Infertility and complementary therapies - can they help me to conceive?

Deciding to have a baby is one of the biggest decisions you can choose to make, and should be one filled with joy and anticipation, but what happens if you have made the decision and then nothing happens?  Of course you will book the appointment with your GP and then undergo the usual tests and visit consultants.  Sometimes a reason can be found, but what happens if you are one of the many couples who are classed as being in the undiagnosed infertility group?

Undiagnosed infertility is when a couple have failed to conceive for 2 years or more and that investigations have failed to find any physical reason for the lack of conception.  Where do you go then?   A lot of couples look at IVF as a solution, but perhaps the question you could ask yourself first is, what else could be stopping me?

Deciding to have a baby is one of the biggest decisions you can make….

Undiagnosed infertility is when a couple fail to conceive for 2 years or more…

Even your struggle to conceive may cause stress and prevent you becoming pregnant…

Stress and anxiety can cause many physical problems including fertility issues

Reflexology is a complementary therapy based on bringing the body into balance through massage of the feet or hands.  It is completely non invasive, has no side effects and may significantly improve fertility through the removal of stress and stimulation of the reproductive endocrine systems (those controlling hormone release and sperm production).  Both partners can therefore benefit from receiving reflexology.

Hypnotherapy can help to discover whether there are any deeply buried emotional hindrances to conception.  These repressed emotions may include fears around being a parent, getting pregnant, giving birth, or even previous terminations. In some cases even the fact that one partner has children from another relationship can cause a stress response which may prevent a successful pregnancy.   

Even your struggle to conceive may cause stress which can prevent you from becoming pregnant.  Stress results in the body triggering what is known as the fight or flight response (adrenaline) which has been shown to depress the immune and hormone systems.  Unless you are actually pregnant your reproductive areas are considered by the body to be less important than your brain and heart and whilst in this fight or flight mode, they may slow down significantly. 

Stress in itself is very insidious and can creep up without you even being aware of it.   Have you noticed that during very long stressful times in your life your periods become erratic?  Perhaps your sexual performance has been affected?  These symptoms may be due to stress.  Sometimes when we feel we are okay we are actually drowning in stress, causing a depleted immune system – do you feel as it you are always unwell, catching every bug around?  Are you tired but unable to sleep?  These are just a couple of the most common stress symptoms.  So if stress can stop you sleeping and cause you to catch cold, perhaps it is stopping you from conceiving as well.

I work a lot with couples with undiagnosed fertility issues, and they are often very surprised at how stressed and unwell they have been feeling once they take the journey to wellness and balance.

I would recommend that both prospective parents participate in separate sessions, as, although this is not compulsory, the Mr in the couple may often feel very excluded when the conversation is all about ovulation and fertile dates etc, and may feel as if he is just a sperm donor at times, this is a stress which can have an effect on the very essence of conception.  Keeping both parties in the couple involved is very important and highly recommended, after all the main aim is to become a happy family unit.

Even those who take the journey to parenthood via IVF have found that their eggs are larger and more fertilise after hypnotherapy and reflexology sessions, and the skills you learn to relax you can be used for the rest of your life.

So my answer to the question…;  “can hypnotherapy and reflexology help me to conceive?” From my experience, it has to be yes.  I work with clients who have benefited on many levels from undertaking these therapies and even those undertaking IVF (although I would advise against reflexology during the chemical/injections phase of IVF as reflexology acts as a detoxification)

Why not try it for yourself, hypnotherapy and reflexology are non invasive, have no chemical side effects and will help you to become calmer, focussed and balanced in both mind and body.

For more information regarding my fertility programme please call Cherie on 07900 352324