Archive for 'infertility'

Increase Success Rate for IVF or Insemination with Acupuncture

Posted on August 16, 2012 Julie Chang, L.Ac.

Why Use Acupuncture with IVF or Insemination?

The field of fertility acupuncture exploded after the 2002 publication of a landmark study published in Fertility and Sterility by Paulus et al. The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of acupuncture on the pregnancy rate in women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) by comparing a group of women receiving acupuncture treatment shortly before and after embryo transfer with a control group receiving no acupuncture. The results of the study showed pregnancies in 34 of 80 patients (42.5%) in the acupuncture group, whereas pregnancy rate was only 26.3% (21 out of 80 patients) in the control group.

Many acupuncture clinics use the protocol as performed in the 2002 study. However, due to our extensive experience in treating fertilty issues, we at Zen Fertility Center developed our own protocol and have significantly higher success rates than the 2002 benchmark study.

As shown in the chart below, Zen Fertility Center’s success rate when using fertility acupuncture with IVF far exceeds IVF alone thanks to the experience of our staff and our ongoing research in fertility acupuncture.

Recurrent Miscarriages - Acupuncture as a Natural Therapy, Part 3

Posted on August 13, 2012 Julie Chang, L.Ac.

In our first article "Recurrent Miscarriages - Causes of Miscarriage, Part 1", we discussed what recurrent miscarriages are and possible risk factors and causes of miscarriages. In the follow-up article "Recurrent Miscarriages - One Potential Cause of Miscarriage, Part 2", we looked in depth at one potential cause of recurrent miscarriages that can be easily tested for and addressed with natural solutions. In this 3rd and final article on Recurrent Miscarriage, we will discuss a natural way to overcome a history of recurrent miscarriages, using acupuncture.

Treating Recurrent Miscarriage 

An individualized and well-constructed regimen of acupuncture, Chinese herbs, and supplements offer effective solutions for unexplained recurrent miscarriages or those due to genetic factors, hormonal imbalances, immune factors, and stress.

Acupuncture’s effects to reduce the risk of miscarriage include:

Recurrent Miscarriages - One Potential Cause of Miscarriage, Part 2

Posted on August 10, 2012 Julie Chang, L.Ac.

People with MTHFR gene mutations may have elevated levels of homocysteine, although not everyone with a MTHFR gene mutation is affected. (Note that elevated homocysteine is considered a potential risk factor for miscarriages independently and can be caused by other factors beside MTHFR mutations.) People with MTHFR gene mutations can have a decreased ability to metabolize folic acid and other B vitamins, also.

Most doctors do not test for either MTHFR or homocysteine levels because neither has a formally recommended treatment that is solidly shown to reduce the risk of miscarriage. If you would like to find out if this can be a potential cause for recurrent miscarriages, ask your doctor to test for homocysteine levels in your next blood work up. You can also independently get MTHFR tested

Recurrent Miscarriages - Causes of Miscarriage, Part I

Posted on August 7, 2012 Julie Chang, L.Ac.

What is Recurrent Miscarriage? 

2 or more consecutive pregnancy losses is defined as recurrent miscarriage or recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL)

How Common Is Recurrent Miscarriage?

Miscarriages in the first trimester are thought to be as high as 50% with many women not even realizing that they are pregnant before miscarrying. After having one miscarriage most women go on to have a healthy pregnancy. Still there are a few women that will continue to have two or more miscarriages.

Risk Factors for Recurrent Miscarriages

Though any woman can experience recurrent miscarriage, certain factors increase a woman’s chances of experiencing multiple losses. These factors include:

Do Chia Pets Hold the Secret to Your Fertility?

Posted on July 25, 2012 Heidi Brockmyre, L.Ac.

Who would’ve thought that the seeds famous for sprouting hair on the beloved Chia Pet of the 80′s also boast some serious nutrient-dense value? Although we’ve primarily used chia seeds to decorate our tchothke, the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas depended on this seed for its remarkable nutritional value. In fact, chia seeds ranked higher in worth than gold to these ancient civilizations. Chia seeds sustained messengers who ran long distances across rough terrain and strengthened soldiers in battle.

