Statistics show that 10%-15% of couples are unable to conceive. The source for infertility in percentages divides almost equally between men and women (slightly more in women), with 5%-15% of cases where the source is unknown.

 

If infertility is of male origin than in most cases the cause is poor sperm quality and\or quantity. Chinese herbal medicine has excellent results in a relatively short time, therefore it is worth giving it a chance and wait for 3-6 months with fertility treatments.

 

This article will focus on female infertility (for male infertility click here):

 

According to The Merck Manual, there are four main factors for infertility in women:

 

•  Ovulation dysfunction

•  Tubal dysfunction

•  Cervical problems

•  Unidentified factors

 

The body is a whole system and its mental and physiological functions have an impact on all system's parts.

 

Great mental stress can harm the uterus's function. Almost every woman would agree that emotions are not separated from the uterus – we all had our menstruation early or late due to a stressful event.

 This is the reason why I don't like statistics, in the end, the numbers don’t count - it's always either a yes or a no. having problems with conceiving is stressful enough, and the thought that one might be on the unpleasant side of statistics would probably only make things worse.

 

 

Also, statistics data is leading the focus to the uterus only, ignoring the mental and physical state of the woman who is trying to conceive, which neglects other pathologies and often makes the woman feel transparent.

 

Another problem is the age we live in, everything is very fast, so we are expecting things to happen immediately and forget that this may be suitable for technology, but not for our bodies – did you know that the chance to conceive each month is only 15%-25%? And that's with optimal conditions!

 

Unlike in Western medicine where statistics are very important for the diagnosis, it is not quite relevant for Chinese medicine diagnosis and treatment, except for the existence of a Western diagnosis, which certainly helps.

 

I have to mention that since the statistics are almost always constant, I am using it as an aid in making a decision, but it will not determine it.

 

One last statistic… it is true that in a woman over the age of 30, things are not that simple physiologically, but these days having children at a young age is becoming less possible and/or convenient. Here I find it necessary to add, that instead of hoping you inherited the right genes, investing time on a healthy lifestyle is recommended for slowing down the ageing of the body. And it's never too late to start living right.

 

Fortunately, Western medicine is advanced enough to help (although its damage is not entirely clear and proven) also Chinese medicine has proven itself in many cases combined with Western medicine or as a single treatment.

 

Studies show that Chinese medicine improves the function of the ovaries, uterus, and the environment in which the egg passes through its maturity process, thus indirectly improves the egg's quality. In addition, treatment with acupuncture and Chinese herbs affect the endometrial thickness which is highly important to implantation of the fertilized egg.

 

Chinese therapy almost immediately reduces psychological stress and thereby helps to open many blockages, which cannot be seen with modern tools. the treatment is non-invasive and is individual – each woman and her personal treatment by a personal diagnose so that the possibility for side effects is very low.

 

I will present three case studies from my clinical experience, rather than listing all the diagnoses and treatment methods of western and Chinese medicines that plenty was already written about.

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I will begin with my first paying patient, which was also the first case in which I dealt with infertility and succeeded much more than I expected:

 

N., age 30, came to my clinic after a year of failed attempts to conceive and a month before she intended to start IVF treatment:

N. had a miscarriage accompanied by severe pain and bleeding that left its mark on the mental level. Hormonal tests showed imbalance (Inverse of the LH-FSH). 3 months of usage of Ikaclomin tablets to stimulate ovulation was not useful. Apart from this hormonal imbalance, all tests were proper.

I treated her with acupuncture only twice a week. On the seventh treatment, N. informed me that within the next few days, when her menstruation arrives, she will begin the hormonal treatment, but menstruation did not arrive - she was already pregnant. completely natural.

In her second pregnancy, she no longer needed my help.

 

K., age 27, came to my clinic after 10 months of failed attempts to conceive:

K.'s main complaint was extreme mental stress accompanied by diarrhoea, weakness, increased hunger, low libido and lack of motivation especially before and during menstruation.

K.'s menstruation was regular and painless with relatively low flow. K. suffered from excessive vaginal discharges accompanied by itching.

After the first treatment, a significant improvement in K.'s mental condition was shown, and after the third treatment, the mental and physical symptoms that usually begin before menstruation did not appear.

After several meetings, K. informed me of her intention to begin IVF treatments. I recommended her to wait a little longer and to give the Chinese treatment at least a 3 months chance, and so it was.

After 11 weekly acupuncture treatments, K. got pregnant.

 

M., age 34, came to my clinic after a year of failed attempts to conceive with fertility treatments:

M., diagnosed with Polycystic ovary syndrome, during this year, had one artificial insemination with hormonal therapy, two cycles of egg retrieval and three embryo transfers, all these procedures have failed.

Two weeks after the beginning of the Chinese treatment, a cycle of egg retrieval and an embryo transfer was failed. Two months later, there was another failed embryo transfer.

One month after M. begun the weekly acupuncture treatment I prescribed her a herbal formula to reinforce the effect of the uterine and at the same time, a slight change in diet was made. M. also agreed to take a 3 months break of the conventional treatments.

About five months after M. begun the Chinese treatment, her doctor was surprised to see that her endometrium was significantly thicker than usual and there were a lot of follicles, obviously, the next embryo transfer was successful – M. was pregnant.