Letting go and relaxing increases chance of IVF success

Stock photo by prototype7
Women undergoing IVF would be better “letting go” and relaxing than believing that exercise or prayer can increase their chances of having a child, according a new study.

Would-be mothers who coped with the stress of fertility treatment by accepting that there was little they could do to change the outcome were more likely to get pregnant, psychologists found.

Those able to ‘go with the flow’ were almost twice as likely to conceive, researchers found, after they adjusted for the patients' age, cause of infertility and the number of cycles.

Read more...

Life Begins... - Miscarriage stories of loss, hope & help
Pregnancy Stories by Age - Daily blog of hope & inspiration!
Stories of Pregnancy over 44 years old - sharing stories I find online, for inspiration!

Recent Keyword Searches: can i become pregnant during menopause, over 40 how to get pregnant, having children after 40, how many years before menopause can i get pregnant, can you get pregnant at 45 years of age

Relaxation therapies can boost IVF success

Photo by kellidunn
Relaxation exercises and group therapy can up to double the chance that women undergoing fertility treatment will get pregnant, a small study suggests.

Researchers believe that the calming influences of the treatment help in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) succeed.

Patients suffering from symptoms of depression, common among women struggling to conceive, benefited most from the therapies, they found.

Read more...

Life Begins... - Miscarriage stories of loss, hope & help
Pregnancy Stories by Age - Daily blog of hope & inspiration!
Stories of Pregnancy over 44 years old - sharing stories I find online, for inspiration!

Recent Keyword Searches: up to what age can a woman get pregnant, how old can a woman get pregnant, is it safe for a 43 year old to get pregnant, can maca prevent miscarriage, change of life babies

BabySpirit Meditation

This is a Tele-Meditation class on awareness and self-soothing, a safe place to "just be", and profoundly connects you to the spirit and essence of your little one, whether pregnant or wanting to be, or just thinking about it.

* Meditation research has shown us it can increase circulation, reduce inflammation, enhance fertility by balancing the hormones and reducing harmful cortisol levels produced by stress, and add to a healthy pregnancy experience. That said it is possible to increase fertility success. BabySpirit is unique approach in that it is so much more than meditation, it is a profound healing journey, if you want it to be. Otherwise, just sit back and relax just "being!"

* Come away feeling more centered and complete in your understanding of a bigger picture at play. Fathers feel included and connected.

* BabySpirit is for both prenatal and preconception, and especially for fertility.

More info: http://www.consciousconception.net/babyspirit_meditation%E2%84%A2

Life Begins...
Miscarriage stories of loss, hope & help
http://born2luv.blogspot.com/

Stories of Pregnancy & Birth over 44y
- Daily blog of hope & inspiration!
http://pregnancyover44y.blogspot.com/

5,100 Stories of Pregnancy & Birth over 44y
Daily blog of hope & inspiration!
http://pregnancyover44y.blogspot.com/

Recent Keyword Searches: is it possible to get pregnant when you are older, pregnant or menopause, can you get pregnant at 40, pregnancy in your 40's, can a woman get pregnant after 45

Reflexology: can it aid fertility?

Photo by www.dailymail.co.uk
After three years of trying for a second child, Kath and Murray Chapman had almost given up hope.

Doctors had told them Mrs Chapman had a hormone problem which meant fertility treatment would be a waste of time.

But the 40- year-old mother remembered she had read somewhere that reflexology could help with infertility.

With nothing to lose, she had three months of foot massage and, at the end of her course, was delighted to hear that her hormone levels had returned to normal.

She soon became pregnant and gave birth to second son Fraser five months ago. While doctors insist there is nothing to prove the alternative therapy was responsible, she is sure it worked.

Mrs Chapman, who also has a four-year-old son called Jake, said: 'I am convinced I wouldn't have become pregnant without the reflexologist's help. I was absolutely shocked, but obviously delighted, to find I was pregnant after being told we couldn't have a second child. It's a dream come true.'

Mrs Chapman, from Deepcar, Sheffield, said she was 'devastated' to be told she would never conceive again.

