Chapter 1 – Infertility Facts
Infertility is too common these days. The diagnosis of infertility is usually given to couples who have been attempting to conceive for at least one year, and for women over 35, at least six months without success. The statistics are sobering. According to the National Survey of Family Growth in the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 6.7 million women in the United States are unable to have a child. This affects one in every nine women in the United States. This equates to about 11% of the reproductive age population. Infertility affects men and women equally. Most infertility cases (85 – 90%) are treated with conventional medical therapies such as medication or surgery.
Chapter 2 – Chinese Medicine
The road I took to get pregnant involved Chinese Medicine. The Chinese have it right. Their medical system began almost 3000 years ago, and is based on a belief that we are connected with nature and heaven and earth. The connection among heaven, earth and each human being is a living energy, called the life force, or qi. The Chinese believe that Heaven and earth combine to create qi, which flow through humans maintaining our health and leading us to our destiny. Whereas western medicine treats the symptoms individually, the Chinese treat the whole body as one system.
The Chinese believe that all illness arises from imbalance, or a condition where there is excess in someone’s life: weakness, strength, wealth, poverty, food or drink, or a particular way of thinking. The goal of Chinese Medicine is to restore a person’s health, balance and harmony on all levels – physical, mental, emotional and spiritual – by helping to stimulate the body’s own self-healing powers.
In Chinese medicine, the sexual vitality of men and women depends on the health of the kidneys and adrenal glands, which are located on top of the kidneys. Infertility is due to kidney yang deficiency, meaning the absence of warmth and outgoing energy (fire energy). They even suggest wearing a cotton cummerbund around the kidneys, adrenals and bladder beneath your shirt to keep the kidneys warm. That is why my practitioner told me to eat warm or hot foods and stay away from cold foods when I was trying to get pregnant.
Herbs
For my first pregnancy, I used herbs to get pregnant. I picked up a publication in my local health food store. In the publication, I found an herbalist who was giving classes on herbs. I took a class on Fertility and Contraception. Once I started taking the herbs for my specific problems, I got pregnant within three months. There are a variety of herbs that help with many female problems, and could help infertility. These include Chaste Berry, Asparagus root, False Unicorn root, and Fo-Ti. The benefits of each of the Chaste Berry (Vitex angus-castus) has been used extensively for infertility. This is a safe treatment with no significant side effects except occasional allergic rashes. This herb also alleviates many menstrual problems, including premenstrual syndrome. It naturally stimulates the production of progesterone, and may be effective in reducing fibroid tumors. The proper dose for capsules is about 10 to 20mg twice a day. Also, progesterone gel or cream (manufactured from Mexican yam or soybeans) may be applied to the skin.
Chi Nei Tsang is a comprehensive approach to energizing, strengthening and detoxifying the internal system. It clears out negative influences and is particularly useful in relieving intestinal blockages, cramps, knots, lumps, scar tissue, headaches, menstrual cramps, poor blood circulation, back pain, infertility, impotence and other problems.
The Taoist Masters found in their meditation six sounds that were the correct frequencies to keep the organs in optimal condition by preventing and alleviating illness. They discovered that a healthy organ vibrates at a particular frequency. To accompany the six healing sounds, six accompanying postures were developed to activate the acupuncture meridians of the organs
Chapter 3 – Reiki
Reiki is one of the more widely known forms of energy. Reiki is a healing technique based on the principal that the practitioner can channel energy into the patient by means of touch to activate the natural healing processes of the patient’s body and restore physical and emotional well-being. Reiki energy comes from the Higher Power. The word Reiki is composed of two Japanese words – Rei and Ki. Rei is the Higher Intelligence or spiritual wisdom that guides the creation and functioning of the universe. Rei wisdom permeates everything, animate and inanimate. Ki is the non-physical energy that animates all living things. Ki is flowing in everything alive – plants, animals, and humans.
Relaxation techniques
How many times have people told you to just relax and you will get pregnant? I used to get so angry when people told me that. However, we need to understand what relaxation really means. Relaxation is not sitting down in front of the television, or falling into an exhausted sleep. Relaxation is a state of alert but passive awareness, a state in which our bodies are at rest while our minds are awake. True relaxation is something we may have to rediscover consciously. We must first understand the meaning of stress, its causes and symptoms, and then find ways to change our stressful lifestyle.
Deep relaxation can get your mind off getting pregnant and can help you through the stress of infertility. I used meditation as my relaxation. Every day I set aside time to just sit in silence and clear my mind. I meditated for 20 to 30 minutes a day.
Imagery and Visualization
During your visualization, close your eyes, still your mind and visualize healthy reproductive organs. Visualization exercises can help you manage endometriosis and fibroid symptoms. Visualize your uterus intact, free of unhealthy tissue and growths. Then visualize a baby growing in your healthy uterus. Practice these 10 to 30 minutes a day, three to five times a week.
EFT – Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)/Tapping
Often, infertility may result from a previous traumatic experience that may be unconsciously preventing you from getting pregnant.