Improving Your Fertility Naturally and Mercier Therapy

Improving your Fertility Naturally and Mercier Therapy

Mercier Therapy can help  your chances of conception.

Mercier Therapy Can Help Your Chances Of Conception.

Our son, was conceived via natural cycle in-vitro fertilization following a ten year fertility journey. We tried many paths and suffered many failures. This past weekend I traveled to Chicago to study Mercier Therapy.  A therapy I wish I had myself ten years ago.  Mercier Therapy is a deep, pelvic-organ visceral manipulation.  It is intended to increase blood flow within the pelvis, and improve inappropriate position of reproductive organs.  This type of therapy is used for women who are having pelvic pain, trying to conceive, have undergone pelvic surgery or a procedure that may have created adhesive type scar tissue within the pelvis. Scar tissue can cause diminished blood flow, and also cause the delicate reproductive organs to become entangled leading to both pain and poor organ performance.  Which may result in diminished fertility.

For a woman trying to conceive there is nothing more stressful than not getting pregnant in a timely fashion. In the United States the infertility label is given after one year of unsuccessful trying. Often times during this initial year, the couple is left to their own devices, having little or no support with their attempts.  After one year, and sometimes during the first year the couple may be offered prescription medication to induce ovulation and will begin multiple diagnostic tests.  For many women, infertility leads to anxiety and depression. Mercier Therapy provides an atmosphere where a woman will be supported, both physically and emotionally during her fertility journey.

Reproductive medicine has become a go to method for infertility in our country.  It is difficult not to accept the treatment in hopes that a baby might result.  Often though, the statistics are low, and the procedures and prescriptions are more dangerous than many women understand.  Being no stranger to “unexplained infertility” and having my son following a successful natural cycle IVF, I understand those emotions all to well.  Having taken Mercier training this past weekend, I too may have benefited from it and may have avoided IVF.  Beautiful little boy in arms, I know I am one of the lucky ones.

Mercier Therapy concluded a four year, evidence based research study in September 2012, indicating an 83-percent pregnancy success rate. The abstract, “Mercier Therapy Helps Infertile Women Achieve Pregnancy” was published in the spring 2013 edition of Midwifery Today.  In contrast the success rates of stimulated IVF cycles are averaging 27 percent.  When time is taken to improve the function and position of the pelvic organs, they are able to function to their full potential in creasing the odds of a pregnancy.

The Female Pelvis and Organs

The Female Pelvis and Organs

In addition to fertility struggles,  women who have dealt with any of the following may suffer from pelvic pain:  pelvic surgery such as:  laparoscopy, laparotomy, D&C, LEEP, abortion, cystocele or rectocele repair, c-section, or hysterectomy, vaginal childbirth, sexual abuse trauma, urinary tract or yeast infection, endometriosis. Chronic pelvic pain can be debilitating and difficult to handle on a daily basis.  Pain can be the result of ligament imbalance leading to poor organ position, and scar tissue following surgery.  Mercier Therapy seeks to identify these imbalances and increase blood flow, motion and function.  Resulting in reduction of pain, and an overall improvement in well being.

The road to having a baby is sometimes a long one.  Pelvic pain and infertility leaves many emotional wounds and can leave a woman experiencing negative emotions toward her reproductive organs or even feeling disconnected all together. Becoming reconnected to our reproductive organs in a safe, gentle and comforting atmosphere can be one of the first steps toward welcoming a baby into the womb.Baby in Hands

 

 

 

Chiropractic and Pregnancy

Chiropractic and Pregnancy

In thinking what to write about in my first blog post, I couldn’t imagine any other topic! I have had the joy of working exclusively with pregnant patients (and their babies of course) for the last seven years. I have explained many times why working with the female pelvis makes such a profound difference to the mother during pregnancy from a comfort standpoint but most importantly how it helps during labor and delivery.

Just yesterday standing outside my sons preschool another students grandpa was asking why we moved from Virginia to Buffalo, assuming it was because of my husbands job. I explained we moved to be near our families, and that we were both Chiropractors. He shared his Chiropractic success story with me and asked for a card. When he saw I treat pregnant woman he had so many questions! He said he had never thought of that before…. but looking back recalled how much his two daughters complained about their pregnancy aches and pains.

I explained to him that the position of the unborn baby is critical during pregnancy. The function of the mother’s pelvis has everything to do with this success. A pelvis that can adapt to the changes the body undergoes during pregnancy creates a comfortable pregnancy and uncomplicated birth for both mother and baby. It can significantly reduce the need for interventions such as drugs, forceps, vacuum extraction, and c-section, which may result in birth trauma. Chiropractic care during pregnancy is the best way to achieve a functional pelvis and give the baby the most room to get into that optimal birth position.

Importance of Uterine Ligaments

Chiropractic eases the discomfort of pregnancy and prepares the low back and pelvis for birth.

Chiropractic eases the discomfort of pregnancy and prepares the low back and pelvis for birth.

There are four major ligaments that support the uterus during pregnancy. These ligaments have attachments at various points of the lumbar spine, sacrum, tailbone and pubic bone. Two of these ligaments have smooth muscle fibers in them, allowing them to contract and also spasm. As the belly expands these ligaments balance and stabilize the uterus from front to back. The joints and muscles of the pelvis must work in harmony. If one or more joints become less mobile than optimal, the ligaments may spasm in response. Symptoms will include: groin pain, cramping, shooting leg pain, rib pain, hip pain, back pain, and pubic pain, just to name a few. Have you ever noticed a pregnant woman constantly rubbing her lower belly? She is experiencing the discomfort of the round ligament as it works to stabilize the uterus.

Uterine Constraint

If the mom is suffering with pelvic dysfunction, the baby is under strain as well. The amount of room within the uterus decreases as the torsion of the uterus increases. The analogy I share with moms is sort of corny, but seems to help people understand. Imagine the uterus is a fully inflated hot air balloon tethered to the ground by a rope on either side. If one rope is tighter than the other, the balloon can tilt a bit to that side. The ligaments of the uterus can create a similar dysfunction. The result may be improper position of the baby, delayed labor, slow labor, and sometimes facial deformity and torticollis at birth.

Chiropractic during pregnancy identifies and removes mechanical strain in the spine and pelvis. Soft tissue massage, ligament release, and gentle adjusting allow the body to respond and adapt to the postural and mechanical strain of pregnancy. The most well known Chiropractic technique addressing pregnancy and Chiropractic is the Webster Technique. Think of the difference in quality of life Chiropractic during pregnancy could make! Enjoying your pregnancy and achieving the birth you have imagined for yourself and your baby is the ultimate goal.