'I was told that there was no point in attempting IVF treatment because it would be a waste so I would have to resign myself to the fact that we couldn't have another baby,' she added. A hormone test - which indicates if a woman is entering the menopause - showed levels were too high, suggesting her ovaries had stopped producing enough oestrogen, which controls the reproductive cycle.

To become pregnant, a woman needs a hormone rating of ten or below but Mrs Chapman's was above 25. Following reflexology, however, it dropped to below eight.

' I told the doctors about the reflexology but they dismissed it and just said it was possible that hormone levels can drop when you become more relaxed and less anxious.

'The effect of the reflexology was amazing. It seemed to relax me so much. I became pregnant quite quickly and everything went smoothly. The doctors never admitted that the reflexology had anything to do with it but I have no doubt at all.'

Mr Chapman, who runs a catering recruitment business with his wife, said: 'We're just delighted now the family is complete.' Reflexologist Sue Calvert said: 'The technique works on pressure points on the feet which correspond to different parts of the body. Massaging these areas helps to restore balance to the body.'

There is little accepted medical evidence to back up reflexologists' claims. One trial in Denmark examined 108 women with an average age of 30 who had been trying to conceive for up to seven years. Many dropped out of the trial, but 19 of the remaining 61 conceived within six months of completing the treatment.

Polly Hall, of the Association of Reflexologists, said last night: ' Doctors would say that reflexology had nothing to do with this.

'We don't make any claims to cure any conditions but we have anecdotal evidence that reflexology can help with infertility problems and bring the body back into balance.'

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/womenfamily.html?in_article_id=172952&in_page_id=1799

Life Begins...
Miscarriage stories of loss, hope & help
http://born2luv.blogspot.com/

Stories of Pregnancy & Birth over 44y
- Daily blog of hope & inspiration!
http://pregnancyover44y.blogspot.com/

4,600 Stories of Pregnancy & Birth over 44y
Daily blog of hope & inspiration!
http://pregnancyover44y.blogspot.com/

Recent Keyword Searches: having a baby at 45, i am 45 years old and miscarry 2 times is it my age older eggs, oldest person to get pregnant naturally, having babies at 44 years of age, natural pregnancy at 52, pregnancy with clomid over 45 years old, pregnancy over 50, fertility at 45 years old, i am 47 years old just found out i pregnant

Misconceptions about conception

Infertility affects more than 6 million people in the United States alone, or 1 out of every 6 couples, according to Lafayette-based Conceptions Reproductive Associates of Colorado.

And despite a common fallacy -- that it's a woman's problem -- fertility difficulties are equally as likely to be caused by male difficulties. It is a combined issue in about 20 percent of infertility cases, Conceptions says.

For women, it is most commonly a problem with ovulation, according to Robyn Curtis, with the Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine, which has a Louisville office.

For men, it is mostly sperm health or motility, Curtis says.

But there are so many other influencing factors that dealing with a difficult conception can feel like a guessing game, says McGinnis, the new Boulder mom. That's why she recommends getting professional help after one year of trying -- and sticking to research-proven advice such as staying away from cigarettes and minimizing stress.

That's why we've solicited the expertise of a spectrum of experts: a local acupuncturist, nutritionist-dietitian, reproductive endocrinologist-ObGyn, reproductive clinic, physician, Chinese herbal medicine practitioner and the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, as well as the results from some studies and a nontraditional pharmacy.

Here's their take on some wives' tales -- and some truths.

Enhancing feritily

Drink raspberry leaf tea. FALSE. This tea may promote uterine health after you're pregnant, but does nothing for fertility. (Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy)

Have sex during a full moon. FALSE. Menstrual cycles can coincide with the phases of the moon, but it doesn't matter if the moon's full if you're not ovulating. (Pharmaca)

Eat organic foods and drink purified water; eat alkaline foods. DEPENDS on whom you ask.

Acupuncturist Amy Dickinson says pesticides and herbicides in non-organic food can harm a woman's eggs, and food chemicals and additives often have estrogen-like substances that can throw the hormonal balance off.

