Q: Infertility

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone. I beg your pardon if this is an old topic that everyone is

tired of discussing. I cannot remember my username or password and so

have been unable to search the archives recently. That said:

I am seeing a patient tomorrow who has been trying to get pregnant for 6

months. I am looking for some guidance/direction on how to approach

infertility in general as I haven't addressed this issue with a patient yet.

She is 37 yo and has been off OCP x 5y. Her MD and her acupuncturist say

" every thing looks fine " as far as her chances of getting pg. Her MD

suggests a sperm count for her partner if she isn't pg within 3 mos. (I

know that technically infertility is only dxed after 12 mos of unprotected

intercourse). I suspect that her MD hasn't done much of a workup on her

since generally a sperm count is one of the first things done for evaluating

infertility but just speculation. She says that when she was 12 or 13 yo

her ice skating coach said her pelvic bones tilted in and so childbirth

would be difficult for her. One of the issues she wants to address with me

is her fear of the pain of child birth. I realize this could be a factor in

her failure to conceive so far. She wants me to " measure her pelvic

opening " - has anyone ever heard of this? I think I will refer her to an

ob/gyn or midwife for this if she really is set on having it done. She also

said she has " iron poor blood " which her acupuncturist is treating with

acupuncture and herbs. I'm not sure if she has actually been dxed with

anemia or if this was a Chinese diagnosis.

I know one of the first things to ascertain is whether or not she is

ovulating. Her menstrual " symptoms " may shed some light on this, i.e.

breast swelling/tenderness etc. From a lab perspective I'm thinking the

thing to do would be a serum progesterone on day 17 to establish if she is

ovulating and whether there is enough progesterone to support the pg.

I will talk to her re: preparing her body for pg via drainage and BTGs;

address the fear of child birth pain as best I can. I will employ the

homeopathic female hormones if warranted. I'll also recommend ferrum phos

cell salts for anemia if she is iron deficient. Are there other things I

should think about? Tests I should run?

Thank you all. Cheers! --kms

Kathy Sweeney, N.D.

Juneau Naturopathic Clinic LLC

Juneau, AK

Family Practice

[Guest guest]

Hi Kathy

You are right that it is technically not

infertility until the couple has had unprotected sex for at least one year (two

years in Europe). I think the first thing to do is

explain to her the reality of trying to get pregnant at 37. She must not

be aware of this if she is worried about not being pregnant after only 6

months. While not ruling out that the fear of childbirth could be a huge

factor (I am sure there is a homeopathic to address this), it would seem like

the obvious things to do first would be for her to have a gynecology work up,

and her husband to have his sperm checked. Blood work would also quickly

tell you how anemic she is, and what treatment would be best for her. (I

would not go with the TCM dx of iron poor blood, since this could actually mean

so many other things.)

One of the easiest ways to check if she is

ovulating is to have her do basal body temps every morning. You can’t

go on symptoms of breast tenderness etc, since so many people don’t have

those symptoms. Other things to consider are how regular and predictable

her menstrual cycle is, and how close to 28 days. (according to some

sources, the farther a woman is from a 28 day cycle, the less fertile she is).

There is a host of emotional factors that can affect fertility, which you can

discuss with her as you get to know her better. There is lots you can do

for infertility once some of the basic stuff is ruled out.

Loreen Dawson, ND

Sechelt, BC

Q:

Infertility

Hi everyone. I beg your pardon if this is an

old topic that everyone is

tired of discussing. I cannot remember my

username or password and so

have been unable to search the archives

recently. That said:

I am seeing a patient tomorrow who has been trying

to get pregnant for 6

months. I am looking for some

guidance/direction on how to approach

infertility in general as I haven't addressed this

issue with a patient yet.

