Trying to conceive? The gentle path to fertility

Jannyn Saß 29/05/2024

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Conceiving with TCM, the latest scientific findings and traditional methods

In total, around 693,000 babies were born in Germany in 2023, which was 6.2% fewer than the previous year. This meant that the number of births in 2023 was at its lowest level since 2013. [1]

Unintended childlessness affects almost one in ten couples aged 25 to 59 in Germany. [2]

Childlessness is a major issue in industrialised nations. Many couples want a baby but remain involuntarily childless. And not only in Germany has childlessness become a major topic; no place on earth currently seems exempt from falling birth rates.

The pain for the couples themselves is great, and the issue often becomes a nerve‑wracking strain on the relationship. Fertility clinics are booming. There are as many as 130 fertility clinics in Germany alone, with numbers steadily increasing.

What are the causes of involuntary childlessness, what does fertility treatment involve and what alternative treatment options are there?

Plaster cast of hand and foot on white wood, wooden rocking horse and white tulip as decoration.

Fig.: Involuntary childlessness is an issue for many.

Fertility treatment – the conventional medical approach

Fertility treatment usually means immense stress, not only for a woman's psyche but also for her body.

In conventional fertility treatment, one focus is on finding the cause: the fertile days are targeted, semen analyses are performed, the vaginal milieu is examined and hormone levels are tested. Urine tests, swabs and uterine examinations are added. Even these procedures alone are invasive and often unpleasant for the couples concerned.

Many women are also willing to take the second major step with the goal of fulfilling their strong desire for motherhood. In the next phase of fertility treatment it is no longer solely about diagnostics but about concrete steps to enable implantation of a fertilised egg and to start a successful pregnancy. "With each step more medical control is exercised over the female cycle." [3]

The procedure of fertility treatment

What sounds like wish fulfilment is a stony path that can bring pain and secondary illnesses. An IVF treatment (in vitro fertilisation) is preceded by medicinal stimulation of the ovaries. After this hormonal treatment the egg is removed and fertilised in the laboratory.

The literal meaning of IVF is "conception in a glass dish" – the fertilisation of egg and sperm takes place outside the uterus in a small dish.

For this purpose the eggs are aspirated from the ovary under ultrasound guidance (transvaginal follicle puncture).

After successful fertilisation the egg is surgically reintroduced into the uterus via the vagina using a catheter. [4] IVF treatment places a heavy burden on a woman's body and should be carefully considered.

Ask about side effects!

What many women do not know: this treatment is risky. During IVF treatment the ovaries are medically stimulated to promote follicle maturation and possibly to bring several eggs to maturity. This overstimulation of the ovaries can lead to the so‑called ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). This can trigger a whole range of symptoms – from mild discomfort to life‑threatening conditions. There is a risk of neurohormonal and haemodynamic changes, pulmonary manifestations, liver dysfunction, hypoglobulinaemia, febrile morbidity, thromboembolic events, neurological manifestations and adnexal torsion. Hormonal overstimulation can also lead to ovarian tumours. [5]

Psychologically it places enormous pressure on women, and unfortunately the baby take‑home rate in fertility treatment is estimated at only 20 per cent. [6]

A Danish study published in February also found that women who undergo IVF have a fourfold higher risk of stillbirth than women who conceive spontaneously or with another fertility technique. [7]

If you decide on this route, ask your doctor beforehand about the risks and side effects of the treatment so that you can make a well‑informed decision.

Petri dish and syringe.

Fig.: IVF treatment places a heavy burden on the female body and should be carefully considered.

The gentle treatment approach from Traditional Chinese Medicine according to Dr Randine Lewis

"Conventional medicine once told me I was infertile or somehow broken."

Dr Randine Lewis

Through her own suffering Dr Randine Lewis decided, as a physician and Autor, to devote herself to the issue of female childlessness. When she did not become pregnant she submitted herself to conventional medical treatment. She knows the inner stress that invasive methods can put on a woman. After turning to TCM practitioners she became pregnant naturally and resolved to help other women with unmet fertility desires. Today many women come to her practice with the diagnosis "infertility" – whether with blocked fallopian tubes, polycystic ovary syndrome or similar. Most of the women are very frustrated by the invasiveness and impersonality of conventional medicine, which intrudes into their personal and intimate lives.

With her extensive knowledge of Traditional Chinese Medicine combined with conventional procedures the author now states: "There is no such thing as infertility." Her aim is to encourage every woman to change her personal attitude towards infertility and to take her fertility treatment into her own hands. "I want to encourage every woman to take her fertility treatment into her own hands." She writes as a physician and advocate for women with a desire to conceive.

