Chinese Medicine and Fertility

Using Traditional Chinese Medicine to Help You Conceive

By Kelly Burgess

Hirsh notes that the majority of the infertile couples he sees are over age 40. Biologically, the ideal age to have children is about age 21 to 28 for women, but more women are putting off pregnancy to pursue careers. This can cause problems as their fertility decreases and they decide to become pregnant. TCM uses a couple-centered approach to deal with this.

"The real push on TCM for older couples is to get the couple superbly healthy and to get rid of any underlying problem, such as endometriosis," says Hirsh. "Then it's time to get a workup from a reproductive endocrinologist, go back to your acupuncturist or herbalist and let them know what your FSH levels are and what levels they need to rise to. TCM is very effective in helping to raise these important hormones." TCM also helps the man to encourage his wife in their conception endeavors, which has also been shown to raise FSH levels.

In the end, Hirsh would really like to see health education in schools that is focused on the important issues of reproductive health, but not limited just to sexually transmitted diseases.

"People don't understand when they are most and least fertile in their lives," he says. "They don't understand about healthy lifestyles and how they affect pregnancy and birth. It's an important subject but one that's virtually ignored in our schools. The reason I do reproductive health care is because I have a chance to affect the generations to come, but I'd rather start with a healthy, young couple who are laying good groundwork for someday having a child."