Soup's Up

Posted on July 23, 2012 Heidi Brockmyre, L.Ac.

Have I mentioned how important top notch digestive functioning is for your fertility? Well I’m gonna say it again. It’s essential. The quality of your eggs and uterine lining depend on not only what you digest but also how well you digest. What good is an antioxidant if it goes right through you?

So here’s another important Chinese medicine tidbit: incorporate lots of soups and stews into your diet. Westerners believe that salads are the definition of a healthy diet. Easterners disagree. Ever notice how gassy you feel after eating a big salad?

In excess, salads weaken the digestive system. Your digestive enzymes are like a fire warming up a pot, the pot being your stomach. Too many salads weaken the fire and inhibit the proper breakdown of nutrients.

So even in the summer, avoid eating too many salads. When you do, pair it with hot herbal tea, a cup of soup, or a warm whole grain. Your reproductive organs (and maybe the other people in the room) will thank you for it!

Fir example, one of my patients felt frustrated when her doctor cancelled her two consecutive natural IVF cycles due to growing cysts instead of healthy follicles. She also noted feeling fatigued and congested for weeks. I reviewed her diet with her learning that she ate mostly salads. I offered the same advice as above. She didn’t cut salads out completely but did regularly incorporate stews and soups. Within 2-3 weeks, her symptoms improved, the cyst resolved, and healthy follicles started to grow.

Smiling for Fertility

Posted on July 20, 2012 Heidi Brockmyre, L.Ac.

How do you feel before you close your eyes in bed at night. How do you feel upon waking? Worried? Stressed? Peaceful? Sleep allows your body and mind to restore itself. Entering sleep feeling agitated or anxious follows you into your unconscious state. For a more restful sleep in which your body can heal, try smiling as your head hits the pillow.

Instead of dwelling on what didn’t go right that day, what needs to be done the next, or what you wish you had that you don’t, practice gratitude. Acknowledge your blessings. Affirm what went right, or if nothing did, be thankful for what you you learned from the situation then consciously release it. Assure yourself that everything is ok. Smile as you focus on your breath. Feel it moving in and out of your body without trying to change it.

Upon waking in the morning, practice the same habit. Let your first thoughts be of gratitude. Even when life dumps on you, give thanks for the simple things. When I’m feeling blue or in a state of lack, I remember how blessed I am to live in a place of peace. I don’t fear bombs falling at my door or being stoned to death for my beliefs or gender. Without these threats, I am free to choose a peaceful existence. My own inner turmoil being the largest threat to a peaceful existence.

By practicing gratitude upon waking, you start the day with the right attitude. Stress rolls off your shoulder. You digest more efficiently and make healthier choices. You’re more likely to attract and choose that which you desire and supports your dreams.

To remember this practice, set a reminder or alarm to go off on your phone at the time you go to sleep and wake. Label it as “Practice Gratitude” or “Smile Before You Sleep” or with a message you’d like to remind yourself. Before you know it, you won’t need the reminder as the habit is instills itself and life feels a bit brighter.

Happy baby making!

Fertility Self-Massage Tip #2

Posted on July 19, 2012 Heidi Brockmyre, L.Ac.

Breakfast for Optimal Fertility

Posted on July 18, 2012 Heidi Brockmyre, L.Ac.

What do you typically eat for breakfast? Please tell me you actually eat breakfast! One thing all cultures and medicines seem to agree on is that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

In Chinese medicine, your digestive functioning peaks in the morning so take advantage of it and eat a nourishing morning meal. Remember, healthy digestion and nutrition are crucial for reproductive health.

What is a great breakfast? Avoid eating a cold breakfast. Cold temperature foods impair digestive functioning especially in the morning when digestive energy is peaking. If you enjoy fresh fruit for breakfast, pair it with a warm whole grain cereal or hot herbal tea. Include a good quality protein with your breakfast, such as organic eggs or a protein smoothie with a plant-based protein powder.

Avoid simple carbs and sugar. Whole grains and protein will sustain energy levels throughout the day by preventing a sugar spike and crash that comes with simple carbs and sugar. Organic berries are a great way to squeeze in antioxidants to your morning routine. Antioxidants detoxify your reproductive organs and improve egg and sperm quality.

