When I first met Audrey and Charlie, they had been trying to conceive their first child for over 4 years. When it became clear after a year that a pregnancy wasn’t going to be as easy to achieve as they’d hoped, they began looking for answers. Not long after, Charlie was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins lymphoma and went through 6 rounds of aggressive chemotherapy. Luckily, Charlie was declared cancer-free at the end of his chemotherapy treatment, but the side-effects on his fertility were devastating. Charlie’s treatment wiped out his sperm counts and left him feeling fatigued and anxious.

Audrey and Charlie decided to pursue the only avenue left to them to conceive a child of their ow, IVF, using Charlie’s sperm that were frozen prior to his chemotherapy treatments. At the time we first met, they had already completed two IVF cycles, unsuccessfully, and were preparing for their third.

By this time, Audrey and Charlie were quite anxious about every aspect of their fertility. They were feeling frustrated to be heading into yet another IVF cycle without an understanding of what had caused the first two to fail or how to improve their chances of success. They were anxious to begin the next phase of their life – as parents – and the longer it was taking, the more out of reach it felt. They were worried about the toll their fertility journey was taking on their bodies, spirits, finances, and relationship.

Although in a very challenging situation, Audrey and Charlie had all the qualities that help couples to persevere and go on to have a successful pregnancy and healthy baby through IVF. They worked hard to fine-tune every aspect of their health, and understood that anything that would improve their overall health would also boost their chances of IVF success. And they knew how to seek help and get assistance in their journey.

Fertility, like every aspect of health, is incredibly resilient. Our bodies already inherently know how to heal. The goal of any holistic healing practice is to help us step out of our own way and create the space for our bodies’ innate healing mechanisms to unfold. In my practice, I use acupuncture, herbal medicine, and shiatsu massage as tools to create that healing space for my clients, as well as helping my clients find their own tools to continue that journey at home.

Everyone needs help to heal. What most people ‘know’ about healthy living might actually be pulling them further away from their goal and true health. Finding the right help and the right path is the hardest part of healing. I always encourage my clients to learn to listen to their bodies, follow their body’s guidance, and ask for help when they need it.

To help Audrey and Charlie prepare for their third IVF cycle, we began weekly acupuncture sessions, along with customized herbal recommendations, and a few small adjustments to nutrition and stress management practices. Within a few weeks, both were feeling less anxious, more energetic, and better able to handle stress.  After initial testing revealed that Charlie’s sperm counts were still at zero, and it became clear that they would be using frozen sperm again this cycle, we continued sessions only for Audrey.

With Audrey, we focused on regulating circulation, managing stress, and the quality of her sleep, all of which improved quickly. We continued with weekly sessions through the IVF process. Audrey and Charlie conceived that cycle and Audrey continued treatments until the end of her first trimester. The following spring, Audrey and Charlie welcomed a beautiful baby boy into their family!

A couple of years after I last saw Audrey, I had the pleasure of running into her and her son at the store. I was so happy to see them and to see how well they were doing. I was delighted to see that Audrey was pregnant again with a miraculous ‘surprise’! I’ll never know for sure, but I like to think that our work together started them both on the pathway to healing that made such an amazing surprise possible.

You may have heard people say the natural medicine isn’t powerful. I disagree. I think that our bodies’ ability to heal is profound and amazing, and that anything that can help the body along that path, however gentle, can also be profound and amazing. That healing path can be yours to find and follow, so if you’re ready to transform your health, choose to never give up, and seek the help that can guide you along your way.