Dickinson recommends alkaline foods, such as vegetables, non-citrus fruits, sprouts and wheat grass. Acidic foods, such as sugar, dairy and grains, can create an acidic cervical pH, which sperm don't like, she says. Plus, she says fruits and vegetables contain bioflavonoids, which help create healthy blood vessels that can help prevent miscarriage and prepare the uterus for implantation.

Physician Robert Gustofson, with the Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine at the Avista Hospital, says no food types have been shown to improve pregnancy probability. He say they won't harm your chances, however.

Be at a healthy body weight. TRUE. Being overweight or underweight can have adverse affects.

Get acupuncture. TRUE. Acupuncture increases the chances of implantation and increases blood circulation to the uterus. (Journal of Fertility and Sterility, 2003)

Adopt. FALSE. Everyone knows someone who had adopted a child and then gotten pregnant, but research has not shown a connection.

Dream you are pregnant. FALSE. Dreams are unrelated to fertility. (Gustofson)

Relax. TRUE. Stress is a fertility killer. You need progesterone for pregnancy. When a body is stressed, it redirects to produce the stress hormone, cortisol, instead of creating progesterone. (Boulder acupuncturist Amy Dickinson)

Have sex 14 days after your period. FALSE. Not every woman has a 28-day menstrual cycle with ovulation in the middle.

Have sex in a certain position. FALSE. (Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine)

Be well rested. TRUE. This helps combat stress. (Conceptions Reproductive Associates of Colorado)

Diminishing fertility

You may adversely affect conception if:

You have sex in a swimming pool. FALSE. The chlorine will not kill all sperm. (Julie McGinnis, Boulder nutritionist, dietitian and herbalist)

You douche after sex. FALSE. There is no evidence douching will prevent pregnancy, even if you use certain essential oils or other liquids. (McGinnis)

You have sex while on your period. MAYBE. The chances of ovulating while on you're period are smaller, but you can still get pregnant.

The man was kicked hard in the groin while playing a sport. FALSE. It's very unlikely that a single traumatic event will result in sterility. The male system is pretty hardy. (Conceptions)

The woman is older then 35. In general, the chance of getting pregnant in one year is about 90 percent until age 34. It drops to 67 percent by age 40, and after age 45, it declines to 15 percent. (American Society of Reproductive Medicine) However, fertility varies with every woman.

The man is older than 35. FALSE. Growing evidence suggests age may be a factor eventually, but the number and quality of sperm doesn't decline until after age 64. (American Society of Reproductive Medicine)

You're stressed. TRUE. Stress can reduce sperm count and stop ovulation. (American Society of Reproductive Medicine and Conceptions)

You took birth control pills. FALSE. A few months after you stop taking the pill, your body should be back to normal. (Conceptions)

Your mom took birth control pills. FALSE. (Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine)

You've already had one child. FALSE. (Conceptions)

You had a C-section. FALSE. Not unless it was complicated by something that affected the fallopian tubes. (Conceptions)

You're breastfeeding. MAYBE. It can decrease ovulatory function, but doesn't stop it. It depends on the woman. (Conceptions)

You haven't re-started your period after childbirth. FALSE. You can ovulate and not have your period. (Conceptions)

You have diabetes. TRUE. Good glycemic control prior to conception can decrease birth defects. And women with pre-diabetes glucose intolerance can have disrupted ovulation. (Conceptions)

You have had a heart attack or liver or kidney failure. TRUE. Significant, life-threatening medical conditions may decrease the chance of pregnancy until treated or resolved. (Gustofson)

If the man masturbates a lot. TRUE. Masturbation can temporarily lower sperm count. It cannot make you sterile. (McGinnis)

You have anal sex. TRUE. Anal sperm deposition does not fertilize an egg in the uterus. (Gustofson)

The man spends a lot of time in saunas or hot tubs. TRUE. Overheating may temporarily reduce sperm count. (Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine)

The guy wears tight underwear. TRUE. This can increase the temperature of the testes. (Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine)

The man smokes cigarettes or marijuana. TRUE. Smoking can reduce sperm count. (Infertility.about.com)