Now I’m getting hungry! Bon appetit!

Warm Feet, Warm Ovaries

Posted on July 16, 2012 Heidi Brockmyre, L.Ac.

Do you walk around in bare feet all day? Are your feet always chilly? Although it feels great to let your feet breathe, a cold foot means reduced blood flow to your ovaries and uterus.

Acupuncture channels flow from your feet up your legs and circulate to your reproductive organs. Cold constricts blood flow thereby slowing down necessary circulation for healthy ovulation and menstruation. Cold reproductive organs exacerbate PCOS, irregular cycles, endometriosis, and other reproductive health problems.

Enjoy some barefoot time in the summer, but don’t let them stay too cold for too long! Avoid walking on cold surfaces like tile without socks. Try a hot foot soak to warm them up at the end of the day. Be especially conscious of keeping them warm around the time of ovulation through menstruation. Keep your footsies warm!

What Did Einstein Know About Trying to Conceive?

Posted on July 13, 2012 Heidi Brockmyre, L.Ac.

“Everything is energy and that’s all there is to it. Match the frequency of the reality you want and you cannot help get but that reality. It can be no other way. This is not philosophy. This is physics.” -Albert Einstein

Your fertility journey is likely paved with ups and downs, lefts and rights. It’s easy to find yourself sucked into vortexes of fear, doubt, and despair. To avoid succumbing to this energy, make a conscious effort to immerse yourself in a victorious vibration. Allow only stories of success to grace your lovely ears. The goal is to identify yourself with the outcome you want and not the one you fear.

Fertility Foot Rub Exchange

Posted on July 12, 2012 Heidi Brockmyre, L.Ac.

Who doesn’t love a good foot rub? Today’s tip enhances your fertility AND connects you and your partner. This evening, give each other a foot rub. Grab a scented lotion, get comfy on the couch, and rub away! Turn the TV off, but feel free to enjoy music and light candles.

Rub the toes, the tops of the feet, the arch, the heel, the ball and the heel. Linger on any tender spots. While you’re enjoying each other’s tender touches, tell each other what qualities you think your partner possesses that will make them a great parent. Express appreciation for something they did that week.

Loaded with pressure points, massaging the feet improves circulation to all areas of the body, including the reproductive organs. Relaxing the feet rejuvenate your whole body and calms your nervous system.

If you’re feeling frisky after the foot massage, work your way up from the feet and show your honey your appreciation!

Fertility Self-Massage Tip #1

Posted on July 11, 2012 Heidi Brockmyre, L.Ac.

Top 8 Fertility Myths Even Your Doctors May Not Know

Posted on July 10, 2012 Julie Chang, L.Ac.

With fertility issues affecting almost 1 in 6 couples, having the right information can mean the difference between having a child or not. Here are the top 8 fertility myths we see in our clinic and what you can do about them.

1. Infertility is a woman’s problem.

Until relatively recently, women were often blamed for fertility problems. However, male factor infertility can be involved in up to 50% of couples dealing with infertilit

2. Just relax and you’ll get pregnant.

Yes, stress is a significant factor in getting pregnant. But it’s not the only consideration. So if you’re still having trouble after 6 months of consciously trying, get the necessary work up to ensure that everything is ok. If your doctor tells you to wait a year, go to an acupuncturist instead.

Is Your Belly Button Ring Preventing Pregnancy?

Posted on July 9, 2012 Heidi Brockmyre, L.Ac.

Belly button rings decorate the mid-drifts of many southern California fertility patients, so many that I started to wonder if they might be the problem. While I doubt they alone cause infertility, I have reason to believe that they don’t help the cause.

An acupuncture meridian called the Conception Channel runs along the centerline of your body. This acupuncture channel enters the uterus and delivers blood, nutrients, hormones, and oxygen to your reproductive organs. A belly button ring pierces the channel right in the middle and disturbs flow between the upper and lower half of your body.

Why aren't my expensive fertility treatments working?

Posted on July 6, 2012 Julie Chang, L.Ac.