For every woman struggling with involuntary childlessness, conventional treatment also begins a journey through a diagnostic jungle. For Dr Randine Lewis the question arises: "Shouldn't the goal be to bring the patient’s entire body into an optimal state so that all systems, including reproduction, function as intended? Wouldn't the best treatment be organised so that the focus is not limited to curing individual symptoms, but on restoring entire systems that have fallen out of balance?"

Dr Lewis emphasises how important it is not to treat only one organ but the entire system. She describes her exciting treatment approach, with which she has already helped many women overcome infertility, in her book: Der sanfte Weg zur Fruchtbarkeit.

The four principles according to Dr Randine Lewis

Holistic diagnosis:
It is important to clarify the current state of the body and how the reproductive energies are seen according to TCM, and then how they can be harmonised.
Dietary change:
The second step involves dietary changes. Foods should be chosen that cleanse the blood, strengthen the kidney energy flow or remove stagnation in the liver. In addition she recommends certain vitamins and minerals – depending on the cause.
Unblocking the meridians through acupuncture:
TCM is based on energies called Qi that move through channels in the body. These energy channels can be blocked and released again with acupuncture treatment.
Herbal tonics:
Herbs and tonics are traditionally used in TCM to increase fertility.

Primarily Dr Lewis's approach aims to dissolve blockages. She describes many individual cases of women who had been "treated out" and after a certain treatment period became happy mothers of "acupuncture babies".

TCM teaches that the female body must be gently strengthened. Only then can it bear fruit. Whether the conventional diagnosis named hormonal and ovulation disorders, fallopian tube anomalies, uterine and cervical disorders or unexplained infertility, according to Dr Lewis most of these problems can be resolved or at least alleviated naturally, "if we apply the three elements of TCM: diet and lifestyle, acupuncture and medicinal herbs."

How does TCM proceed?

Treatment can work via four functional systems and four vital substances that are closely linked to female fertility. The functional systems include: Kidney, Spleen, Heart and Liver; the four vital substances are: Yin, Yang, Qi and Blood. Accordingly, depending on the woman and her individual symptoms, various disharmonies may be present that impair fertility. According to TCM these are:

Kidney Yin deficiency
Kidney Yang deficiency
Spleen Qi deficiency
Blood deficiency
Blood stasis
Liver Qi stagnation
Heart Qi deficiency
Heat
Dampness
Damp‑heat
Cold womb.

Dr Lewis describes these syndromes with their respective symptoms in detail in her book. She also provides recommendations for acupuncture treatments for women and men and suggests methods for stimulating acupuncture points, e.g. via acupressure. She also presents important herbal and dietary recommendations as well as supplements. The influence of nutrition should not be underestimated.

Dr Lewis recommends to her patients:

alkaline foods such as fruit, vegetables and sprouts (cf. alkaline or acid‑forming foods),
essential fatty acids rich in linoleic and alpha‑linolenic acid. Fibroids and endometriosis respond well to omega‑3 fatty acids. In particular, if clotted blood is passed during menstruation, Dr Lewis recommends ample intake of fish, flaxseed or evening primrose oil, which contain gamma‑linolenic acid,
natural multivitamins and minerals including iron, folic acid and B vitamins. Additionally bee pollen, blue‑green algae such as chlorella and spirulina, wheatgrass, vitamin B6, coenzyme Q10, folic acid,
organic foods, especially hormone‑free meat,
cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and cauliflower, because cruciferous vegetables contain diindolylmethane which promotes a more efficient use of oestrogen by increasing estradiol metabolism,
no caffeine, nicotine or alcohol,
reducing stress, lack of sleep and any burden on the immune system. Stress is a major influencing factor that should not be underestimated, because the body is then in fight‑or‑flight mode and the stress hormone cortisol is elevated. In TCM there is no single word for stress, but the symptom pattern is most closely reflected in Liver Qi stagnation, which means constricted blood vessels and muscle tension.

The treatment approach according to Rebecca Fett

Rebecca Fett, a science author with university degrees in molecular biotechnology and biochemistry, was also initially unable to have children. Her approach is based on cleansing and detoxifying the body to increase the chances of success with assisted reproduction.