You drink alcohol. TRUE. Excessive alcohol can damage sperm and eggs. (Infertility.about.com) More than two drinks a day can suppress hormones. Plus, the byproduct of alcohol is a toxin, and if it goes to the uterus, it doesn't enhance pregnancy rates. (Conceptions)

You drink a lot of caffeine. TRUE. (Conceptions)

The man uses steroids. TRUE. Steroids can severely impair sperm production. (American Society of Reproductive Medicine)

The man consumes too much vitamin C (more than 1,000 mg). FALSE. Vitamin C will be urinated out if not absorbed. It does not necessarily acidify the semen or kill sperm. (Gustofson)

You unnecessarily take over-the-counter drugs, including ibuprofen. TRUE. Ibuprofen can inhibit prostaglandins and inhibit ovulation. (Dickinson)

The woman has an iron deficiency. TRUE, as least for people with chronic anemia. It can affect ovulation. (Conceptions)

Eating soy, which contains plant-based estrogens. FALSE. There is no research that show a high-soy diet creates infertility. (American Society of Reproductive Medicine)

Using a cell phone. MAYBE. One study by The Cleveland Clinic found men who used cell phones the most had poorer sperm quality than men who used them the least, but more research is needed.

You have an eating disorder. TRUE. Too-low body fat levels can stop the reproductive process. (American Society of Reproductive Medicine)

You are a hard-core athlete. TRUE. Low body fat can mean irregular periods. (American Society of Reproductive Medicine)

The man is an avid cyclist. TRUE. For men, pressure from the bicycle seat can damage blood vessels and nerves. Mountain biking shocks the perineum and can injure the scrotum. One study found mountain biker men were more likely to have twisted veins in the scrotum, cysts or calcium deposits. (American Society of Reproductive Medicine)

You have a sexually transmitted infection. DEPENDS. Chlamydia or gonorrhea are associated with male and female infertility. (American Society of Reproductive Medicine) HPV (human papilloma virus) typically is not, unless it is linked to cancer and the woman must have her cervix operated on. Herpes does not affect fertility. (Conceptions)

The woman has endometriosis. TRUE. (American Society of Reproductive Medicine)

The woman has thyroid problems. Too much or too little thyroid hormone can interrupt ovulation. (Conceptions)

The man has retrograde orgasms (sperm deposition in the bladder). TRUE AND FALSE. It will be more difficult to conceive, but it not impossible. (Gustofson)

You were exposed to harmful chemicals. TRUE. Some chemicals can hurt sperm or eggs or cause birth defects. (McGinnis)

You go under an anesthetic at the dentist's office. FALSE. (Conceptions)

You've had radiation treatment. TRUE. Cells exposed to significant levels of radiation may take up to two years to resume normal sperm production or, in severe cases, may never recover. (American Society of Reproductive Medicine)

You're exposed to some kinds of plastics and rubber, or pesticides. DEPENDS on whom you ask.

McGinnis says some plastics contain materials that can disrupt hormones. (McGinnis)

Gustofson says large amounts of pesticide ingestion may cause infertility, but minimal exposure will not cause harm. He says plastics and rubber do not cause infertility.

You use petroleum-based lubricants, including spermicides, oils or Vaseline. TRUE. Astroglide, Replens, mineral oil or all-natural lubricants may not be as harmful to sperm. (American Society of Reproductive Medicine)

Source: http://dailycamera.com/news/2008/feb/11/no-headline---12pcov/

Life Begins...
Miscarriage stories of loss, hope & help
http://born2luv.blogspot.com/

Stories of Pregnancy & Birth over 44y
- Daily blog of hope & inspiration!
http://pregnancyover44y.blogspot.com/

4,450 Stories of Pregnancy & Birth over 44y
Daily blog of hope & inspiration!
http://pregnancyover44y.blogspot.com/

Recent Keyword Searches: can a 38 years old woman get pregnant, other option to get pregnant, what age is too old to become pregnant, mothers in 40's, hances of getting pregnant at 47, what is a the oldest age a woman can get pregnant, pregnancy in 40's, can 43 yr old use her own eggs to get pregnant, odds of getting pregnant age 49, can i get pregnant at age 47

Offering Hope

The stress, money and marital problems were bad enough. But after months of trying and failing to get pregnant, the ultimate blow came when a good friend didn't invite Paula Dowd to a baby shower for fear it would be hurtful.

