Why is holistic preconception care needed?
Each year approximately 123 million women worldwide succeed at getting pregnant and an additional 87 million women will get pregnant by accident. In the United States, 12% of women will have difficulty getting pregnant or carrying a baby to term. Many women turn to fertility treatments to remedy this, but how much is that costing them? Speaking purely of monetary cost: intrauterine insemination or IUI can cost anywhere from $500 - $4000 per cycle, egg freezing can cost from $15,000 - $20,000 per cycle, IVF can cost approximately $23,000 per round, and surrogacy can cost anywhere from $20,000 - $70,000 and up. This is before adding in doctors visits, specialist visit cost, prescription cost and the cost that you can’t place a number on, the mental and emotional cost of this process. For many, however, a successful outcome is worth the hardship.
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Preconception and Prenatal Care
Let’s rewind a little and look at what women and men will go through before reaching a decision to go forward with fertility treatments. For many, trying for a baby means simply that: having sex in the time around ovulation and hoping for the best. Is this enough though? In 2015, the United States launched the Preconception Health and Health Care Initiative in the hopes of getting as many women and men of reproductive age as healthy as possible should they happen to become pregnant. This was done bearing in mind the infant and maternal mortality rates that still remain high in the U.S. despite advancements in technology in recent years. Keeping in mind the large number of people who become pregnant accidentally, this was a logical step to make in attempting to improve the overall health of those who fall in the reproductive age range. However, though it was apparent that preconception care was an important step, many women and men of childbearing age remain less healthy than would be desired.
What did this entail? Screenings of all women who fall into the reproductive age range, that they (1) intended/planned to become pregnant; (2) entered prenatal care in the first trimester; (3) take daily folic acid/multivitamin; (4) are tobacco-free; (5) are not depressed (mentally well/under treatment); (6) have a healthy body mass index; (7) are free of sexually transmitted infections; (8) have optimal blood sugar control; and (9) medications (if any) are not teratogenic.
While these are excellent first steps, is there more we can do?
Naturopathic fertility care
If you are reading this article, chances are you already know a little bit about what general naturopathic care entails. However, in case you aren’t, here is the gist. We follow 6 principles when caring for our patients: first do no harm, recognize the healing power of nature, identify and treat the cause, treat the whole patient, doctor as teacher and lastly, prevention. When this is applied to fertility, preconception, prenatal and postnatal care, this involves ensuring that each participant is living at peak health. A naturopathic doctor will examine their clients symptoms, as well as diet, lifestyle, past medical history, family history, medications and supplements in an in depth intake. The result is an individualized plan to ensure that there is nothing standing in the way of their chances of conceiving.
You might be wondering, why spend the money seeing a naturopathic doctor when seeking conception assistance? Isn't it enough to have the general screenings with your PCP (primary care physician)? For some, yes that is enough. For those who are not so lucky however, they may show up as “normal” or “fine” in those screenings yet still be left unable to conceive. For example, it is women, not men, who are often the focus of these screenings. If I remember correctly from my basic science classes, it takes two to tango right?? Sperm health is just as important as egg health. So, what happens to those people who are unable to conceive after a year and there is nothing showing up on tests to give a reason why? Well, remember when we talked about the cost of fertility treatments in the U.S.? For many, that is the next step.
This is where naturopathic medicine really shines. What if there was another step you could take, before going down the very expensive route of fertility treatments. It may take a few more months, but you have a chance to conceive naturally as well as improve overall health? Of course, it will not work for everyone and that is why I am happy that fertility treatments exist. To be able to get the chance to hold your child in your arms for the first time, no matter how that comes about, is a miracle that everyone (who wants it) should be able to achieve. But I believe that everyone should know all the options available to them when making major life decisions such as this. If there is a chance it could help, isn’t it worth it? Aren’t YOU worth it?
Written By: Dr. Mairead Masuda, ND
