A woman is considered to suffer from infertility if she has been trying to conceive a child for two consecutive years and her partner is medically normal. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been successful at enhancing fertility and allowing for healthy pregnancies and births for thousands of years. Surprisingly, many people are unaware of this fact and do not know that there is this option for them to enhance fertility.

Benefits of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for Fertility:

• Increases blood flow to the uterus
• Can regulate hormones and entire endocrine system
• Promotes ovulation
• Helps thicken the lining of the uterus if it is too thin
• Relaxes the uterus
• Improves function of the ovaries
• Reduces stress
• Strengthens the immune system
• Supports a healthy pregnancy and prevents miscarriages
• Treats the side effects of western pharmaceutical medications
• For men, it improves the quality and quantity of sperm

Research
More and more research studies are concluding the positive effects of acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine for fertility. A December 2002 study at Weill Medical College of Cornell University on the role of acupuncture in the treatment of female infertility stated, "There is sufficient evidence of acupuncture's value to expand its use into conventional medicine and treatment of female infertility. According to Psychology Today, "as many as three quarters of people undergoing western treatments for infertility use some form of alternative therapy as well." In 1996, the World Health Organization (WHO) of the United Nations endorsed acupuncture treatment for a wide range of conditions, including reproductive problems like infertility, impotence, PMS, pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and many more.

When do I incorporate TCM if I want to have children?
The following are my recommendations:
Try TCM before western fertility treatment (ie..pharmaceutical drugs or IVF) if...
-you are a younger woman under age 35
-you have only one mild condition such as mild endometriosis, irregular periods etc..
-you are a healthy couple with no medical conditions

Combine TCM and western fertility treatment (ie..pharmaceutical drugs or IVF) if...
-you are a woman over age 35
-have more than a few minor impediments toward pregnancy such as endometriosis, irregular periods, polycystic ovarian syndrome etc..
-your partner has mild abnormalities in sperm quality, quantity, and/or motility

Should definitely use western fertility treatment (ie..pharmaceutical drugs or IVF) along with TCM if...
-you are a woman over 40 years old
-you are a woman with major conditions such as blocked fallopian tubes and scarring
-your partner has seriously low sperm count, quality, and/or motility

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, infertility is due to a number of causes:

Kidney Deficiency
This kind of infertility involves irregular menstruation with scanty light flow. It is accompanied with general fatigue, dizziness, tinnitus, and lower back & knees soreness.

Blood Deficiency
This kind of infertility involves scanty flow of light red blood and delayed cycles. It is accompanied by loss of weight, dull complexion, dizziness, and general fatigue.

Cold in the Uterus
Sometimes the menstruation is delayed with dark red flow with clots. The flow is often dilute. It is accompanied by cold extremities, cold pain in lower abdomen alleviated by warmth, and frequent profuse urination.

Phlegm-Dampness
This is often in overweight people with prolonged menstruation or even no periods and profuse discharge of sticky leucorrhea.

In the clinic, I often combine acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, and nutritional/lifestyle recommendations for fertility patients. This offers the best results as opposed to only using herbs or only using acupuncture. I prefer to see both partners on the initial visit as pregnancy does take two. If a couple is planning to undergo IVF (In vitro fertilization), I recommend that they start their TCM treatments at least three months before IVF to prepare their bodies for pregnancy. After a positive pregnancy test, I will continue doing treatments during the woman's first trimester to help prevent miscarriage as women who have more difficulty getting pregnant also are at a higher risk for miscarriages.

Herbal medicine and dietary/supplement recommendations are given to most couples as well.

Some Dietary Recommendations I give to my patients:

• Eliminate alcohol
• Do NOT Smoke
• Caffeine: Drinking green tea is ok but try to avoid coffee as much as possible as it constricts vessels. Green tea actually opens vessels and has an antioxidant benefit that coffee does not.
• Avoid dairy products, wheat, and refined sugars - natural plain yogurt is ok
• Incorporate walnuts, black sesame seeds, barley, tofu, black soybeans, seaweeds, various beans, kelp, parsley, spirulina, chlorella, blue-green algae, string beans, millet, raspberries, chestnuts, adzuki beans, corn, asparagus, red beans, chickpeas, peas, eggplant, fresh pineapple, figs, grapes, cherries, coconut, shitake mushrooms, and wheatgrass in your diet
• Eat alkaline rather than acidic foods such as non-citrus fruits, vegetables, and sprouts. Acidic cervical mucus may become hostile to sperm which requires an alkaline environment to survive.
• Eat a lot of essential fatty acids - they are essential to many aspects of the body and key in ovulation, specifically in follicle rupture and collapse (allowing the development of the corpus luteum). Good sources of essential fatty acids are deep-sea fish, fish oil, non-hydrogenated cold-pressed oils such as flaxseed oil and pumpkin seed oils, eggs, soy products, raw nuts and seeds, and dark-green and winter vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, beets, carrots, kale, cabbage, turnips, rutabaga, and Brussels sprouts
• Fresh fruits and vegetables contain bioflavonoids which help in the formation of healthy blood vessels in order to help the uterus prepare for implantation and prevent miscarriage
• Avoid trans-fatty acids which are toxic and can impair both the immune systems and reproductive systems. Sources of trans-fatty acids are shortening, margarine, lard and animal fat, and hydrogenated vegetable oils which are found in many processed foods. Make sure to never heat flaxseed oil.
• Eat organic foods and hormone-free meats as much as you can - important because many chemicals, pesticides, and hormones used to treat produce and animal products contain synthetic estrogen-like substances which occupy estrogen receptor sites and have negative effects on our organ and endocrine systems
• Add more cruciferous vegetables to your diet like cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower - they contain di-indolylmethane (DIM) which is a compound that increases metabolism of estradiol (a form of estrogen)
• Foods high in folic acids are dark-green leafy vegetables and natural orange foods like oranges, cantaloupe, yams, and sweet potatoes
• Avoid junk food, excessive stress, too little sleep, and too much or too little exercise. These things basically cause your body to dedicate its resources to keeping you healthy instead of making a healthy baby. In general, give your body every chance to be at its strongest and healthiest.

Why is Omega-3's from fish oil so important?
-clean the blood of fat deposits, reduce clotting, and encourage blood flow to the tissues, including the uterus
-boost the immune system and reduce natural killer cells which prevent the embryo's implantation to the uterus
-essential in fetal brain development

Very Important: Try to reduce Stress!
When the sympathetic nervous system is stimulated constantly, the reproductive system is starved of its fuel. Its blood supply is diverted away and the hormones become unstable. In recent years, researchers have found a link between stress and infertility. Women who are constantly under stress produce prolactin, cortisol and other hormones which can interfere with or even block regular ovulation.

Having a child is such a vital aspect of life to a lot of people. Unfortunately, having a child does not just happen easily for everyone. I encourage couples to definitely incorporate Traditional Chinese Medicine in their efforts to enhance fertility. It causes you to become healthier physically and emotionally along the way not only aiding in conceiving a child but also carrying a healthy child to term.

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