"People can't relate," Dowd said. "They don't understand what you're going through. You start to feel more and more socially isolated."

Dowd's struggle with infertility, which she eventually overcame, led to a new outlook on life - and a major career change. A few years after her ordeal began, Dowd quit her job as a marketing director, went back to school and become a counselor to help infertile women.

This month, Dowd will begin support classes at her new MindBodyWellness clinic in Redondo Beach, a practice that she hopes will complement fertility physicians in the South Bay.

"As a society, we tend to minimize the impact that infertility has on women," Dowd said. "For some women, particularly in some minority cultures, child-bearing is their sole purpose in life. It's like, if I can't do this, who am I?"

More women than ever are struggling with fertility problems. Roughly 15 percent of couples - whether the problem be with the woman, man or both - can't conceive for a variety of reasons, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Health experts say one of the factors is that women are waiting longer to have children. The number of new mothers over 40 tripled from 1980 to 2005, according to the California Public Policy Institute. Nationally, the average age of first-time mothers rose to an all-time high of 27 in 2005. After the age of 35, it becomes much more difficult for women to conceive naturally.

Dowd was certainly in tune with today's trend. At 32, she and her husband decided they were emotionally and financially ready for a family. After a year of failed attempts, she started to get worried.

They spent thousands of dollars on various medical procedures, but nothing worked. She was also diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome, a condition in which the female body produces a high level of androgens, or male hormones, that inhibit pregnancy.

Tensions were running high, she said. Dowd had no problem adopting, but as an only child, she wanted at least one biological child.

"I had a strong desire to carry that genetic link to the future," she said.

She decided to try a 10-week mind-body class suggested by her fertility doctor. In the group meetings, participants talked about what they were going through, meditated, practiced yoga and learned how to take care of themselves.

Armed with a calming CD of music, she went to her doctor for in vitro fertilization, an expensive procedure in which the eggs and sperm are fertilized in a petri dish. A month later, at age 34, she was pregnant.

"It was totally different that time," she said. "I went into it completely relaxed, centered."

Research shows that when stressed, the body triggers the "flight or fight" response and releases toxins to ward off danger. Those toxins can lead to a number of health problems, including infertility, she said.

Dowd was resigned to adopt a second child - she and her husband had already spent about $30,000 on fertility treatments, which weren't covered by insurance. But she continued to practice her relaxation techniques, and became pregnant again at 37 without any medical assistance.

That's when Dowd became a believer. After being approached by a few women at work who struggled with similar problems, the new mother decided on a new career path.

She became a licensed counselor and began working with women individually at a MindBodyWellness clinic in Santa Monica. Dowd, who is now 40, plans to hold her first group meeting at her new offices on Palos Verdes Boulevard later this month.

In addition to helping women conceive, she said she hopes her work will create happier women, and therefore happier mothers. Even if women can't conceive, "they will become parents if they want to be," she said, referring to adoption and other options.

"We don't realize how much control we have over our bodies," she said. "For me this is about giving women possibility and hope."

FIND OUT MORE

For information about the MindBodyWellness clinic in Redondo Beach, call 310-373-9355 or go to http://www.mindbodywellnessla.com/ .

Source: http://www.dailybreeze.com/ci_8170715

Life Begins...
Miscarriage stories of loss, hope & help
http://born2luv.blogspot.com/

Stories of Pregnancy & Birth over 44y
- Daily blog of hope & inspiration!
http://pregnancyover44y.blogspot.com/

4,400 Stories of Pregnancy & Birth over 44y
Daily blog of hope & inspiration!
http://pregnancyover44y.blogspot.com/

Recent Keyword Searches: trying to get pregnant in your forties, chances she's pregnant 45 yr old woman, can a pre-menopause woman get pregnant?, percentage of miscarriage in woman over 40, perimenopausal or pregnant at 42, how many women get pregnant at 44, how to get pregnant late in life, how to get pregnant at 43, can you get pregnant during the menopause, getting pregnant late 40s

IVF mums conceiving after childbirth

IT'S a mystifying phenomenon - IVF mothers conceiving spontaneously months after childbirth - and experts say it may be on the rise.

