Fertility and Naturopathic Medicine

Featuring Dr. Alana Shaw, BSc., ND, RAC, Naturopathic Doctor, Fertility and Naturopathic Medicine

Duration: 1 minute, 55 seconds

There are a number of things that can cause infertility. One of the most common things is issues with ovulation. So a common example of that would be polycystic ovarian syndrome, where a woman may not be ovulating regularly.

Some other causes might be issues with the ovarian reserve for the egg quality, which we more commonly see in women who are older. And male factor is another one where we see more and more cases where sperm quality may be an issue for the couple.

And beyond that obviously there's structural issues that would be a cause. Endometriosis could be another cause. Unfortunately, for some couples one of the most frustrating causes would be no cause that's known. So for some people the diagnosis is simply unknown.

Usually to get the diagnosis of infertility for couples where the woman is under 35, often we say wait for a year of trying to conceive before really pursuing any further investigations. For women who are over 35 we may suggest more along the lines of six months to go get investigated.

But it depends. It's a case by case but primarily it's more based on not conceiving. So after that amount of time what the couple would do is probably get a referral to a fertility specialist where they could do a proper investigation.

And that investigation would include blood work that we'd do a full hormonal panel workup, ultrasounds to look at the ovaries, in addition to different kinds of imaging that would look at the health of the uterus and the fallopian tubes and also assess the male factor as well.

So if you're looking for ways to optimize your fertility, you may want to start by consulting your local naturopathic physician to discuss different ways that you can use natural and complementary medicines to support your ongoing treatments.

Presenter: Dr. Alana Shaw, Naturopathic Doctor, Vancouver, BC

Local Practitioners: Naturopathic Doctor