There are many reasons to consider using Chinese Medicine for fertility support - it’s natural, it’s safe, and it’s effective. But there’s also a lot more to it than that. In this article, I will introduce how we address reproductive health in Chinese Medicine, the logistics of working with our clinic, fertility preparation, and some simple things that couples can do to support their fertility.
CHINESE MEDICINE THEORY AND FERTILITY
Reproduction is one of the most natural processes in the human body. At the same time, reproductive function is not required for our individual health and survival. For this reason, the reproductive system is one of the first systems to decline if the body's health is challenged, stressed, or suffering from illness. Chronic illness, stress, overwork, and nutritional deficiencies are all examples of conditions where the body can be working extra hard just to stay healthy and survive, and may not have the additional resources to reproduce. This makes fertility a complicated matter, because we have to consider not only the function of the reproductive organs - but also the big picture of our body’s health. It should come as no surprise that growing a human being and all its little organs requires a great deal of metabolic energy and resources.
One of Chinese Medicine’s great strengths is the practice of looking at the big picture as well as the zoomed-in view of specific symptoms and conditions. Both aspects are vitally important for successful outcomes.
COMMON OBSTACLES TO FERTILITY
These are some of the common indicators we look at to determine where a person needs support.
Menstrual Cycle - the ideal menstrual cycle is regular, approximately 28-30 days in duration, with 3-5 days of bleeding, minimal to no pain, minimal to no PMS symptoms (breast tenderness, mood swings, irritability), with fresh red color and no clotting.
Common patterns that indicate potential obstacles to fertility are: irregular cycles, short or long cycles, scant bleeding, painful periods, PMS symptoms, dark (purplish or brown) blood with small or large clots. All of these symptoms relate to different aspects of the female reproductive system, and indicate things like problems with microcirculation of blood in the uterus, problems with the egg moving through the fallopian tubes, hormone imbalance, and more.
Sex Drive - sexual desire in humans is highly complex, involving not just our physical drives but also our mind and emotions. However, physical drive to have sex is an important indicator of fertility in both men and women. Many factors can contribute to low sex drive, and it is important to address them to support fertility.
Energy - fatigue and low energy can be common obstacles to fertility. If either partner has significant fatigue, there may not be enough available resources to support conception.
Stress - stress is a significant obstacle for many couples. Our stress response alters our hormones, uses a large amount of metabolic energy, and affects all of our body systems.
Digestion - good digestive function is essential for our body’s ability to extract nutrients from food. Nutritional deficiencies resulting from poor digestion can interfere with hormone production, building a healthy uterine lining, and being able to sustain a pregnancy.
CHINESE MEDICINE AS A FIRST-LINE TREATMENT, NOT A LAST RESORT
In our culture, it is far more common for Chinese Medicine practitioners to see people who are at the end of their rope - they’re tried everything, the drugs, the surgery, you name it - and then finally they’re willing to try out Chinese Medicine as a last resort. The reality is that we often are still able to help in those last resort cases - but it is most definitely not the best way to utilize Chinese Medicine. Chinese Medicine treatment is safe, effective, and will not leave you with any irreversible changes as may be caused by medications or surgical procedures. So it is best utilized as a first-line treatment, and its elegant approach is often able to get the job done with very little risk.
Because fertility is highly complex, and requires a holistic approach for best success, Chinese Medicine treatment is not only safer, less painful, and more affordable, but may also be as effective or more effective than modern treatments like IVF. Research studies on Chinese herbal medicine for fertility cite rates of successful pregnancies ranging from 56% to 70%, with one study reporting 60% success rate with 3-6 months of Chinese Herbal Medicine treatment.* Reported IVF success rates vary widely based on age, with average success rates of 30% to 35% for one IVF cycle.* IVF success rates increase with the number of cycles done. Each cycle, however, is both expensive and potentially physically and emotionally challenging to undergo.