If you’ve spent thousands of dollars on fertility treatments only to be told time and again that you’re STILL not pregnant, it’s time to figure out what the problem might be. Here’s the scenario: you’ve had at least 3 cycles of unsuccessful inseminations or IVFs and have done the full fertility work but are told that everything’s ok with you. Where do you go from here? Do you keep doing what you’ve been doing or try to figure out what could be preventing a pregnancy?

Why Work with an Acupuncturist to Help You Get Pregnant

Posted on July 5, 2012 Julie Chang, L.Ac.

The journey from the time you decide to have a child to conception, then pregnancy, and hopefully a beautiful, healthy baby is a process. For some, this is a relatively brief trip because everything happens as it should. For others, this can seem like an interminable and exhausting marathon lasting years. Who knows why so many women and couples have fertility issues? Many factors come into play such as stress, inadequate nutrition, lack of exercise, and poor lifestyle habits. These are some that you have control over and account for over 95% of infertility issues. The other 5% is due to genetic factors that cannot be changed so require western medical treatment.

Because fertility issues are a result of many controllable factors contributing to a sub-optimal environment which allows a healthy pregnancy to thrive, encouraging this process in a natural way is better in every way than an artificial one.

Tips for a Healthy Pregnancy and Baby

Posted on July 3, 2012 Julie Chang, L.Ac.

You're Pregnant!

Congratulations! Although you’ve received the great news, venturing forward with cautious optimism from this point forward is our best suggestion. You’ve crossed one huge hurdle but we still have 9 months to go before we can really celebrate. The first thing to be aware of is that any pregnant woman is always at risk for miscarriage, especially one who has had difficulty conceiving.

First and Second Trimesters

Because 90% of miscarriages occur within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, acupuncture treatment at a recommended frequency of 1-2 times per week is essential to support your pregnancy and the health of your baby. We cannot emphasize enough how important it is to continue with regular acupuncture treatment during this 1st trimester to decrease the risk of miscarriage. You have invested a lot of time, energy, and money to get to this point so do everything you can to make sure the next 9 months continue smoothly.

How to Chart Your BBT Temperature

Posted on June 28, 2012 Julie Chang, L.Ac.

Basal body temperature or BBT is the temperature of your body at rest. BBT charting is a useful tool to monitor your fertility and provide important information about what is happening during your menstrual cycle.

BBT charting can help you to see if and when you ovulate, calculate your cycle length, diagnose a pregnancy early, and evaluate your cycle for possible fertility problems.

What No One Tells You about Trying to Get Pregnant

Posted on June 25, 2012 Heidi Brockmyre, L.Ac.

You and your partner want to get pregnant. That’s wonderful! Or perhaps, you’ve tried to get pregnant for a while now. Either way, you’re embarking on a truly amazing journey to becoming parents. What you may or may not know about trying to conceive is that it’s not always easy. It may take a long time and it may not happen the way you expected it would. This probably isn’t what you want to hear. And hopefully things will go as smoothly and beautifully as you could expect. But in the event that it takes longer or by a different method than you planned, you can prepare yourself for the journey both emotionally and physically and make the most of the process now.

Today’s exercise asks you to look at your daily habits. Forming new habits takes about two months. You can drop habits that don’t support your fertility journey and acquire others that do. Your new habits should give emotional support and inspire happiness. The goal is to feel happy and fulfilled now. You prepare not only for conception but also for the endurance needed for the long haul. Each menstrual cycle has the potential to disappoint you just when the hormones of PMS kick in to create a double whammy. Then you pick yourself up and do it again. This cycle repeats itself until you conceive, be it 3 months or 3 years from now. You don’t want your happiness or relationship to dissolve in the meantime

Meditation + Sex = Awesome

Posted on June 25, 2012 Heidi Brockmyre, L.Ac.

Sex plays a key role in fertility. Duh. Even when conceiving by IVF, frequent sex refreshes the sperm supply. Not to mention the importance of maintaining a loving connection with your partner. Sex burns calories, reduces stress, improves hormone function, and calms the nervous system for more peaceful sleep. Need I say more?

But getting in the mood after a hard day’s work isn’t always easy. You’re stuck in your head, replaying moments from the day, planning out tomorrow and the next day and the day after that. So how do you make the transition? Try a quick meditation together. By meditating, you relax, connect with your body, and tune into with your partner making for more enjoyable sex.

