Enhancing Fertility

Liz Brown, Chris Demetrios Meletis

Description

This book is dedicated to the millions of couples who are trying to get pregnant without success. Rather than assuming that one is infertile, readers can try the many reliable natural remedies and resources in this book. The authors goal is simple: to provide a clear guide to conception based on natural, safe, well-researched therapeutic approaches.

Sujets

• Fertility
• Infertility
• Health
• Fitness

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 01 juin 2004
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781591206361
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

The information contained in this book is based upon the research and personal and professional experiences of the authors. It is not intended as a substitute for consulting with your physician or other healthcare provider. Any attempt to diagnose and treat an illness should be done under the direction of a healthcare professional.
The publisher does not advocate the use of any particular healthcare protocol but believes the information in this book should be available to the public. The publisher and authors are not responsible for any adverse effects or consequences resulting from the use of the suggestions, preparations, or procedures discussed in this book. Should the reader have any questions concerning the appropriateness of any procedures or preparation mentioned, the authors and the publisher strongly suggest consulting a professional healthcare advisor.
Basic Health Publications, Inc.
8200 Boulevard East
North Bergen, NJ 07047
1-201-868-8336

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Meletis, Chris D.
Enhancing fertility : a couple’s guide to natural approaches / Chris
D. Meletis, N.D., and Liz Brown.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 13: 978-1-59120-636-1.
ISBN 1-59120-054-7
1. Infertility—Alternative treatment. 2. Naturopathy. I. Brown,
Liz, 1971– II. Title.

RC889.M3793 2004
616.6'9206—dc22
2004007263

Copyright © 2004 by Chris D. Meletis, N.D., and Liz Brown
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written consent of the copyright owner.
Editor: Susan E. Davis
Typesetting/Book design: Gary A. Rosenberg
Cover design: Mike Stromberg
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Building a Foundation of Health
2. Improving Your Health for Enhanced Fertility
3. Whole-Person Health Care: A Starting Point for You and Your Physician
4. When and How to Conceive
5. Causes of Female Infertility
6. Causes of Male Infertility
7. Conception: The Beginning of a Miracle
8. Nutritional Medicine to Enhance Fertility
9. Botanical Medicine to Enhance Fertility
10. Traditional Chinese Medicine: Ancient Wisdom for Fertility
11. When Less Is More: Homeopathy for Enhanced Fertility
12. Physical Medicine: Hands-on Fertility Enhancement
Resources
Glossary
Notes
About the Authors
First and foremost I would like to thank God, for His creative power and the magnificent gifts He has given humanity. May His wisdom bless each couple that reads this book and seeks the joy of parenthood.
A special note to my wonderful wife: You are the best life partner I could have ever imagined. To my boys, Nicholas and Matthew, you helped inspire this book, for you each give me an appreciation of the blessing of parenthood. And finally, to our unborn baby whom we never got to know on earth, we eagerly await the ultimate of family unions for all of eternity.
—Chris D. Meletis, N.D.

I would like to thank my parents, Don and Barb Brown, for giving me the gift of life and for their ongoing encouragement, love, and patience. Many thanks also to my brother, Jeff, and my friends, and special thanks to Dominic Orlando for his help with graphics. I would like to dedicate this book in memory of Sverre Peter Roang, a dear friend and mentor, whose tireless dedication to peace, promoting natural foods, questioning authority, and enthusiasm for life inspire me every day.
—Liz Brown

