New Research Finds Conventional Infertility Treatments May Raise Preterm Birth Risk: Learn How Holistic Practitioners Can Play an Active Role in Fertility

Infertility treatments have become more and more prevalent in recent years. Women are deciding to have kids later in life, when they are beyond their fertility peak. Multi-births are becoming more common and conventional infertility treatments more numerous. But recently Danish researchers have shown that there may be reason to pause. According the Reuters, researchers found that among more than 20,000 women who gave birth at their hospital between 1989 and 2006, those who had conceived through in-vitro fertilization (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) had a higher risk of preterm delivery.
The study found that of the 730 babies born as a result of the injections, 8 percent were premature and 1.5 percent were very premature. The numbers were markedly different for babies born without the injection, with 5 percent being premature and .6 percent very premature.

These treatments specifically involve joining the women's egg and the male's sperm in a lab dish and injecting them in the women. The women's age, body weight, smoking history, and caffeine and alcohol intake during pregnancy were accounted for in the study.

It's studies like these that have led many women towards a more holistic approach. Sara Snow, a green lifestyle guru and host of Discovery Channel's Get Fresh With Sara Snow choose to go the holistic route. Here's what she wrote in her January newsletter:

This has been a long journey for us, and while we stayed away from "conventional" western fertility treatment methods, I experienced my fair share of intense herbal treatments, acupuncture, meditation, prayer and faith. After over 5 years of trying and waiting, we are thrilled to finally be expecting.

Natural Fertility Treatments

Holistic medicine provides clients with ample options when it comes to enhancing fertility, ranging from subtle to intense.

1. Enhance Fertility with Yoga

As a registered yoga teacher myself, I have learned numerous yogic methods for enhancing a women's fertility. I find restorative forms of yoga to be beneficial to promoting fertility within a women's body. Often times women begin to focus on becoming pregnant so much that the stress can have a negative impact on fertility. It's important to work to soften the abdominal area with the breath. We don't want to tighten the abdomen, as the area is home to the fallopian tubes, uterus, and ovaries. Include poses like Salamba Sarvangasana (Shoulderstand) and Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (Supported Bridge Pose). Both of these poses serve to even out a woman's mood swings by working on the endocrine system. They help to keep excessive hormonal surges at bay as well as the fear and anxiety that can accompany clients attempting pregnancy.

2. Cure Infertility with Acupuncture

According to the American Pregnancy Association, acupuncture can help to address under-functioning (hypothyroidism) or over-functioning (hyperthyroidism) thyroids, aiding fertility. Acupuncture, similar to yoga, serves to open up the lines of energy in the body, called meridians in Chinese medicine. It involves the insertion of ultra-thin, sterile needles into specific acupuncture points along the body that are located on meridian points.

3. Meditation To Remove Negativity

So how did Sara Snow get pregnant using meditation? Well, meditation serves to keep the mind as healthy as the body should be while carrying a child. It goes back to removing the fear that goes along with trying to get pregnant. While you're sitting in meditation, negative thoughts may begin to cloud the mind. When this happens, call them out for what they are. Name the thoughts: fear, doubt, or simply negativity. You'll find that once you call out the thoughts, they lift like fog on a river. This is a form of Vipassana meditation and it brings a sense of serenity and calm necessary for conception. I wrote earlier this week that meditation is really the foundation for all kinds of holistic wellness practices.