Ginger Tea and Your Ovaries

Posted on June 25, 2012 Heidi Brockmyre, L.Ac.

During the hot summer months, we eat more cold foods like salads, melons, and berries. These foods are refreshing, healthy, and delicious, but in excessive amounts they take a toll on the digestive system. Cold and raw foods need more digestive energy for your body to break them down.

In Chinese medicine, the digestive system compares to a pot over a fire. If you fill the pot with too many cold and raw foods, the fire weakens, making it difficult to efficiently extract nutrients. As a result, residual fluids stagnant and create phlegm. Phlegm builds in different areas of the body, such as the lungs, sinuses, and even the reproductive organs causing ovarian cysts or vaginal discharge serving inhospitable to sperm. I cannot stress enough how important a healthy digestion system is for reproductive health!

So how can have your cake and eat it, too? Or in this case, your fresh fruits and veggies?

How Do You Get Pregnant? 8 Tips for Optimizing Conception.

Posted on June 20, 2012 Heidi Brockmyre, L.Ac.

So you want to know…how can I get pregnant? It’s an exciting time! You’re ready for conception. To get pregnant quickly, you need to make some changes. Having a healthy baby and keeping up with the demands of parenthood takes a lot of preparation. It’s important to prepare your body, mind, home, and relationship. The sooner you start, the sooner you’ll be get pregnant. Here are 8 tips to jump start your journey to parenthood:

5 Steps to Overcome Feeling Isolated While Trying to Get Pregnant

Posted on June 20, 2012 Heidi Brockmyre, L.Ac.

You’re among millions who want to get pregnant, so how is it that you feel so alone? Over 7 million women in the U.S. are fertility challenged, yet the topic of infertility is kept hush-hush, except for Aunt Betty who loudly probes at every family gathering if you’ve got a bun in the oven yet.

Maybe it’s because fertility involves the personal subject of sex. Or perhaps the topic of female anatomy has always been taboo.

And when the fertility-challenged seek solace from the non-challenged, they’re met with ignorant yet well-meaning comments such as, “You just need to relax. Stop stressing and it will happen.” Conversations like these often leave you feeling more alone, ashamed, and like a failure, rather than understood.

But you’re not alone. You stand with millions of other women and couples. So why is infertility such a closeted subject? It’s like holding membership to a large club in which no one knows the other members nor do they admit membership.

The truth is, your club boasts élite members with the likes of Julia Roberts, Marcia Cross, Sarah Jessica Parker, Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, and Nicole Kidman. Such members understand and experience your feelings, like Brooke Shields who said, “The difficulty of IVF or any fertility issues is the hope and the shattered hope, the dream that it might happen this time and then it doesn’t happen.”

Members of your club are deeply aware of how precious the gift of a child is whether brought to you by IVF, IUI, donor egg, surrogacy, adoption, or naturally. Your fellow club member, Hugh Jackman, said, “We still wanted to adopt. That was our plan: we’ll have two and we’ll adopt one. Anyway we didn’t have children. We tried and that was tough. But the moment Oscar arrived, it just felt like he was always meant to come that way. I forget he’s adopted; he’s just my son.”

Although the dues are steep, membership offers its privileges. This club pushes you to test your limits. Your fertility journey births the rewards of personal growth, deeper appreciation and unforeseen miracles. As a member, you test the strength of your relationships, decision-making skills, and patience. You explore your ability to accept and let go. To find joy in light of disappointment. To practice ongoing gratitude. These are skills and spiritual lessons sure to help you throughout the rest of your life. When things come easily, we’re not offered the same opportunity for personal and spiritual growth.

So stand strong. You are among millions who feel everything you do. You are not alone.

5 strategies for overcoming feelings of isolation:

How to Choose a Fertility Acupuncturist

Posted on June 18, 2012 Julie Chang, L.Ac.

Due to the increasing popularity of fertility acupuncture, many acupuncturists now offer acupuncture for the treatment of infertility. Because of the growing number of choices, it can be difficult to choose the most appropriate acupuncturist to help you get pregnant.

