But are you aware of how it physically affects you and how it alters your fertility level and chances of successful pregnancy?

Chinese medicine has been treating fertility problems for the last 1500 years and recognises that stress negatively affects our state of mind and brain function.

What many people are not aware of is that the uterus and reproductive organs (in men and women) all get their messages directly from the brain via a release of hormones and chemicals. If the mind is in a stressed or tense state then the result is an imbalance of either too much or too little of specific hormones. This is a big problem when it comes to conception and implantation, and also a big problem for the development of healthy sperm!

The simplest way around this is to avoid the stress in the first place but this isn’t always possible and if not then it’s vital to work on keeping your mind calm which in turn will keep your brain in a more balanced state too.

For my clients, I usually suggest very simple meditation techniques to use at home. Use a meditation CD or just take 5-10 minutes out of your day and sit in a quiet room in a comfortable position and let your mind empty itself and be still.

Just relax and don’t think of anything at all. If you do find yourself thinking about things, let it go and just take a deep breath and find some stillness again. It takes a bit of practice to let go of your thoughts but after a while it will happen easily.

You’ll be amazed at how great you feel if you start and end the day like this with just 5-10minutes each time!

If you suffer with any menstrual irregularity, pain, heavy bleeding or clotting then herbs are also a great treatment for you. For men, herbs can increase the production of the sperm and improve the quality dramatically. Motility is normally improved after 4-6 weeks and morphology and count after 6-12 weeks.

When using herbal medicine in my clinic I always use acupuncture alongside it to strengthen the effect. As I mentioned in a previous blog, acupuncture works by moving the energy and blood around the body and improving circulation on many different levels from the skin level to the deepest level of the blood. This is vital for successful pregnancy and when acupuncture is combined with herbs it increases the way that the herbal nutrients are circulated around the body helping them to work more effectively.

The quickest way for you to succeed to achieving your goal of having a baby is to take a complete approach combining the efficiency of acupuncture with the high effectiveness of herbal medicine.

This is all discussed in great detail when you come for your Fertility Health Assessment and Programme Design, which is carried out before any treatment is given at the clinic.

Unlike all other clinics in the UK, we do not buy herbal capsules ready made. I have my own team within my clinics that hand-make the herbal capsules for you when they are needed. This means that you get an individual prescription, which meets your personal needs and guarantees that the herbs are fresh and full of vitality.

The medicinal effects of plants lies in the natural chemicals that they contain and a skilled herbalist will quickly assess your health and know which plants are required to produce the right effects to solve your underlying problem.

Fertility issues of all types can be addressed with the use of herbal medicine and with great results. Whether you’re just starting out and looking for a completely natural approach; are male or female; are starting or currently going through IUI, IVF or ICSI; you’ve tried everything you can but nothing has worked so far, then herbal medicine will be helpful to you as it’s specifically designed to meet your individual needs.

I have been helping couples conceive, by using herbal medicine, for the last 9 years with a success rate of over 79% when used on my programme alongside acupuncture!!

Worldwide, man has been using plants to sustain their health, prevent and also treat disease. It’s not a new method but modern medicine pushes it aside due to a misunderstanding of how it works. Hundreds of trials have been done on herbal medicine and because it’s been used for centuries in almost all countries we know how it works and that it’s safe when practised by a qualified and experienced practitioner.

The true power of a plant is only released when it is chosen in relation to what is going on in the individuals’ body. There is no one plant for all things or all people. Each person needs their own special combination depending on what’s going on in their body, and that’s what I have been doing for over 9 years with my infertility clients, and with exceptional success.

The reason it works is fundamentally due to the incredible restoring effect that it has on the body. For women going through IVF it can dramatically increase the quality of the eggs before collection and increase the uterine lining so that when the eggs are transferred and ready to implant, they can do so in a healthy thickened lining. Blood circulation is vastly improved in the uterus massively increasing the chances of pregnancy.

For men with issues relating to sperm health, herbs can help to detoxify and reactivate the sperm encouraging them to become more active. It can also provide the right nutrients needed to develop properly so that the level of abnormal forms (Morphology) is better. Volume is also quickly increased.

There are several trials on the effects of herbal medicine on sperm health and two recent ones have shown an increase in sperm health of up to 80%!!

Please call the clinic for more info on this.

Some practitioners practice acupuncture on a fortnightly basis only and I have to say that from my experience over the years, this is simply not enough for treating any type of infertility within a reasonable time frame.  Of course there will always be exceptions but they are rare.

For IVF I sometimes use acupuncture at the time of egg collection and transfer only although I feel it’s much more effective if used for a longer time period to prepare your body in advance of IVF treatment. It needs to be at least once a week and if used alone, without herbal medicine, then twice a week if possible.

