The journey to becoming a parent can be challenging both mentally and emotionally. Most experts would define not being able to get pregnant after a year as infertility. Women who become pregnant but experience repeat miscarriages are also said to be infertile. Peak human fertility is no higher than 33% most fertile couples (90%) should achieve pregnancy within a year of regular intercourse. In some cases a long delay in conceiving reflects low fertility and not infertility.
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The body has to be working in harmony to conceive a baby. A man must be producing healthy sperm in large enough quantities to fertilise the ovum. The woman’s cervical mucus must be at the right pH level and consistency. The ovaries must release good quality eggs and the Fallopian tubes must be free from blockages. The uterine environment must be suitable for implantation to take place.
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When the body isn’t working at it’s peak, the endocrine system is out of balance and not secreting hormones in the right sequence for pregnancy to take place. Fertility Reflexology not only deeply relaxes the body but it also brings the body back into equilibrium and improves infertility issues eg PCOS, Endometriosis, PID, Blocked Fallopian Tubes, Varicocele, Ductal Blockages etc.
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Fertility Reflexology is becoming more widely known as solutions to low fertility levels. Fertility Reflexology in conjunction with lifestyle changes offers a safe and natural approach by encouraging deep relaxation which alleviates stress and tension both physically and emotionally. This together with improvements in diet and lifestyle has the potential to bring the body back into balance and increasing fertility levels.
Getting pregnant and carrying a baby full term are very complicated processes. Many things can go wrong during this time which can lead to infertility. Here is a list of some common causes.
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Causes of Infertility in Women
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✨Anovulation (Can’t ovulate) which 30% of infertility cases which is associated with Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) PCOS occurs when there is high levels of the Luteinising Hormone that’s secreted from the dysfunction in the anterior pituitary gland.
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✨Egg production and egg quality in women decline with age due to the decline of the quality of the egg. Eggs of an older woman is more likely to have chromosomal abnormalities
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✨Endometriosis tissues similar to the lining of the womb grow in other places egg Fallopian tubes and ovaries. During menstruation small cysts filled with blood can form, resulting in adhesions and decreasing chances of getting pregnant.
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✨Blocked Fallopian tubes can result endometriosis or Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID)
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✨Fibroids are fibrous growths within the uterine wall. When they are large they can cause distortion of the uterine cavity and may cause infertility
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✨Hostile Cervical Mucus which could be a number of possible reasons with cervical fluids but it’s where anti-spermicide antibodies are present in the cervical mucus which limits the number of sperm available to fertilise the ovum
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Causes of Infertility in Men
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✨Varicocele is an enlargement of the veins within the loose bag of skin that holds the testicles causing high temperatures which in turn inhibits the maturing of the sperm
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✨Ductal blockages which are minute ducts which carry spermicide from the testicles to the penis
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✨DES (Prenatal Diethylstilbestrol) Is an oestrogen type hormone that was taken by Mothers back in the 50’s and 60’s to prevent miscarriage. This hormone has since been shown to cause productive tract problems in children.
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I mentioned earlier that your body has to be working in harmony to conceive a baby. Sometimes lifestyle and environmental factors can be overlooked when considering the causes of infertility. Past studies have demonstrated that factors like poor diets, smoking, alcohol and stress may impair your chances of getting pregnant.
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✨Smoking – Smokers sperm counts are on average 13-17% lower than non-smokers and capable of inducing genetic mutation and an increase in sperm abnormalities. Smoking also reduces fertility in women. Studies have shown that 38% of female non-smokers conceived in their first attempts of conceiving a baby compared to 28% of smokers.
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✨Alcohol – Alcohol affects the levels of oestrogen and progesterone and changes the menstrual cycle. It reduces the sperm count and increases abnormal sperm.
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✨ Diet – Modern day diets are too processed and full of fat, salt and sugar and lack a lot of the nutrients we need. A 3 year study was carried out at the University of Surrey consisting of 367 couples; 36% of which have experienced infertility and 38% experienced miscarriages. The couples were asked to eliminate smoking and alcohol and was given a personal diet plan. At the end of the trial 89% had given birth to health babies which were carried to full term and none of them required no special care baby units.
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✨ Stress – Life can be so stressful at times and it can stem from work, home-life etc. Non physical causes of infertility can come from stress. Stress can cause changes that can impact on the maturation & release of the egg and can cause spasms in the Fallopian Tubes and the uterus which interferes with implantation and movement of the fertilised egg. It can also interfere with chemical messengers that are involved in reproduction when your emotional status changes. Stress can also affect the male hormone balance, lowering levels of testosterone and luteinising hormone. Impotence difficulties with ejaculation are also caused by emotional distress in men.
Infertility can have a great impact on a couple’s life. Facing infertility can be stressful making it more difficult to conceive. In women it can trigger feelings such as resentment, anger, guilt at not getting pregnant, using contraception for years, terminating a previous pregnancy etc. This may bring on feelings of hatred or disgust towards their own bodies, which can impact a woman’s sexual identity. Infertility in men can result in feeling isolated as impotency may impact a man’s sense of masculinity. It can also lead to feelings of resentment towards each other secretly blaming one another thinking it’s the partner’s fault.
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Trying to start a family can interfere with a couple’s normal sex life and it can become a chore. Lack of spontaneity and enjoyment may lead to erectile problems in men and vaginal dryness in women.
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Past research has concluded that Infertility problems can be split evenly between men and women at approximately 40% each. The causing factors in the remaining 20% of cases are often unknown but if lifestyle and environment factors are addressed successful outcomes do occur.
How is reflexology helpful when trying to conceive?
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Reflexology is such a lovely, relaxing, natural, non-evasive healing treatment that uses pressure points on the feet to balance parts of the body. Its aim is to alleviate stress, anxiety and tension and promote relaxation and is beneficial for couples trying to conceive.
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A study was carried out by The Association of Reflexologist and it’s members reported that over 50% of their clients found themselves pregnant within six months of receiving Fertility Reflexology treatment but not everyone is the same but many benefits have been reported. In Fertility Reflexology, the person’s overall health is addressed during treatment. It allows the body to rebalance and stress levels are reduced. For maximum results, it’s recommend that Dad-to-be receive treatment too as it takes two to make a baby!
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There is little that can’t be addressed in a reflexology treatment as the aim is to bring about balance within the mind, body and spirit.
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