and got pregnant.
Getting Pregnant With Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Herbs
Acupuncture helps to clear out blocked pathways that are in your entire system. Stagnation in a general health sense can block all kinds of neural and reproductive pathways. It will often take multiple sessions over the course of at least a few months to possibly get pregnant with acupuncture. Most acupuncturists will also give you some traditional chinese herbs to further bring healthy chi to your reproductive organs. They might even focus on specific organs such as your liver, gall bladder and spleen.
I’ve been to a few dozen acupuncturists over the years for various health issues I have had. It is generally a very relaxing session and you might leave in a state of relaxed bliss…. you might even feel like you are in an altered state at the end of your session. You will probably fall asleep during your session which is a sign that the needles are working on a very deep level to clear out deep blocks and stagnation.
The cost of acupuncture can vary depending on if you are doing community acupuncture ( you are in a communal setting, often in a chair with a few other people in the room) or if you are having a private session. Community acupuncture can range from $20 to $45 a session. A private acupuncture session can range from $50 to $90 a session. If you pay in advance for bulk sessions you will often get a discount.
While this can be the path to pregnancy for some women, it works even more powerfully when it is used an an adjunct to IVF or with other holistic lifestyle changes ( cleaning, food and exercise changes and mindfulness practices) There are some acupuncturists that even specialize in fertility and some who will accompany you to the fertility clinic when you are getting your IVF procedures done.
by Jasmine | Oct 21, 2015 | Fertility, Fertility Expert, fertility health, Fertility Tests, infertility
Tests – Have you had any diagnostic fertility tests by healthcare providers to ensure there is nothing mechanically wrong with your tubes or your partner’s sperm? Are you over 35? Have you been struggling with conceiving for more than 6 months? 
Some basic fertility tests can make sure that there are no blocked tubes, polpys or low sperm count that could making getting pregnant without Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART).
Find a Reproductive Endocrinologist to help you through this process which you can usually find at any fertility center.
Do you possibly have endometriosis? An undiagnosed thyroid condition? Does your husband have a low sperm count? All of these conditions can be undiagnosed for a long time and can be blocks to fertility.
by Jasmine | Oct 19, 2015 | Fertility, Fertility Boss, Meditation, yoga pregnancy
Are you letting doctors be completely in charge of your path to pregnancy? Do you feel like a helpless victim at the mercy of the fertility gods? What are you doing to make your body as clean, sparkling and welcoming a home for the life you want to grow inside of you? What kind of spring-cleaning are you doing?
How are you eliminating toxins…. in your diet, beauty products, cleaning products? What kind of movement are you doing to oxgenate and strengthen?
What kind of practices are you doing to ease the stress of conceiving – meditation? Better and more sleep? Yoga? Massage? The more you choose to become your own master of health the more empowered you will feel in your own ability to conceive. You will feel more in control which will help to ease anxiety and reduce cortisol (the stress hormone) The more cortisol in your system, the more it throws your delicate hormonal balance into pandemonium.