Women who have resorted to IVF after years of failure are regularly falling pregnant naturally soon after baby No. 1.

According to some doctors, the number of IVF parents conceiving naturally second time around may be growing.

"Twenty-five per cent of women who've been through IVF will conceive within the next two years," said IVF Australia director Prof Michael Chapman.

"It's probably increasing, and that's because IVF is being used more and more to treat unexplained infertility."

The IVF couples conceiving naturally second time around are not completely infertile, but rather have reduced fertility.

So they may have fallen pregnant naturally the first time if they had kept trying.

Other experts say the rise in the phenomenon may simply be because more people are using IVF as it becomes more affordable.

Some experts believe the secret to falling pregnant naturally after IVF lies in a relaxed state of mind.

"I have a personal belief that part of it is related to relaxation," Prof Chapman said.

"You've got your baby, and you're not trying any more. That's one factor, and maybe the body does know how to get pregnant."

Spotswood bookkeeper Penny Stevens tried for 18 months to conceive naturally before having IVF baby Jack 14 months ago.

So she was stunned to discover only months after Jack's birth she was pregnant naturally.

Ms Stevens, 39, is convinced the stress of desperately wanting a baby, combined with work stress, was the reason she failed first time, and the absence of that stress was why she succeeded for baby No. 2.

"You think you're doing the right thing - you go to uni, work really hard, you get a beautiful house. It wasn't until I got to 34 or 35 I thought, 'OK, I'll have babies now'," said Ms Stevens, who is due in weeks.

"And suddenly I couldn't. It frightened the living daylights out of me. It was my worst fear to not have a baby.

"This time there was no stress, no pressure, because I had Jack.

" I was amazed that we were pregnant naturally because I just had it in my head that we wouldn't."

Prof Chapman recently advised the mother of two IVF babies to use contraception if she didn't want another baby.

Eleven weeks later she was pregnant.

Monash IVF national medical director Gab Kovacs treated one woman who tried for seven years to conceive naturally before having an IVF baby.

Prof Kovacs said the woman tried naturally for two more years before having a second IVF baby, then about six months later conceived a third naturally.

Prof Kovacs believes the phenomenon of IVF mums conceiving naturally for subsequent pregnancies comes down to pure chance.

"The longer you try, the greater the chance," he said.

Source: http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23039873-661,00.html

Life Begins...
Miscarriage stories of loss, hope & help
http://born2luv.blogspot.com/

Stories of Pregnancy & Birth over 44y
- Daily blog of hope & inspiration!
http://pregnancyover44y.blogspot.com/

4,300 Stories of Pregnancy & Birth over 44y
Daily blog of hope & inspiration!
http://pregnancyover44y.blogspot.com/

Recent Keyword Searches: age 50 and want to get pregnant, pregnancy 40's fertility, dr says you can't get pregnant you do, pregnancy after 40, how to get pregnant after age 40, up to what age can a woman get pregnant, woman over 50 and fertilised, what should i do if i am trying to get pregnant at forty, can i get pregnant over 50, i am 45 can i get pregnant, can you get pregnant at 44

Spas cater to couples trying to conceive

Aspiring to go from being pampered to becoming parents, a growing number of couples are turning to spas to increase their chances of conceiving.

Instead of taking hormone injections, prospective mothers are submitting to acupuncture needles. Meds are being traded for massage. And in place of a cold doctor's office, couples enjoy feng shuied rooms, cascading waterfalls, and enough New Age music to turn a pit bull into a poodle.

It's all part of the philosophy that relaxation is the drug-free path to reproductive success.

"You become a big believer when it works for you," says Kristi Slemko, a Calgary woman who credits acupuncture for helping her to get pregnant.