Special thanks to Norman Goldfind and Susan E. Davis for their support, hard work, and sharing the belief that natural medicine can serve as the key to unlocking and unleashing vibrant health in the pursuit of enhanced fertility.
Contributors
Owen K. Davis, M.D.
Catherine Downey, N.D.
Rosetta Koach, L.M.T., N.D.
Peter N. Kolettis, M.D.
Zalman Levine, M.D.
Robert K. McLellan, M.D., M.P.H.
Susan Roberts, N.D.
David Russ, D.C.
Tamara L. Staudt, N.D., M.S.O.M.
LucyVaughters, P.A.C., C.C.H.
Werner Vosloo, M.Sc.Hom.
Philip Werthman, M.D.
Shaun C. Williams, M.D.
Glenn Zielinski, D.C.
Katherine Zieman, N.D.
Haosheng Zhang, M.S.O.M, Lac.
Guanying Zhou, M.S.O.M., Lac.
T his book is dedicated to the millions of couples who have faced the challenge of trying to get pregnant. Our goal is simple: to provide you with a clear guide of do’s and don’ts that can swing the odds in your favor, with a focus on natural, safe, well-researched therapeutic and preventive approaches.
Your journey toward enhanced fertility has just begun. The first step is taking charge of your destiny by seeking the knowledge you need to boost your fertility. This book will help you do just that. Your fertility as a couple depends on the sum total of both positive and negative variables related to your health. Understanding what those variables are and making healthy choices as a result will help the two of you increase your odds of getting pregnant and giving birth to a healthy baby.
Maybe you’re about to start trying to conceive for the first time and you’re taking extra care to learn as much as you can beforehand. Or perhaps you’ve been trying to get pregnant for a while without success. Doctors may have told you there’s no hope that you will. While that is certainly true for some people, the majority of infertile couples can overcome obstacles to conception and eventually become parents. In some situations—for example, in the case of anatomical abnormalities and blockage of reproductive system ducts—surgery or other high-tech procedures may be necessary to accomplish that goal. And, unfortunately, it is true that not everyone can overcome infertility.
But when it comes to many causes of infertility—hormonal imbalances and poor sperm quality among them—healthy diet and lifestyle choices and natural medicine can often enhance fertility significantly. Nutritional, environmental, and botanical medicine, as well as traditional Chinese medicine and homeopathy, all have something to offer. Testifying to this great news are the exciting research reports and success stories of happy couples who have overcome infertility naturally that you’ll read about throughout this book. Barring physical problems beyond your control, you have the power to take charge of your health and, in doing so, to boost your fertility.
Striving to get pregnant can be stressful, and stress itself can alter some couples’ ability to conceive. Rather than allowing stress to get the best of you, take this opportunity to grow with your partner as you embark on this quest together. So often in our society, the woman is blamed for being unable to conceive or carry a baby to term, but male factors account for a large share of infertility, too. Even so, useful resources for men about how to enhance their fertility naturally have been sorely lacking—until now. In the following pages, both you and your partner will find a wealth of information and tips on what you can do—individually and together—to fully realize your fertility potential. As with any successful team, if one player needs more assistance, the other player’s role is to pitch in and work for mutual victory. In addition to being emotionally supportive of the partner experiencing a fertility challenge (and bear in mind that sometimes both partners contribute to infertility), the other partner should strive to reach his or her peak fertility through healthy diet and lifestyle choices to boost the couple’s overall odds of conceiving.
If you aren’t experiencing a fertility challenge and you just want to fine-tune your system as you attempt to get pregnant and bring a healthy baby to term, this book is also for you. Being as healthy as possible will improve your chances of achieving that goal. If you are among the one in six couples considered infertile at one time or another, paying special attention to the advice, research, and common sense shared in this book can help shift things in the right direction for you and your loved one. Regardless of the reason you’ve picked up this book, the reality is that it is designed for those desperately seeking enhanced fertility. But it is also useful as a guide to better health for a lifetime, independent of age or fertility goals.
As we review the various aspects of enhancing fertility in the chapters that follow, the pearls of clinical and practical wisdom also apply to your overall health. The healthier you make your body, the greater the likelihood the seed of life will find fertile soil and flourish. Our intent is to provide useful information for you to share with each other and with your physician as you incorporate what’s appropriate for your individual needs.
Blessings to you and your partner as you seek the ultimate of all gifts—the baby you both want so much.
A s you have probably already discovered, getting pregnant isn’t always that easy. It can be a very complex process, and many variables have to be in place for it to happen. Our goal is to empower you and your partner by providing useful information to make the process less complicated and to help you get pregnant.
Let’s start with the basics: To get pregnant, a woman has to ovulate and release an egg, or ovum. A man has to produce enough normal sperm that can move well. Then he must be able to ejaculate sperm that can make their way through the woman’s reproductive system to reach and fertilize the ovum. In turn, the ovum has to be able to develop and implant itself in the endometrium (the lining of the uterus), where it can develop into a healthy baby over the next nine months. Refer to Figure 1.1 on page 4 and Figure 1.2 on page 5 for illustrations of the male and female reproductive systems.
Considering all the physiological factors necessary to establish a pregnancy, it’s really not surprising that roughly 6 million Americans are inferti