She is 37 yo and has been off OCP x 5y. Her

MD and her acupuncturist say

" every thing looks fine " as far as her

chances of getting pg. Her MD

suggests a sperm count for her partner if she

isn't pg within 3 mos. (I

know that technically infertility is only dxed

after 12 mos of unprotected

intercourse). I suspect that her MD hasn't

done much of a workup on her

since generally a sperm count is one of the first

things done for evaluating

infertility but just speculation. She says

that when she was 12 or 13 yo

her ice skating coach said her pelvic bones tilted

in and so childbirth

would be difficult for her. One of the

issues she wants to address with me

is her fear of the pain of child birth. I

realize this could be a factor in

her failure to conceive so far. She wants me

to " measure her pelvic

opening " - has anyone ever heard of

this? I think I will refer her to an

ob/gyn or midwife for this if she really is set on

having it done. She also

said she has " iron poor blood " which her

acupuncturist is treating with

acupuncture and herbs. I'm not sure if she

has actually been dxed with

anemia or if this was a Chinese diagnosis.

I know one of the first things to ascertain is

whether or not she is

ovulating. Her menstrual

" symptoms " may shed some light on this, i.e.

breast swelling/tenderness etc. From a lab

perspective I'm thinking the

thing to do would be a serum progesterone on day

17 to establish if she is

ovulating and whether there is enough progesterone

to support the pg.

I will talk to her re: preparing her body for pg

via drainage and BTGs;

address the fear of child birth pain as best I

can. I will employ the

homeopathic female hormones if warranted.

I'll also recommend ferrum phos

cell salts for anemia if she is iron

deficient. Are there other things I

should think about? Tests I should run?

Thank you all. Cheers! --kms

Kathy Sweeney, N.D.

Juneau Naturopathic Clinic

LLC

Juneau, AK

Family Practice

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[Guest guest]

Hey Kathy!

There's a little book called " Labor Pain, A Natural Approach to Easing

Delivery "

by Nicky Wesson. It's short & sweet and an easy read. It gives a good

overview of the process of

labor and delivery for the lay person interested in natural approaches.

It seems like

everyone I know has just had or is about to have a baby these days...

and they

have liked this book. Knowing about what is going to happen and

learning about

some options has given them a sense of control and less fear of

anticipation.

Hope you're well.

Carla Kreft Pascolini N.D., L.Ac.

PDX in transition to D.C.

On Sep 20, 2005, at 8:53 PM, Kathy Sweeney wrote:

>

> Hi everyone. I beg your pardon if this is an old topic that everyone

> is

> tired of discussing. I cannot remember my username or password

> and so

> have been unable to search the archives recently. That said:

>

> I am seeing a patient tomorrow who has been trying to get pregnant for

> 6

> months. I am looking for some guidance/direction on how to approach

> infertility in general as I haven't addressed this issue with a

> patient yet.

>

> She is 37 yo and has been off OCP x 5y. Her MD and her acupuncturist

> say

> " every thing looks fine " as far as her chances of getting pg. Her MD

> suggests a sperm count for her partner if she isn't pg within 3 mos.

> (I

> know that technically infertility is only dxed after 12 mos of

> unprotected

> intercourse). I suspect that her MD hasn't done much of a workup on

> her

> since generally a sperm count is one of the first things done for

> evaluating

> infertility but just speculation. She says that when she was 12 or 13

> yo

> her ice skating coach said her pelvic bones tilted in and so childbirth

> would be difficult for her. One of the issues she wants to address

> with me

> is her fear of the pain of child birth. I realize this could be a

> factor in

> her failure to conceive so far. She wants me to " measure her pelvic

> opening " - has anyone ever heard of this? I think I will refer her to

> an

> ob/gyn or midwife for this if she really is set on having it done.

> She also

> said she has " iron poor blood " which her acupuncturist is treating with

> acupuncture and herbs. I'm not sure if she has actually been dxed with

> anemia or if this was a Chinese diagnosis.

>

> I know one of the first things to ascertain is whether or not she is

> ovulating. Her menstrual " symptoms " may shed some light on this, i.e.

> breast swelling/tenderness etc. From a lab perspective I'm thinking

> the

> thing to do would be a serum progesterone on day 17 to establish if

> she is

> ovulating and whether there is enough progesterone to support the pg.

