Female infertility  

1. INTRODUCTION - THE STATISTICS & COSTS:  Why 25% of Americans Are Infertile;
Infertility & Adoption Are Multi-Billion Dollar Industries.

By medical definition, infertility is the inability to conceive a child after a year of unprotected sexual intercourse.

Here are the statistics:

o    About 25% of all couples attempting pregnancy will conceive the first month

o    About 80% of all couples will conceive within a year, provided they have intercourse two or three times a week. It is not unusual for any "fertile" couple to try for 8 to 10 months before becoming pregnant.

o   About 5% of couples will conceive spontaneously beyond a year without medical intervention.

o   A small number of couples will have been infertile for several years before achieving pregnancy, whether or not they have undergone fertility treatments.

o   That leaves 25% of Americans classified as "infertile."

First-degree infertility is the term used to describe those who have never had children.  Second-degree infertility describes those who have had children but find themselves unable to conceive. According to Parenting Magazine, more infertile couples who adopt children, choose adoption as result of secondary infertility.

 o  50% of cases of infertility are traced to the female, whose chances of infertility increase after age 30 - While more women are having babies later in life, waiting to have babies in their 30's and 40's also increases infertility risks  (10-15% of all cases being due to ovulation problems, and 30-40% due to pelvic diseases) whether first or second degree --  most often from delaying pregnancy into their 30's, which is beyond a woman's peak reproductive years. 

The normal menstrual cycle is usually every 26-35 days and "abnormal" cycles can adversely affect reproduction but can also be corrected.

 o  40% of cases of infertility is traced to the male who, ordinarily, may remain fertile throughout most of his life (with 30-40% due to low sperm count or varicose veins in the testicles). A 50% decrease in sperm counts in the last century is documented and blamed on PCBs imitating estrogen in food, air and water;

o  10% of cases of infertility are traced to a combination of male and female infertility;

o  5% said to be from "unknown" factors; however, many "known" causes of infertility may be reversed by natural, nutritional means -- from predicting the basal body temperature cycles ideal for conception to proper diet and vitamin, mineral and herbal supplements.

While the first step in addressing infertility is to obtain a correct diagnosis of the cause by assessment of both male and female partners, in truth, unless infertility is diagnosed as resulting from an identifiable and truly "incurable" medical condition or sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), it could be said that the majority of cases result from unknown or reversible causes.   

Despite low sperm counts, prior miscarriages, scarring from surgeries for ovarian adhesions and endometriosis, fertility cures have been reported as result of vitamin herbal supplements. ******

2.  NATURAL CURES TO REVERSE INFERTILITY
FROM "UNKNOWN" CAUSES.

One of the most basic overall causes of infertility is lack of sufficient nutrients that effect the reproductive system. For instance, the endocrine glands, which secrete and control hormones, depend on a correct supply of nutrients --especially trace minerals. 

 Nutritional deficiencies and harmful chemicals can harm the eggs and sperm. In nature, a plant cannot grow in mineral-deficient soil, yet by adding minerals to "barren" soil, growers can make the soil fertile again. The same is true of animals and humans.

Scientists are discovering that certain nutrients enhance fertility because these nutrients are lacking in the highly processed diet.  Substances to eliminate from the diet,  because they may reduce fertility or cause complete sterility, are:  tobacco, caffeine, alcohol, marijuana, prescription drugs, workplace or other environmental hazards -- such as lead, pesticides such as DDT and DCBs, radiation (including X- rays), anesthetic gas, polystyrene, xylene, some solvents, Benzene, heavy metals (including arsenic, boron, cadmium, lead, manganese and mercury), fyrol (a flame retardant used on mattresses, pillows and auto seat covers and which was found in the seminal fluid of 1/4 of all male college students tested at Florida State University in 1980 and a proven mutagen which can cause genetic damage and birth defects), food additives (including BHA, BHT, nitrates, nitrites, oxystearin, MSG and growth hormones often fed to commercially raised animals).

Complete advice on minerals, vitamins and herbs cost you US$ 19.

You are welcome to fill up the order form and consultation form.

HERBS:     

Herbs have been used for fertility problems for thousands of years. A classic case is found in the Bible, with the story of Rachel and Leah. Rachel tried for years to conceive.....She finally eats mandrakes and conceives (Genesis 30).

