Getting Pregnant Naturally
This site is intended to share information on natural fertility treatments.
It’s been over two years since my husband and I decided we wanted to have a baby. After many months of trying and paying attention to my body’s signs and symptoms I realized my reproductive system needed support.
I turned to my gynecologist first for answers: “Your progesterone is low.” To treat this I was prescribed progesterone to be taken each month after I ovulated. This never worked. I decided it was time to see a specialist: “Your lutheal phase is weak.” To treat this I got a little white pill, better known as Clomid. No success. On to a new specialist: “You have PCOS.” To treat this I was supposed to begin a cycle of clomid, puregon and chorgon. I never ended up taking or injecting myself with these fertility drugs.
Why? Because I’m not willing to submit my body to this artillery of drugs – yet. The human body has the innate ability to heal itself, and I feel that my body has not been given that chance. I want a fertility treatment that facilitates healing because at the end of the day I don’t just want to get pregnant: I want to be healthy; I want to support a nine month pregnancy; and I want to give birth to a healthy baby. These drugs can’t do all that for me.
Ideally, the treatment of infertiliy would be to use integrative medicine: combining conventional and alternative medicine. Conventional medicine has the ability to diagnose and identify problems like low sperm count and blocked fallopian tubes – which it can overcome with the help of assisted reproductive technology. Alternative medicine, on the other hand, can be used to gently improve ovulation, balance hormones and bring your body into better overall health.
But as a huge multi-billion dollar industry (1), reproductive medicine doesn’t offer much in the way of alternative or natural treatments. And it’s not that they couldn’t use help - because although assisted resproductive technology has resulted in over 1 million babies in the US alone (2,3,4) the success rates hover below 30%. So why don’t more doctors and clinics offer alternative fertility treatments?
Heard of Natural Fertility Treatments?
Natural fertility treatments do exist and have been used by women across the world to realize their dream of giving the gift of life. So why didn’t my doctor tell me about them? This is based on money.
Pharmaceutical companies come up with drugs to treat infertility which they then patent. Being the sole provider of a drug generates a good profit. With this money, these companies can pay for clinical research, advertising and to educate doctors about their effectiveness. Natural medicine, on the other hand, does not have such a potential for large profits since herbs, diets and the like can’t be patented. Therefore, there is little funding to conduct definitive studies or to increase awareness among the public and doctors about natural treatments.
Harvard researchers sum up this situation in their book, The Fertility Diet, by saying, “While millions upon millions of dollars have been spent developing and perfecting reproductive technologies, almost no attention has been paid to connections between diet and fertility. This oversight speaks volumes about medicine in America––a laserlike focus on drugs, devices, or procedures that can generate revenue and often a total disregard for self-help measures that anyone can do for free.” (5)
Hence this Website
I have been scouring the web, talking to natural fertility specialists and trying natural treatments to find out how effective each of them is for my body and overall health. During my research I was always hoping to find an exhaustive source of all the natural methods. I never came across this. So, I started compiling my own findings and after a girlfriend told me she wanted to know everything I could tell her, I realized this information is likely to be helpful to a lot of other women as well.
As a scientist, I have always been interested in finding and presenting the truth. In this website, I present each of the natural fertility treatments with a short description, my experience with it, scientific findings and links to helpful sites. I hope you find this resource helpful. Since I began these treatments I have noticed improved health and have experienced my first pregnancy. Unfortunately, the pregnancy turned out to be an ectopic pregnancy and was ended in the sixth week in January 2008. This was very difficult, to say the least, but in the end I see it as progress. My body has never been closer to supporting a healthy pregnancy.
The Age Factor
Do keep in mind that although natural treatments may help you reach better overall health, they can’t completely turn back the clock. Some women have experienced dramatic reversals of fertility with the help of alternative methods, like Julia Indichova (then over age 40) describes in her book Inconceivable, but the statistics do clearly show that your chances of conceiving decreases as you age, beginning for most women around the mid 30s (7). At age 35 the success rate of assisted reproductive technology drops dramatically (8). So if you’re thinking about turning to assisted reproductive technology as a last resort, as I am, know that your age is likely to play a big role in your chances of conception.
A Word of Caution
I created this website as a resource. I’m not a doctor. The treatments I present here are based on my research and experience. Get to know your body and consult a professional when necessary.
Also a few of things to keep in mind about natural treatments:
- Just because something is natural does not mean it can’t be harmful to you.
- Natural remedies can interfere with over-the-counter and prescription drugs.
- Natural remedies such as herbs and dietary supplements are not regulated by the FDA as drugs. This means the evaluation standards for quality, purity, effectiveness and safety are not as high as they are for drugs.
Whatever path or treatment you choose; I wish you fertility and health.
For a full list of citations please visit the Sources Page.