To narrow down your choices after searching the internet and asking your friends, family, and fertility doctor for recommendations, here are some things to consider in choosing a fertility acupuncturist, in order of priority: experience, attitude, cost.

3 Strategies to Blast Away Doubts and Renew Your Faith in Fertility

Posted on June 3, 2012 Heidi Brockmyre, L.Ac.

Are the struggles of your fertility journey bringing you down? When doubts hijack your mind, you need to be armed and ready to go to battle with them. Imagine yourself like G.I. Jane strapped with plenty of ammo to blast each doubt into a million bits. You’ve gone through positive thinking boot camp. You’ve seen the worst and nothing can take you down. You’re the toughest mother-to-be this side of the Mississippi (whichever that side that may be) and you’ll be damned if a little blood test or pee stick or another period stands between you and your dreams. The time will come when you need to reload your ammo. Luckily, you have unlimited access to the most powerful supply.

So, G.I. Fertile Myrtle, next time you’re feeling down, pull up your sleeves, reload your bazooka and blast those doubts away. Listen to your Fertility Drill Sergeant (a gentle but firm, reassuring and supportive voice) renew your faith in your fertility, your body, and your self.

Why Should Men with Male Infertility be Further Evaluated?

Posted on June 1, 2012 Scott Simon, MD

An estimated 15% of couples in the United States have difficulty achieving pregnancy. A male factor plays a role in up to 50% of cases. With the increased, often successful, use of assisted reproductive techniques (ART), there has been a trend away from male evaluation and treatment in the workup of infertile couples. There is a need, however, for a thorough evaluation of the male partner due to the increased prevalence of concomitant medical conditions associated with infertility. Some conditions, such as varicocele or infection, are easily treatable, while other conditions, such as testicular or pituitary tumors, if overlooked, can have devastating consequences.

Part 2: Making Peace with Your Fertility by Facing your Fears

Posted on May 30, 2012 Heidi Brockmyre, L.Ac.

This post is a follow-up to my last post about finding peace by uncovering fears and anxieties that arise with the practice of letting go. When we acknowledge that we don’t have complete control over a situation, it is unsettling and frustrating. In trying to gain control and resist acceptance, we often make matters worse. Maybe we stay up past midnight Googling until we’re crazy, a habit that’s neither healthy for our fertility health or mental health. Or perhaps we eat 3 donuts or drink too much wine. Maybe your mind can’t stop obsessing. Maybe it takes a toll on your relationship.

So how do you feel empowered when ultimately something you want so badly is out of your hands? How do you soothe your fears and anxieties?

Channel that energy! Do something this week that you’ve always been afraid of doing! Face your fear!

3 Steps to Making Peace with Your Fertility and Improving It

Posted on May 29, 2012 Julie Chang, L.Ac.

Making peace with your fertility situation is a continuous challenge. You wish the feeling of peace would last, but it is fleeting. Peace is a practice, no matter what the situation. To choose peace again and again despite overwhelming emotions is an effort, but like exercising muscles, it gets easier with practice.

Finding peace is letting go of the outcome. That is especially hard when you also need to take action to produce the desired outcome. It is a choice to let go over and over to prevent living in a constant state of emotional turmoil.

“When you feel confused or burdened by problems focus on THIS INSTANT and ask yourself: WHAT PROBLEM DO I HAVE RIGHT NOW? You will find that there is no problem NOW. A challenge that requires action, possibly, but not a problem.” -Eckhart Tolle

How do you find peace amidst the emotional storm? Each emotional reaction sheds like snake-skin, layer upon layer. With each shedding, something is gained. Perhaps it’s a healthier skin underneath, a new experience, a new friend, or a new insight into your situation, or getting to know yourself better.

By letting go, we allow for miracles, for solutions beyond our own logic and control, to express through us. Letting go and finding peace is not synonymous with being unemotional. It is an allowing of the emotions. By letting go, you can accept that there may always be a sense of grief or anxiety with you. Can you find joy and peace and let those feelings be there, too?

The idea of letting go of the outcome may stir feelings of fear and anxiety. With deeply exploring the emotions that arise by letting go of the outcome, you gain insight into important unconscious feelings that deeply affect you and your fertility. With awareness, you may address the source of the stress and find relief. Reducing stress and anxiety regulates hormones and increases blood circulation to your reproductive organs.