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3.  PRESCRIPTION DRUGS & CLINICAL LABORATORY TECHNIQUES USED TO TREAT INFERTILITY - Risks Versus True Success Rates

THE STATISTICS:

o    87% is the failure rate for most fertility treatments
o    30% success rate was reported on first treatments with some therapies, counting

       any      and all pregnancies, including those ending in miscarriages;
o    15% success rate was reported by Yale University Medical Clinic
 o    13% overall success rate was reported by Dr. Olive and dr. Marcos Wagner, former World Health Organization (WHO) and former Congressman calling for regulation of the business
o  80,000 women conceived by artificial insemination in the early 1990's.
o  11,000 women who received assisted reproductive technologies (ART) treatments in 1995 gave birth to 16,000 babies out of nearly 60,000 treatment cycles.

For years, some unregulated sperm banks have intentionally mixed the sperm of two or more donors-- usually medical students--to prevent discovery of biological fathers--while others maintain records discoverable ONLY by court order. 

Obviously, this is not in the best interests of the child who cannot Benefit from genetic information and a current family medical history as well as from the answer to who contributed 50% of the child's genetic makeup.

About 75% of women treated with the drug clomiphene (Clomid, Serophene) achieve ovulation, but only about 40% become pregnant, blamed on the existence of other untreated problems. 

Side effects of clomiphene include reduction in the amount of cervical mucous, thinning of the uterus, ovariuan cysts, hot flashes, nausea, headaches, weight gain and fatigue as well as a higher incidence of genetic abnormalities.

A common diabetes drug, Metformin, that is also used to treat obesity, is believed to cure infertility that is associated with polycistic ovary disease--even in people without diabetes, according to Charles J. Glueck, The Jewish Health Alliance Cholesterol Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.  However, if natural vitamins and herbs can accomplish the same thing, why risk discovery of chemical-caused problems  further down the road?

High tech approaches to assist restoration of fertility include advances in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET) and gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT).  With IVF-ET, the ovaries are stimulated with medication to produce several ripe eggs at the same time.  When they are ready, the eggs are removed, usually under local anesthesia.  Fertilization occurs in the laboratory, hence the term "test tube baby." 

Next, several pre-embryos are placed through the cervix into the uterine cavity.  This improves the chance of success but increases the odds of a multiple pregnancy.  An increased incidence of complications to IVF children is most likely due to higher rates (37%) of multiple birth children.

With GIFT, the ovaries are stimulated in the same fashion, but the eggs are harvested using a laparoscope.  At the same time, a mixture of eggs and sperm is placed into the fallopian tubes.  Open fallopian tubes are necessary for GIFT, but not for IVF-ET. 

If extra pre-embryos are formed after harvesting the eggs and processing them, the pre-embryos are sometimes frozen and later transferred into the uterus during future cycles.  Couples may have a problem with the moral issues of disposal or disposition of the extra embryos.  Some fertility clinics have been indicted for selling extra embryos from one woman and implanting them in another woman. 

The dilemma for the resulting children and their two sets of parents is enormous.

A highly sophisticated new technique, Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI), involves injecting one single sperm into an egg, using  microscopic and robotic instruments.  It is used for couples who are not appropriate for IVF, when the man has severe fertility problems and has been reported to have produced a successful birth employing an unfertilized egg that had been frozen for 2 years. 

 Of concern, however, was a study reporting that children conceived by ICSI scored significantly lower on a mental development index and significantly higher (17%) in mildly delayed development than those using IVF or natural means.

Other experimental ART procedures, including FASIAR (follicle aspiration, sprm injection, and assisted follicle rupture) may prove to be significantly less expensive and also reduce risk of multiple births but is still experimental.

Surgical treatment of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (from Chlamydia trachomatis, endometriosis etc.) and for polycystic ovaries, can produce scarring which worsens infertility.
 

Caffeine is found in regular coffee, black and green tea, some soft drinks, chocolate, cocoa, and many over-the-counter pharmaceuticals. While not every study finds that caffeine reduces female fertility,⁶ most doctors of natural medicine recommend that women trying to get pregnant avoid caffeine.

Decaffeinated coffee has been linked to spontaneous abortion.⁷ Some researchers suspect that the tannic acid found in any kind of coffee and black tea may contribute to infertility.⁸