Like her mother, who needed fertility drugs to conceive, Slemko was diagnosed with anovulation, a condition in which the ovary doesn't regularly release a ripened egg. While waiting to start using the drug Clomiphene citrate, she read an article linking acupuncture with fertility and thought she'd give it a try.

Three months into the treatment, and with not a single infertility drug ingested, Slemko was pregnant.

"The lights are dim, there's that nature-type music playing, you're covered up with warm blankets," recalls Slemko, now the mother of a healthy six-month-old boy. "It was just like a spa treatment, except my medical plan covered it."

According to the president of SpaFinder, a global industry monitor, the union of holistic fertility treatments with a spa or wellness centre is one of the hottest developing trends of 2008.

"People are waiting longer to get pregnant - and age, of course, has an effect on their ability to do that," says Susie Ellis. "So we're seeing these trends coming together."

One in six North American couples struggles with infertility, according the Infertility Awareness Network of Canada. Though circumstances vary, a medical infertility treatment such as in vitro fertilization typically offers women ages 35 to 39 a 30 to 45 per cent chance of conceiving. Ellis acknowledges scientific evidence for the efficacy of spas in fertility treatments "isn't overwhelming," but says "I think most of us recognize that relaxation is a healthful thing that provides a more conducive environment for sexual intimacy and conception."

The Spa at Little Dix Bay in the British Virgin Islands offers "fertility yoga" and "fertility reflexology." In Mexico, staffers at the Tides Riviera Maya take couples through an ancient fertility ritual in the spa's "house of fertility." At The Raj Ayurvedic Spa in Iowa, a daily three-hour program of massage, heat treatment and mild herbal enema is collectively claimed by the staff to create "the ideal internal physical environment for healing."

Fitting with Las Vegas's reputation for all things physical, the strip's famed Caesars Palace began offering its own fertility program last year. Patrons of the hotel's Qua Baths & Spa can undergo "lunaception" massage treatments, which are conducted during the full moon in the presence of a rose-quartz fertility idol.

"In the western world, we tend to approach everything with chemicals and science. So for us, it was a unique opportunity to bring some holistic healing to people," says Jennifer Lynn, spa director at Qua, where a 75-minute lunaception package costs $420.

"Couples are always anxious to get out of the treatment room and go upstairs (to their hotel room)."

Acupuncturist Leslie Ring-Adams, whose focus as founder of Calgary's Body in Balance is reproductive health, gynecology and obstetrical disorders, says she does not advocate abandoning medical treatments for couples trying to conceive.

"The worst thing you can tell a woman who's trying to get pregnant is that she just needs to relax," says Ring-Adams.

Although Ring-Adams has seen patients such as Slemko get pregnant without the aid of medical therapies, she believes a woman's best chance is to use acupuncture as an adjunct to assisted reproductive technologies.

A 2002 study published in the journal Fertility and Sterility found the use of acupuncture to relax the uterus during in vitro fertilization cycles led to twice as many pregnancies than in cases where women did not use acupuncture.

"We say you need to cultivate the soil before you plant the seed," says Ring-Adams. "The idea is that if you get everything ready, when the seed is planted in a perfect environment, it's going to grow into a beautiful, perfect baby."

Source: http://www.canada.com/topics/bodyandhealth/story.html?id=e0d733ac-4afd-40b1-9aa9-c39392985275&k=22468

Life Begins...
Miscarriage stories of loss, hope & help
http://born2luv.blogspot.com/

Stories of Pregnancy & Birth over 44y
- Daily blog of hope & inspiration!
http://pregnancyover44y.blogspot.com/

4,300 Stories of Pregnancy & Birth over 44y
Daily blog of hope & inspiration!
http://pregnancyover44y.blogspot.com/

Recent Keyword Searches: health risk for pregnant women in their 40's, pregnancy in 40's, can not get pregnant over 45, why does it take so long to get pregnan at fourty, too late for age 40 for pregnant, is it harder for older owman to get pregnant, pregnancy after 44y, is it harder to get pregnant at 44, can i get pregnant at 45, when is too old to get pregnant?