This includes strategies to minimise toxin exposure, dietary changes and various supplements. These can help when a diagnosis of age‑related infertility, endometriosis, reduced egg reserve or unexplained infertility is present. [8]

Minimising toxin exposure:
"A toxin that has been shown to impair egg quality and fertility is bisphenol A (BPA)." [9] BPA is found, for example, in reusable plastic bottles and can disrupt the endocrine system [10] and lead to an increased miscarriage rate. [11] Phthalates, used in plastics, cleaning products, nail polishes or perfumes, can also interfere with hormones and prevent ovulation in animals. [12] Other substances such as dioxin, lead, mercury or pesticide residues can also affect the hormonal system.
Vitamin D deficiency:
Vitamin D is extremely important for preventing miscarriages – several clinical studies have found this. [13] According to the Endocrine Society, vitamin D deficiency should be treated short‑term with 6,000–10,000 IU of vitamin D.
Hypothyroidism and coeliac disease:
The thyroid should also be checked in cases of frequent miscarriages and infertility. Many fertility experts believe that a TSH value of 1 mIU/L is ideal. Coeliac disease should also be tested for, as the condition can lead to significant vitamin deficiencies.
Supplements recommended by Rebecca Fett:
Folate is important, a B vitamin that plays a crucial role in egg development and has a positive effect on ovulation and egg quality. The same applies to vitamin B12 and B6.
Coenzyme Q10 is of great use because it helps stimulate mitochondrial energy production. [14] Studies have shown that Q10 is associated with better egg quality and higher pregnancy rates. [15]
Antioxidants such as vitamins A, C and E also help repair oxidative cell damage and support mitochondrial repair in cells. [16] The well‑known hormone melatonin not only regulates sleep but also plays a role in fertility. [17] Melatonin also appears to have a direct effect on pain pathways or on the amount of signalling substances that regulate pain in endometriosis. [18]

Peat treatments for infertility

The tradition of peat applications has persisted in various healing centres in Germany to this day, for example in Bad Kohlgrub. Traditionally it has long been known that many pregnancies have occurred after peat treatments.

The spa physician Stephan Lauter, practising in Bad Kohlgrub, speaks from experience:

"The patients usually have already been through an odyssey when they come to me. They have undergone inseminations, in‑vitro fertilisations and hormonal treatments in so‑called reproductive medicine clinics. If unsuccessful, they may then see peat as a last resort – unfortunately! Because the peat treatment is completely without side effects, it should rather be placed at the beginning of therapies," says Lauter.

"Research findings confirm what scientists have suspected for decades: peat contains substances that are responsible for hormonal effects and can also be absorbed through the skin. Due to the warming effect of peat, not only the increased blood flow to the ovaries but also the pharmacological properties of the peat constituents gain special importance." [19]

Other wellness centres also report experience with peat:

It dissolves adhesions in the abdominal cavity (endometriosis),
prevents scar tissue,
stimulates ovulation and strengthens fertility,
improves oxygen supply.

One can particularly observe the thermal effect, which "rapidly" accelerates permeability so that the pores can open and the special substances of the peat such as steroids and humic acids can be absorbed. Prolonged warmth supplies and intensively perfuses the ovaries. A healthy hormone therapy, then? [20] [21]

Conclusion: treat the psyche too

"If we are willing to listen to our body and start trusting ourselves as much as we trust authorities, all rules change and so does our biology. Statistics no longer say anything about us. We enter the realm of miracles and unimaginable possibilities."

Dr Christiane Northrup

(Author of Frauenkörper – Frauenweisheit)

In addition to all physical and energetic treatment methods, the question arises: by what is a child called into the world? Opening oneself again to the miracle of love is certainly an important component beyond all described treatment options. Because love so often makes the impossible possible. And if our capacity is impaired by deep‑seated traumas and wounds, this can be another reason why a uterus is energetically cold or a heart no longer has enough Qi.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine this can, for example, be expressed as "Heart Yin deficiency" or as a "cold womb". It is also interesting that in the holistic view of the ancient Chinese the heart is seen as the emperor and dwelling place of the soul (shen). The heart is in direct connection with the uterus and supplies it with blood. On the emotional level a woman's love nourishes the life that wants to come to her through love. It is thus inherent in every woman. The uterus is also referred to in TCM as the "palace of the child".

Therefore, the holistic perspective always includes the mental‑emotional component in a gentle fertility treatment alongside detoxification, healthy nutrition and selected supplements.

Disclaimer:

This article does not replace treatment by a qualified physician or therapist. The basis of this contribution is studies and current literature. It must not be used for self‑diagnosis or self‑treatment. Discuss any inspirations from this article with a therapist you trust if necessary.