>

> I will talk to her re: preparing her body for pg via drainage and BTGs;

> address the fear of child birth pain as best I can. I will employ the

> homeopathic female hormones if warranted. I'll also recommend ferrum

> phos

> cell salts for anemia if she is iron deficient. Are there other

> things I

> should think about? Tests I should run?

>

> Thank you all. Cheers! --kms

>

> Kathy Sweeney, N.D.

> Juneau Naturopathic Clinic LLC

> Juneau, AK

> Family Practice

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the lead, Carla. I'll check it out. --kms

>From: carla kreft pascolini <ckreft@...>

>Reply-

>

>Subject: Re: Q: Infertility

>Date: Wed, 21 Sep 2005 10:54:21 -0700

>

>Hey Kathy!

>

>There's a little book called " Labor Pain, A Natural Approach to Easing

>Delivery "

>by Nicky Wesson. It's short & sweet and an easy read. It gives a good

>overview of the process of

>labor and delivery for the lay person interested in natural approaches.

> It seems like

>everyone I know has just had or is about to have a baby these days...

>and they

>have liked this book. Knowing about what is going to happen and

>learning about

>some options has given them a sense of control and less fear of

>anticipation.

>

>Hope you're well.

>

>Carla Kreft Pascolini N.D., L.Ac.

>PDX in transition to D.C.

>

>

>On Sep 20, 2005, at 8:53 PM, Kathy Sweeney wrote:

>

> >

> > Hi everyone. I beg your pardon if this is an old topic that everyone

> > is

> > tired of discussing. I cannot remember my username or password

> > and so

> > have been unable to search the archives recently. That said:

> >

> > I am seeing a patient tomorrow who has been trying to get pregnant for

> > 6

> > months. I am looking for some guidance/direction on how to approach

> > infertility in general as I haven't addressed this issue with a

> > patient yet.

> >

> > She is 37 yo and has been off OCP x 5y. Her MD and her acupuncturist

> > say

> > " every thing looks fine " as far as her chances of getting pg. Her MD

> > suggests a sperm count for her partner if she isn't pg within 3 mos.

> > (I

> > know that technically infertility is only dxed after 12 mos of

> > unprotected

> > intercourse). I suspect that her MD hasn't done much of a workup on

> > her

> > since generally a sperm count is one of the first things done for

> > evaluating

> > infertility but just speculation. She says that when she was 12 or 13

> > yo

> > her ice skating coach said her pelvic bones tilted in and so childbirth

> > would be difficult for her. One of the issues she wants to address

> > with me

> > is her fear of the pain of child birth. I realize this could be a

> > factor in

> > her failure to conceive so far. She wants me to " measure her pelvic

> > opening " - has anyone ever heard of this? I think I will refer her to

> > an

> > ob/gyn or midwife for this if she really is set on having it done.

> > She also

> > said she has " iron poor blood " which her acupuncturist is treating with

> > acupuncture and herbs. I'm not sure if she has actually been dxed with

> > anemia or if this was a Chinese diagnosis.

> >

> > I know one of the first things to ascertain is whether or not she is

> > ovulating. Her menstrual " symptoms " may shed some light on this, i.e.

> > breast swelling/tenderness etc. From a lab perspective I'm thinking

> > the

> > thing to do would be a serum progesterone on day 17 to establish if

> > she is

> > ovulating and whether there is enough progesterone to support the pg.

> >

> > I will talk to her re: preparing her body for pg via drainage and BTGs;

> > address the fear of child birth pain as best I can. I will employ the

> > homeopathic female hormones if warranted. I'll also recommend ferrum

> > phos

> > cell salts for anemia if she is iron deficient. Are there other

> > things I

> > should think about? Tests I should run?

> >

> > Thank you all. Cheers! --kms

> >

> > Kathy Sweeney, N.D.

> > Juneau Naturopathic Clinic LLC

> > Juneau, AK

> > Family Practice

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >