I work with many different types of clients:
some couples are just starting out and being very proactive about their fertility
some are starting to wonder whether they will need IVF as things haven't been happening for them in spite of putting in a good effort
some are preparing for their first IVF cycle (in most cases, there is work to do before they are ready to start IVF or the risk of failure is too high)
some have been trying to crack the infertility code for many years, often with multiple unsuccessful rounds of IVF under their belt
some are struggling with secondary infertility, even though they didn't struggle to conceive before
some are solo mums and have no evidence at all that they have fertility issues (other than the lack of easy access to sperm)
When you first reach out to me, I have no preconceived idea about how easy or difficult your case will be - whether we are looking at a 2-3 month turnaround, or whether we are entering into a long-term relationship to work together to crack this. We usually start with a Fertility Review, which is a way to bring all the information together to try to make sense of the journey so far, and to use all the information to form a plan to move forward with.
You may be completely new to the holistic health world - often this is the first time my clients have thought about tackling a health issue from an alternative perspective. If that is you, you will quickly realise that the fertility assessments and investigations you have had so far may have been over simplified (occasionally inaccurate) and that they provided you with incomplete and sometimes misleading information. The western medical approach to infertility often leaves you with no explanation for your fertility struggles, and very little to work on to improve your fertility. On the whole, the only medical advice people are given when they struggle with unexplained infertility is 'try IVF' (though for so many of my clients, IVF was not the answer!). If that has been your experience of fertility advice so far, welcome - I think you are going to like it here!
The beauty of holistic fertility support is that you get a whole new perspective on it all, especially when you choose to work with someone like me, who has expertise in holistic fertility support, and a very good network of holistic fertility experts and medical fertility experts. You will learn that there is a much bigger picture when it comes to fertility, that digestion, sleep, stress and immune system issues are all involved, and you will find that there are many things that you can do to turn that ship around.
But when you enter this whole new world of holistic fertility support, how do you know whether you just need a little bit of fertility acupuncture, or if you need to dive in much, much deeper to get to the bottom of things. The best way to discuss this, is through the use of an analogy (if you are new to me, you will learn that I love nothing better than a good analogy!)
Imagine you've taken ownership of a beautiful Victorian terraced house.
Now, imagine that house represents your fertility . . . .
Maybe it just needs a lick of paint.
Some of my clients are really easy cases - some gentle, holistic support is all they need and they will be 'fixed' in 2-3 months). Some people can manage this project on their own - doing their own research, working out what they do and don't need to do to improve things. Others would prefer to pay a professional decorator to come in and make it all look lovely which is often a quicker option, and produces better results. (do you see how the analogy works so well that the above could be written about both your renovation project or fertility!)
Maybe it needs a little bit more work, before the lick of paint.
Maybe there's a bit of damp in the kitchen or signs of a leak behind the tiles in the bathroom, but the work is quite straightforward if your builder knows what they are doing - and once that has been sorted out, all that's left to do is a bit of painting and decorating. Maybe you wouldn't have spotted this on your own, but an experienced builder would pick up the the signs. In a similar way, some of my cases need a bit more fertility detective work (something I'm very good at), but once we find that infection/varicocele/autoimmune-thyroiditis etc, it all falls into place in around 3-6 months)
But some houses need a really deep dive - a full gutting, getting down to the bare brick, the bare wood, and building it all up again . . .
These cases need a team of us - we may need specialist nutrition support, specialist microbiome support, specialist male fertility support etc. Whatever we need, I will help you to find it. This work may involve hunting for mold, Lymes Disease, or other hidden pathogens, it can involve taking a deeper dive into gut health and systemic issues. There would be lab tests, often quite a few of them. It can get complicated and feel overwhelming - one of my roles in this scenario is to help you to hold things together and support you through the process. Only once this work has been done does the potential for conception and a healthy pregnancy come back on the table.
This work can take a long time - envisage a year at least, often longer.
It can take a lot of money, the testing alone is likely to run into the thousands).
There is obviously no guarantee of a baby at the end of it all, but this work is sometimes the only way to realistically give yourself a chance.
For most people, this kind of deep dive really isn't necessary - all they needed was a lick of paint, or to get a specialist in to sort out the damp in the kitchen. It isn't that this kind of deep dive wouldn't be beneficial for pretty much everyone - it's the kind of work that can make a significant difference to your long term health and wellness, far beyond the immediate concern of fertility. But it is expensive and time consuming - and for many people struggling with infertility, it isn't absolutely necessary. But for others, things simply won't resolve unless they are prepared to dive in deep - a lick of paint simply won't make their house a healthy, inhabitable space if there is dry rot in the woodwork and mold under the floorboards.
To know whether you need a lick of paint, a bit more work in a specific area, or a full, bare-bones renovation, you really need an expert opinion. A holistic fertility expert (like myself), is in the best place to help you to work out what approach is best for you as we straddle both the holistic fertility space and have a very good knowledge of the medical fertility space. If you are confident that you only need a lick of paint, that is great (I love cases where we can turn it all around in 3 months) but if you start out on that basis and we see something that doesn't look right, we will let you know that you may need to go up a gear (whether that is a bit more targeted work on a specific area, or a full, deep dive).
Do we like this analogy?? (I think it has legs!)
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