women’s health : combining functional medicine and Chinese medicine to optimize fertility, pregnancy and post-partum wellbeing

Fertility + pre-pregnancy : an integrative functional medicine approach

There are so many reasons women reach out for Functional Medicine and Chinese Medicine fertility support. Perhaps you have been trying to get pregnant and you’re not sure why it hasn’t happened yet; perhaps you have a diagnosis of PCOS or Endometriosis or Hypothyroidism, and you’ve been told pregnancy may not come as easily for you; perhaps you have not started trying yet, but you’ve heard that optimizing things like nutrition, sleep, gut health and stress response in advance of pregnancy can reduce pregnancy and birth complications, and promote a healthier post-partum for mom and baby. Whatever your reason for seeking help, a Functional Medicine approach that looks at all aspects of your life and your health can support you in your path.

Many women will experience hormone disruption in their lifetimes that can directly impact fertility. It may be transient — brought on by a period of high stress, for example. Or it may be more lasting — the result of a genetic predisposition, ongoing exposure to hormone-disrupting chemicals, or the result of diet and lifestyle choices that are not serving you. A Functional Medicine approach will involve a lengthy evaluation so that we can dig deep to find the root causes of any imbalances that may be holding you back. In some cases it may be as simple as correcting a nutritional deficiency: so many women are deficient in Magnesium and/or Vitamin D, for example. In other cases we will have to dig deeper.

My goal as Functional Medicine Practitioner is help you feel educated and empowered. I want to hear your unique health story so that together we can develop a comprehensive plan that fits your needs.

Pregnancy : functional medicine support for mama and developing baby

Pregnancy is a truly miraculous time: when you stop to consider the intricacies involved in forming a four-chambered beating heart in just 7 gestational weeks, it’s truly mind-boggling. Our bodies are so well designed that they will prioritize their best resources toward the growing fetus. Nonetheless nutritional deficiencies can threaten the health of the mother and fetus, which is why a good pre-natal vitamin is advised for the vast majority of pregnancies. Going beyond baseline nutritional support, Functional Medicine can provide more specific nutritional guidelines that may relieve some undesired symptoms of pregnancy, like nausea and extreme fatigue, and further boost the health of mother and fetus throughout the pregnancy and beyond.

Did you know that the mom’s microbiome directly transfers to her offspring? The healthier the mother’s microbiome is going into pregnancy, and throughout pregnancy, the stronger the baby’s microbiome will be at birth. Already well into your pregnancy? Don’t worry, it’s never too late to start optimizing your microbiome and gut health. And there is so much you can continue to do after your baby is born. But if you can start now, why wait? A healthy gut microbiome transfers a host of benefits, not only for digestion, but for immunity, mood, stress resilience, hormonal balance, and more. In some cases a high quality probiotic will be called for, while in other cases it will be a set of simple dietary modifications; and in some cases where the microbiome is clearly compromised we will have to dig deeper so that we can implement a comprehensive gut repair plan. Whichever is your version, Functional Medicine and Chinese Medicine offer many tools to empower you in your path.