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Millions of women take the Pill. After fifty years, it’s still one of the most popular forms of birth control because of its convenience and perceived safety and reliability. The Pill is also used for a variety of non‐contraceptive reasons, being prescribed for acne, irregular cycles, painful and heavy periods and to schedule “menstruation” at times that are considered convenient to the woman. Some Pill‐users choose only to “menstruate” three or four times a year, if at all.
However, while the Pill is taken by most women and girls at some stage in their lives, few realise that it comes with side‐effects. Clear links have been made to depression, nausea, headaches and migraines, as well as a loss of libido. Furthermore and contrary to what most women believe, it is not a fail‐safe method of contraception. Around 2 in 10 women do conceive while taking the Pill.
“During my 30 plus years in practice, I have seen countless women and girls who experience major menstrual, reproductive and general health problems when they come off the Pill ‐problems that weren’t evident prior to its use. Quite frequently these conditions then go on to threaten future fertility…” says Francesca Naish, Naturopath, Herbalist, Founder of Natural Fertility Management, my co‐author and world‐recognised author and expert on natural ways to improve fertility.
One of the principal ways in which you are adversely affected by the Pill is through alterations to your nutritional status. Of particular concern are the effects of the Pill on your levels of folic acid and zinc. If you’re taking the Pill now and planning to become pregnant down the track, also plan to have at least six months (but the longer the better) free from the Pill before you start trying to conceive.
Have you been empowered by recognising your natural fertility cycle and have used it’s signs and signals for both contraception and conception?
It’s great to see researchers focus new studies on the whole vegetables and fruits as opposed to the individual antioxidants. As we might expect these studies demonstrate that nature has put everything we need into the whole food and no amount of supplements can substitute for a diet of whole, healthy food grown on healthy soil, eaten fresh and when the food is in season.
Supplements however are definitely useful, since they provide an ‘insurance policy’ when the reality of modern diets falls short of the ideal. And supplements are never more important than when you and your partner are preparing for pregnancy. Since the needs during reproduction are so high (and so specific) and since you’re also making up for years of possible nutritional deficits ‐ a comprehensive, well‐balanced intake of all essential nutrients in the form of specifically designed supplements is vital for both prospective parents.
Apart from ensuring optimally healthy eggs and sperm, it’ worth remembering that from conception to the end of the first trimester, the mass of the embryo increases over 2.5 million times. This rapid phase of growth requires levels of nutrients that are many times higher than those required during the non‐pregnant state. Development also proceeds according to a very strict timetable. For example the neural tube closes on day 28 or 29 after conception, often well before the mother even knows she is pregnant. Doctors therefore focus on folic acid supplements before conception to prevent neural tube defects. But folic acid doesn’t occur alone in nature, it’s part of the B‐complex group and these vitamins work together as a team and should be taken together ‐ along with all other nutritional factors. In other words, you’re taking comprehensive nutritional supplements to achieve a pharmacological response ‐ in this case, optimal fertility and the healthiest possible environment for your baby to grow in!
It’s time the prophets of doom recognised that it’s not increasing age itself that compromises fertility, but 35+ years of modern diets, lifestyles and environments! Sure, reversing the trend of this accumulation of factors takes some commitment (from both prospective parents) but it need not involve a high‐tech solution and it does allow attainment of financial and professional ‘security’ if that’s what you want. Security aside, older parents generally bring greater wisdom and patience to the job. Becoming the mother of two sons at ages 38 and 42 ‐ I made positive parenting choices that would never have occurred to me a decade earlier. But the most inspired decision was our preconception preparation ‐ fabulously healthy babies just one of the many by‐products!
And healthy babies tend to grow into healthy adults. Case in point, David, my 25-year-old was recently required to proffer up the name of his GP. He took great delight in telling the collector of this information that he didn’ have a GP and in fact had never in his life needed to see a doctor. Equally positive, my younger son, now 20 years old, needed medical attention only when his head connected with the bottom of the local swimming pool. When you consider that the average child will see a doctor six times in his or her first year of life, my boys have had an exceptionally healthy life. But their good health is no accident. Beautiful, healthy, happy babies start with your own health before conception.
Anybody else out there with kids who defy the statistics for doctor’ visits? Anybody out there who wants kids that defy the stats?
The most recent statics tell us that in 2008 in Australia about 17 per cent of IVF cycles resulted in a baby, an increase of 1 percentage point since 2004. The increase was largely driven by improvements in the technology and skills of fertility clinics, we’re told.But if you ask me ‐ that loudly trumpeted 17% success rate is more realistically a failure rate of 83%! It’s also interesting that mention is rarely made of the overall health outcomes of those IVF pregnancies ‐ but more and more the evidence points to a greater incidence of subtle or not so subtle problems in the baby. Not to mention the long‐term effects on the mother of all those artificial hormones!
On the other hand, when both prospective parents make sure that they’e in absolutely top shape before they conceive, they can expect at least 80% chance of a truly healthy baby born at full term, even when there are infertility issues of up to ten years duration. For those couples who aren’t helped to a conception by preconception health care, at least they’ll both enjoy the legacy of much improved overall health.
But then I’m biased in favour of the natural approach. For the last 30 years I’ve been promoting preconception health care as the best way to ensure a healthier next generation. In that time, the word has spread and reproductive problems aside, it’ now embraced by couples who simply want the best possible start for their family. Of course if you’e one of the small percentage of couples who still needs to opt for IVF, preconception healthcare for both of you will improve your chances of IVF success to a much healthier 40%.
If you’e currently opting for IVF ‐ are you also working to improve the physical and
emotional health of you and your partner?
It’s not surprising that the health of women today is a reflection of our larger environment. That includes both the macro‐ and micro‐environments before conception, in utero, during birth and breastfeeding, through infancy and beyond. Physical, mental and emotional environments are all included, with food, air and water being the most obvious, but with family, relationships and society playing an equal part in shaping women’s health.
But like the canary whose demise warned of toxic gas in the mine, so the compromised state of our health is a sure indicator of the present state of our earth’s food, air and water and its communities. So we need to recognise that our health problems, which include infertility, miscarriage, prolonged labour, breastfeeding problems, post‐natal depression, childhood obesity, early menstruation, anorexia, PMS, dysmenorrhea, fibroids, breast cancer and menopausal symptoms, to name just a few, are all related to the compromised health of modern diets, lifestyles and surroundings.
But the negative issues that might make us want to run away to a pristine mountain top are actually ours to tackle right now. And we can do it! Best of all is our new‐found opportunity to reach millions via online communities, social networks and other internet channels.
We’ve got an amazing chance to spread the right word, to lobby people in power, to counter the disinformation that may be spread by corporations, drug companies, politicians and others. As an eternal optimist, mother of two, crusader for three decades to improve the health of the next generation, I don’t believe it’s all doom and gloom.
I believe we still have the chance to restore balance, harmony, optimal health and fertility to our lives ‐ do you think we’re in time to do it?
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