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Infertility
Barring physical abnormalities, if you’re having difficulty getting pregnant, if it’s taking longer than you think it should, if you’re getting pregnant, but you’re miscarrying, there are things to look at, and not all may be body related.
Time. If you’re in your thirties, or your forties and you’re just beginning to try for pregnancy, you must give your body time. Our menstrual cycle is just that, a cycle, and if there is anything unusual about it, it takes some time for it to become evenly regulated. Once you’ve decided on taking the route of Acupuncture, and possibly herbs, Chinese Medicine recommends giving your body at least 3 months to make these changes. While your eggs are not that old, the timing and strength of the hormones necessary to bring about strong egg production changes. So, if pregnancy is not coming easily, your body needs time to re-adjust. Keeping a Basal Body Temperature log, and charting it on a graph for a few months is very helpful for you and me to see what's happening with your cycles. You may also have accumulated habits and lifestyle issues to look at, re-assess, and alter.
Are you in a stressful, busy, demanding job? Does your job not allow you to take breaks during the day? Are you constantly on the go? Are you unhappy in your job? Does your work situation make you feel angry, irritated, frustrated, or does it sap you of energy? Are your personal relationships healthy? Is your partner supportive of you and do you feel loved? Is there friction there, or are there things about your partner that are constant irritants? Are there substance abuse issues you’re choosing to overlook? If there are, do you deep down feel irritated, frustrated or worried about this? Are you trying to produce a child on a certain timetable? Do you feel pressured by your partners’ family, or your family to produce a grandchild? Do you feel like time is running out? Are you feeling frantic? Do you exercise frequently and strenuously? Do you run everyday? Do you have a lot of activities that require your time and energy outside of work and home? So many things can affect us, that despite our desire for a child, we can be subconsciously working against ourselves.
It is also critical to consider your diet. We are what we eat. Our baby will be what we eat. To make a baby, you need to be nourishing your body. Are you eating real food? Can you see the seed and grain kernels, oats, wheat, rice, quinoa, buckwheat in your food? Can you only get your body moving in the morning with one or more cups of coffee, and keep it running through the day with sweets, chocolate or salty/crunchy snacks? Is salad your main course at lunch, or dinner, or both? Do you skip breakfast, lunch, or dinner? Do you eat mainly take-out? Your body needs real food to run on. It requires real food to make a baby and help keep a baby growing inside of your womb. Skipping breakfast and/or lunch, then eating a granola bar is not enough. A baby will take what it needs from your body to grow, but you need to supply your body with healthy, vital, nourishing foods. Whole seeds and grains, whole, (yes), full-fat milk products, eggs, meats, (if you’re not a vegetarian), fruits and cooked vegetables are what you need to eat at regular intervals through the day for your body to be healthy, and your babies' body growing inside you. Salads, while they are considered healthy, in some respects, are not enough food for you, or your baby to grow on.
The last thing is how relaxed are you? When you are desperate for a child, and your doctor may have told you your chances look slim, relaxed may not be part of your vocabulary. Whatever you can do to take time outs, it is ultimately for your benefit, and the benefit of your future child. Begin Acupuncture treatments, enroll in calming, low impact cool yoga classes, walk, learn to meditate, enroll in a Qi Gong class, breathe, and pray. Just remember, you are inviting another person, a new life, to come into your womb, so whatever you can do to make your body the most calm, loving, nurturing environment, the better.
Babies come in their own time, not necessarily on our timetable. Ultimately, everything happens for a reason. We can’t know why a baby may be elusive for us to attain, but one way or another, a baby will come, if that’s our real desire. The perfect child for us will come at a time that’s right for us, but we need to slow down, tune in, and tune out the madness that can come in our hearts and minds. Nurture yourself. You won't be sorry.