Chinese Medicine works to support fertility by improving both overall health and specific aspects of reproductive system health so that the conditions for fertility can be met. Many modern drug treatments are capable of forcefully making things happen, regardless of whether our body is wanting to do them or not - which is amazing when we need it, and also creates a lot of problems. IVF is capable of making pregnancy happen even when the body may not be adequately prepared. The inability to conceive is generally an indication that the body is not ready to meet the significant demands of growing a baby. When we force that to happen, we are more likely to see health challenges in the mother both during and after pregnancy. Some studies show higher miscarriage rates in women treated with ovulation stimulating drugs (Clomid/clomiphene etc), in one study 50% pregnancy loss rate in clomiphene induced pregnancy compared to 16% in natural pregnancy.* This is because the drug forcefully stimulates ovulation to result in conception, but other aspects of the woman's health are not ready to carry the pregnancy to term. In many cases, the lack of conception is the woman's body protecting itself from the demands of pregnancy that it is not yet ready to meet.
Like all medicines, there is an appropriate time and place for IVF and there are many beautiful babies brought into the world with the help of IVF. My view, with regard to fertility and across many different areas of medicine, is that it is best to use medical interventions in ascending order of severity and risk. Chinese Medicine is an excellent place to start, and often it's all that's needed.
One way to think about the difference between Chinese herbal medicine and modern pharmaceutical medicine is like this: imagine that a large boulder blocks your path and needs to be moved. Using Chinese herbal medicine is like wedging a 2x4 between a smaller rock and the boulder and using a small amount of force, with leverage in the right place, to roll the boulder out of the way. Using a modern drug medication is like blowing the boulder up with a stick of dynamite - it's fast and effective, but the large amount of force applied via explosion can cause collateral damage. Some boulders require dynamite, many of them do not.
LOGISTICS OF WORKING WITH OUR CLINIC
For couples interested in fertility preparation: You can get started anytime. I highly recommend fertility preparation as a first step if the timing works out for you to do so. Check out the section below titled “Fertility Preparation” for specific suggestions.
For couples who are actively trying to conceive: Treatment at our clinic involves evaluation and treatment with herbal medicine approximately every 2 weeks for the first few months, and monthly after that. I will ask you to track your Basal Body Temperature to gather more information about your cycle.
I accept patients for fertility support who are not concurrently using ART (assisted reproductive technologies). This includes IVF, ovulation stimulating drugs like Clomid of Femara, IUI, and hormone treatments like progesterone. The average time for patients to get pregnant working with me has been 6 months, but I ask that you plan to give it a year before moving on to ART. This treatment is not inexpensive, but it is significantly more affordable than ART treatments.
THE MALE FACTOR
Most of the work that we do addresses obstacles to fertility in the significantly more complex female reproductive system. But it takes two to tango, and it’s important to approach this as a team. I recommend that the male partner get semen analysis done before their female partner begins Chinese medicine treatment. It’s easy, affordable, and is a very simple way to determine if the male partner also needs herbal medicine treatment to address low sperm count or motility. If the semen analysis comes back normal, and our primary focus will be on the female partner - I still recommend that the male partner come to the first appointment. I will also recommend that the male partner take Maca or Love pearls, a Chinese herbal capsule formula, to support fertility. When a couple is facing difficulty conceiving, we want to do everything we can to support fertility on all fronts, and we want to encourage better than “normal” sperm - we want sperm that swim like Michael Phelps.
A note to the guys - Historically men have been pretty lame about acknowledging their role in fertility. Our culture has created a narrative that our value as men or women lies in our reproductive success. While it can be hard not to feel these culturally pervasive (and perhaps biologically driven) ideas, they are very damaging to the psyche of anyone who struggles to get pregnant, most especially women, who will bear the majority of fertility treatments. So get your semen tested - knowing that the results mean nothing about your value as a person, take some maca, and do your part to normalize the reproductive journey.
GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS
These are recommendations that I give to nearly every couple I see in our clinic.
Love Pearls capsules - Love Pearls is a Chinese herbal formula from Classical Pearls that is a great sexual vitality tonic for men and women. Both partners can take Love Pearls, though most often I will recommend it for men and recommend a custom formula for the female partner. Classical Pearls formulas are only available through practitioners, but you can get this formula through Merlin, our online herbal medicine care service. Average dosage is 6 capsules/day.