Are you interested in how to balance your hormones naturally to support your fertility?   Would you love to have a healthy conception, healthy pregnancy and healthy baby? If you are dreaming about having your first child or growing your family, we can help you. It is always possible to improve your chances of conceiving and bearing a healthy child. Our natural fertility and IVF support programs are designed to help you and your partner optimise your health and fertility to give your babies their best start in life.

Your fertility is a clear reflection of your level of wellbeing – when you are at your peak health, you are also your most fertile. This is an evolutionary adaptation. Your body realises that when your health is comprised, the genetic information your baby would inherit is suboptimal. By improving your health and wellbeing through pre-conception care you can improve the genetic health of your baby, reducing risk factors for miscarriage, birth defects, autism, allergies, childhood diabetes and childhood obesity.

Statistics – Infertility and Sub-fertility

Are you struggling to conceive? You may be asking yourself: ‘Why me? While this can feel isolating, I want you to know you are not alone. Statistics tell us that one in 6 Australian couples will experience infertility. We also know that concerns with both Mum and Dad’s health can impact your chances of having a healthy baby. In 4 out of ten couples, sub-fertility is due to concerns with Dad’s health with causes including sub-normal sperm analysis, insomnia, exposure to toxins through the workplace or nutritional deficiencies. In 4 out of ten couples, sub-fertility is due to concerns with Mum’s health with causes including hormonal imbalances, irregular periods, weight gain or loss, polycystic ovarian disease, Hashimoto’s disease or nutritional deficiencies. Ten percent of cases are due to concerns with both Mum and Dad’s fertility and in a further ten percent of cases, the cause is unknown.

For this reason, we will refer you for a number of tests to accurately determine the cause of you and your partner’s sub- or in-fertility. Reasons may be as simple as a nutritional deficiency or as detailed as an immune irregularity. Regardless, we will help you find the answers and recommend supportive treatment strategies to help you fall pregnant and have a beautiful, healthy baby.

What is the solution?

The best solution is for you and your partner to receive supportive treatment for each of your health concerns so you can improve your fertility as a couple before conception occurs. Our programs incorporate natural methods including nutritional medicine (both supplements and food as medicine), herbal medicine, environmental and lifestyle changes and other treatments specific to your individual fertility needs.

Fertility is something to work on together as a couple. Your partner’s role is just as important as yours. Sperm take on average 72-76 days to develop, mature, be stored and finally ejaculate. Improving Dad’s health 2-3 months prior to conception can significantly influence pregnancy outcomes by ensuring the best genetic information is passed on through his sperm.

You are born with all of your eggs but it is the maturation process that occurs 3-4 months before you ovulate that significantly influences the health of your baby and your chances of conceiving. There are countless studies indicating that nutritional deficiencies, illness, toxin exposure and other factors can all influence the health of the egg up to a minimum of 100 days prior to ovulation.

Success Rates

Because our natural fertility programs are individually created for the unique health requirements of each couple, reporting on comparative success rates is difficult. But it is great for you to know that major university studies in the UK and Australia strongly support a high rate of fertility success through natural methods.

Foresight Study 1995

Foresight, the Association for the Promotion of Preconception Care, was established in the United Kingdom in 1978. A Foresight study, conducted in conjunction with Surrey University (published in the Journal of Nutritional & Environmental Medicine 1995), clearly shows the effectiveness of preconception health care.

Foresight Study Results: The women participating in the study ranged in age from 22-45 years, the men from 25-59 years. 41% of the couples had no previous adverse reproductive history, but among these were the older couples. Our natural fertility program covers the same treatment methods used by Foresight and extends these by using natural medicine to resolve any underlying health concerns causing infertility for Mum or Dad.

Study Involved: 367 couples and lasted 2 years Age of females: 22-45 years Age of males: 25-59 years

Presenting with a Previous History of: Percentage in Sample Infertility 37% Miscarriage 38% Therapeutic abortion 11% Still birth 3% ‘Small for dates’ or low birth weight babies 15% Malformations 2% SIDS 1%

 

Results: No miscarriages, perinatal deaths, malformations No baby admitted to intensive care Normal Expectation – 70 miscarriage, 6 malformations

Outcome Percentage in Sample Live births 89% Live births to those previously infertile 81% Average gestational age 38.5 weeks Earliest gestational age 36 weeks Average weight of males 7lb 4oz (3303g) Average weight of females 7lb 2oz (3232g) Lightest baby 5lb 3oz (2367g)

 

Foresight Study (current)
Foresight is currently completing a further, larger study with 1,061 couples. The unpublished statistics from this already show similar excellent outcomes, with a preliminary conception rate of approximately 78% for the infertile couples on the program (leading to a healthy baby) within two years of following the program. This is despite some problems encountered with providing a full preconception health care service during the study. This study also suggests a more than doubled conception success rate for IVF, following preconception health care.

University of New England (2005)
The University of New England (UNE) has recently completed an independent study of 67 patients. A high proportion of the couples in this study had identified causes of infertility. All were diagnosed as infertile, and 25% were aged over 40yrs. Preliminary results have already shown that 52% of previously infertile couples can conceive within the first four months following their participation in the program.

ART/IVF Support

Some couples require assistance with Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) like IVF to conceive their babies. This may be due to medical reasons that interfere with the body’s natural processes. Recent research suggests that concurrent naturopathic treatment and IVF more than doubles conception success rates. Our programs works well with couples who require IVF or other assisted reproductive technique programs. It is the intention of the program to integrate with your current treatments in a holistic manner to ensure the healthy conception, pregnancy, birth process and general wellbeing of your child.  During the program, you will be carefully monitored and communication between your IVF fertility specialist and other health professionals will be encouraged to ensure cohesion between our treatments and the best possible outcome for you.