If however you do use herbal medicine alongside it, which I highly recommend, then I can say that from my experience and my programme, once a week is sufficient as it produces results of around 79% success.

Basically his thoughts after 20 years of experimentation are as follows:

when you insert a needle into the body you stimulate a variety of cells within the skin and flesh. These cells release certain ‘messaging’ chemicals that send messages from that part of the body to the brain via a network of message pathways. Once the brain receives these messages it acts on them and then in return sends other messages out to the specific parts of the body that we are treating, telling that area what to do and how to respond. This produces the results of treatment.

The Chinese have for 2,500 years talked about a similar effect and recognised that each point sent out a different message affecting different areas of the body, so that if you had a headache for example you could use a point on the foot that is known to treat this problem.

If however you had constipation you would use a different point that might be in the hand. Both of these points affect and link to different areas of the body. It’s like a messaging network. You need to know which points send which messages to which areas and then you can use it efficiently to treat almost all health problems but particularly in this case, infertility.

When treating infertility of any type, we firstly need to assess your body and find out what’s out of balance and then we can decide on which points to use to message the area that needs to be changed. Repeated ‘messaging’ to a particular area will in time cause a positive response and your body will achieve balance and be able to function properly again.

Acupuncture is also renowned for increasing circulation to the uterus with direct needling over the lower abdomen. This helps with implantation and thickening of the endometrium (lining of the uterus) which aids with implantation but also shows there’s a good blood supply to the uterus. The ovaries also need this supply of fresh blood to allow proper development of the follicles and eggs.

Good circulation through the uterus and ovaries is vital for easier conception.

There are many other benefits that acupuncture offers with regards to reducing stress and balancing the organ systems and making them more efficient. All in all, it enhances the way your body functions and puts it back into a more natural state.

To me, bringing the body back to its natural state is the most important approach to fertility – and it works!

Many thanks for taking the time to visit my blog. I hope you will find it interesting and useful on your journey to having a baby.

In this blog you will find posts on 7 key areas that if followed could double your chances of successful pregnancy, as used in my fertility treatment programme that I run in Harley Street, London and Burnham, Buckinghamshire.

“79% of my clients have conceived in under a year, by using my programme”

If you haven’t already done so, please sign up for your FREE Ultimate Fertility Guide which you will see to the right of this post. The guide will take you through the 7 key areas I use for helping my clients achieve their success.

Even if you can’t come and see us due to being too far away, you are still more than welcome to download a copy of the guide to help you, and if you like it please tell your friends about it too.

I aim to post constant information here that will enhance and expand on the Fertility Guide and support you through what is often a long and arduous journey.

If you have any comments or queries, please let me know by posting a comment.

You will find all of my posts organised into categories on the right hand side of this page for easier reading.

my best wishes for your success

Andrew

UK Natural Fertility Expert

PS. Claim your FREE 15 minute private phone chat with me to see how I could help you increase your chances of successful pregnancy – call the clinic today to book your chat on 01628 668 339 and quote priority code “blog 120″

The experience of acupuncture should be a pleasant one and most people are amazed at how good they feel afterwards. Some people are a little nervous of the thought of having needles inserted into them, but in fact it is quite different compared with having an injection. If practiced correctly you will not feel any pain.

At times you may experience a ‘peculiar’ feeling but it isn’t painful. The sensation is very mild and relaxing.

Once the needles are in, which is a painless process taking around five minutes, endorphins (a type of hormone) are released which make you feel really relaxed and at ease. You are generally left to relax for up to 30 minutes and some people even fall asleep during the treatment!

Generally needles are inserted in the abdomen, legs, arms and hands.

For best fertility results the traditional Oriental methods are recommended and the practitioner should have studied these over a period of at least 2 years as a minimum but ideally 3-5 years. These methods of acupuncture use points all over the body, which are chosen according to your personal situation giving you a treatment that is unique and specific to your needs.

For example if you suffer with a low Progesterone level (the main hormone released during the Luteul phase after ovulation), the practitioner will identify what the cause of this is within your body by using a method of Oriental diagnosis. They will then prescribe and use points that are specific to your individual situation to help your body to increase the Progesterone level naturally. A selection of points will be chosen and used all over the body that help with balancing your body to resolve the problem.

This method does not separate the problem from the rest of the body but treats it as part of the imbalance of the whole body.

The other method of acupuncture that is practiced is a westernised form that works on what are termed as ‘trigger’ points. This method is generally only used for treating pain and not much else as the practitioner often lacks the theory necessary to practice Oriental medicine in it’s proper form.

This basic form of acupuncture does not view the body and problem as a whole but separates them and only treats the symptom. The results are often much weaker than the traditional method and the root of the problem is not addressed. This method of westernised treatment is not effective for treating any degree of fertility or gynecological issues.