Here are 3 steps to making peace:

Why Standing Still Can Prevent You from Getting Pregnant

Posted on May 23, 2012 Julie Chang, L.Ac.

When you’ve been trying to get pregnant for some time, frustration inevitably follows. How can something that everyone else is able to achieve so easily be so hard for you? So you start searching for more information on the internet and go to a variety of doctors looking for answers. The problem is that all this information can cause confusion or uncertainty about what to do. This in turn often prompts us to freeze, copying what others are doing or waiting for a new pattern to emerge before taking action. Smart strategy? Probably not.

Instead, it's time to return to the immutable principles that have stood the test of time:

5 Ways to Get You Moving! Your Ovaries Will Thank You!

Posted on May 22, 2012 Heidi Brockmyre, L.Ac.

Did you know that sitting at a desk without standing once for 4 consecutive hours in a day increases your risk of heart disease as much as smoking does? Shocking, right?

If extended periods of sitting impact your heart health thAn easat drastically, imagine what damage it’s doing to your reproductive organs! After all, a sitting position inhibits flow between the upper and lower half of your body thereby restricting circulation to your reproductive organs.

Research proves that long periods of sitting increase inflammation. Inflammation is a major culprit in fertility issues, affecting egg quality, ovulation, and implantation, as well as the health of sperm.

So many of my fertility patients spend hours upon hours glaring at their computers in front of a desk every day!

Moral of the story: Get up and MOVE! A 10 minute walk alone greatly reduces your risk of heart attack! Simply standing up once within an hour offers major health benefits. Imagine the benefits of a daily 20-30 minute walk!

Sounds so simple, right? You’d be surprised how many of us let hours go by before we move, as if we’re held captive by technology.

Here are 5 ways to get you up and moving for your fertility throughout the day:

Accepting Your Fertility: Write Your Fertility Mantra

Posted on May 17, 2012 Heidi Brockmyre, L.Ac.

One of the hardest challenges of struggling to conceive is accepting that it is mostly out of your control. Of course, your lifestyle and treatment choices affect the outcome, but ultimately it is up to a Greater Will, whether you believe in God, science, nature, or a Universal Consciousness. This is the magic and beauty of conception, as well as the root of heartache and frustration.

As a natural fertility expert, I too get frustrated when despite all of my efforts, my patients do not get that positive pregnancy test. I feel I am failing them and am a terrible fraud of an acupuncturist. Although these feelings motivate me to research and learn more, if I let it become about me, the treatment then centers around my ego as a "healer" rather than supporting them through their process without attachment to outcome. I care deeply for my patients and grieve with them. Leaving my attachment to outcome outside the treatment room door is a daily challenge.

In order to practice acceptance of my lack of control and offer my worries and anxieties to a Higher Power, I wrote a Fertility Healer Prayer. I say this prayer to myself before I begin my day treating in my clinic.

Try writing your own original Fertility Prayer or Mantra. A huge sense of relief comes with accepting what is out of your control and to practice faith. You do not need to be religious. You can address your Higher Self, Mother Nature, Energy, Love, or any source of personal inspiration. The prayer or mantra may be one line or page, whatever feels right to you. By reciting this prayer everyday, you offer yourself great comfort.

How to Heal Your Fertility and the World with the Power of Love

Posted on May 14, 2012 Heidi Brockmyre, L.Ac.

You’re doing everything within your power to conceive your baby. Besides pulling your hair out in frustration and despair, you wonder what else you can possibly do to manifest that little being that you already love so much into your life.

And what do you do with all this enormous love supply you have for your future child? I know you’re overflowing with love and devotion. That is what motivates you to endure and sacrifice the challenges of TTC day after day. Part of the pain of this journey comes from bottling up the overflowing love you’re bursting to share with your child-to-be.

Although you are yet to meet your future child, does that mean you are not a mother? Being a mother means offering motherly love. A mother is a deeply compassionate woman who cares for vulnerable beings. Has anyone ever suggested that Mother Theresa was unworthy of her name?