[Celena]

Natural Remedies That Can Help Increase Your Chances of Getting Pregnant

When you make the decision to try and get pregnant, most think it will happen easily. Unfortunately, this just isn’t the case for many women. If you have long or short menstrual cycle or a cycle that varies in length drastically from month to month, pinpointing ovulation can be extremely frustrating. If you have recently come off hormonal birth control, you may find that it takes a bit of time to get your cycle back to normal. Unfortunately, once the decision to try to conceive is made, the last thing you want to do is wait… wait… wait.


Luckily, there are herbs and supplements, that you can take, that will help get your system back into optimal hormonal balance.


Chasteberry or Vitex (vitex agnus-castus, chastetree berry) stimulates the hormones involved in ovulation, restores female hormonal balance, and increases ovulation frequency. Vitex is useful in normalizing pituitary gland functions and the balance of progesterone and estrogen levels. Vitex is often used as herbal treatment for infertility and is especially helpful for women with irregular menstrual cycles, failure to ovulate or a shortened second half of the menstrual cycle. The effectiveness of vitex increases over time with continued use.


Red Clover (trifolium pretense) restores and balances hormonal function and nourishes the uterus. Red Clover contains isoflavones (estrogen-like compounds) which promote estrogen production and which may enhance fertility in women and boost estrogen levels in women with estrogen deficiencies. In addition, the Red Clover contains calcium and magnesium which can relax the nervous system and improve fertility. Traditionally, Red Clover has been administered to help restore irregular menses and to balance the acid-alkaline level of the vagina to promote conception.


Siberian Ginseng (eleutherococcus senticosus root) has been used in traditional Chinese medicine to reinforce the body’s vital energy (what the Chinese call chi). Siberian ginseng may positively affect hormone levels, tone uterine muscles, support healthy uterine function, and enhance fertility.


Ginkgo Biloba has been used in traditional medicine to treat circulatory disorders and enhance memory – and recent scientific studies lend credence to Gingko claims. In addition, laboratory studies have shown that Gingko improves blood circulation and increases peripheral blood flow to the reproductive organs, maintaining healthy blood vessel tone. Gingko also performs a cleansing antioxidant function.


PABA is a B Complex vitamin that is synthesized in the body. PABA is believed to increase the ability of estrogen to facilitate fertility and increases the ability of some infertile women to become pregnant. A clinical trial reported that 12 of 16 previously infertile women were able to become pregnant after supplementing with PABA over several months.


Antioxidant Support: Vitamins C and E are important vitamins and cleansing antioxidants that play a vital role in repairing damage caused by the environment, aging, and in preventing cellular damage due to oxidizing free radicals. Vitamin E is an important antioxidant central to overall reproductive health and wellness. In a preliminary human trial, infertile couples given vitamin E showed a significant increase in fertility. Other studies indicate that preconceptional vitamin supplementation can increase fertility.


Red Raspberry Leaf is highly regarded for its ability to tone the uterus and muscles of the pelvic region. A highly nutritive ingredient, Red Raspberry is a powerful fertility-promoting herb, especially when used in combination with Peppermint.


Green Tea is a powerful antioxidant that enhances reproductive health by repairing the oxidative damage that occurs naturally as the result of environmental toxins and aging. A study from the American Journal of Public Health found that drinking 1/2 cup or more of green tea daily doubled the odds of conception per cycle. Due to the inclusion of Green Tea, there is a very slight touch of caffeine (equal to just 1/25th a cup of coffee).


Ladies Mantle is a “tonic” (tones and brings health) herb that is useful in regulating a woman’s monthly cycle. It also exerts a toning effect on the cervix.


Nettle Leaf contains a wide spectrum of vitamins and minerals that are critical to good reproductive health, including Vitamins A, C, D, K, Potassium, Phosphorous, Iron, and Sulfur. Nettle Leaf also contains Calcium – a mineral that affects a woman’s ability to conceive and maintain pregnancy.


If you are already under a doctor’s care and are taking medicine to help your cycle and fertility, you SHOULD NOT take these natural remedies as they can interact with the medicine your doctor has prescribed.

[missy123]

Thanks Celena!


There is also the lemon water that the girls in TTCWMA are drinking.

We have seen success with the soy isoflavons

And I am taking DHEA (I do not recommend you all taking it) Although many RE's are hoping onboard and having their patients take it for a few months to help increase the chances of a successful IVF cycle.

[Celena]

Thanks for sharing that Missy! Good add mamacita!!!


I found this on babyhopes and wanted to share it, these are the most common herbs considered for fertility that I've read about too

[Joanna1127]

good to know...thanks!

[StaceygirlPa]

Missy123 if you don't mind me asking what is DHEA?

[Toots216]

I had success with 80 mg soy isoflavones CD 2 - 6, and I'll be trying it again with my next cycle!

[missy123]

Originally Posted by StaceygirlPa

Missy123 if you don't mind me asking what is DHEA?

It is a male hormone suppliment that you can buy at any vitamin/health food store. I am 41 and have high FSH which means my ovaries are getting old The DHEA is supposed to make your ovaries act younger and produce more and higher quality eggs. There is not a lot of research out there on it. However I have a ton of faith in it. We were TTC for over a year and nothing... We did 2 cycles of clomid and an IUI cycle, the doctors said I would not get pregnant without donor eggs. Then I took the DHEA for 3 months and we got pregnant! Unfortunately our baby implanted incorrectly and we lost her a month ago but I beat all the odds and did get pregnant!

I have had no side effects, nothing at all! I found this little bit of information out there on the web:


The following is a summary of conclusions about CHR’s DHEA data, as we presented them at these events, and as we understand them to be reflected by the clinical experience we have witnessed so far in our patients: >>DHEA increases in older women oocyte numbers to a statistically very significant degree. >> DHEA also increases egg and embryo quality in older women to a statistically very significant way. >> DHEA appears to increase pregnancy rates with IVF in older women; however, while we are observing a very strong trend towards significance for this finding, the data have not yet reached statistical significance. >> We have observed preliminary evidence, which has not reached statistical significance, and needs to be viewed with extreme caution, that DHEA may reduce the degree of chromosomal abnormalities in eggs and embryos of older women. We are, therefore, to day in a position where we can state with considerable conviction that treatment with DHEA benefits older women, as reflected by their IVF- cycle outcomes. We have also considerable evidence, though not as much as in older women, that DHEA treatment has a similarly beneficial effect on younger women with prematurely aging ovaries. >> We also confirmed the initial observation in our index patient that the effectiveness of DHEA usage peaks after approximately 4 months of use. >> Moreover, we strongly suspect (though do not yet have absolute proof) that co-treatment with gonadotropins further amplifies the positive DHEA effect on the aging ovary.

[.:Shortcake:.]

Thanks for the info ladies!

[shen7]

On my successful cycle recently, I was taking:
Floradix for iron & b-vitamins
1 mg folic acid
fish oil
chlorella tablets

I was also transitioning off of some chinese herbs (a custom blend for rebuilding my Blood and Liver and Kidney after the ectopic blood loss) - took those the first 1/2 of the cycle.

The chlorella was a new thing for me in my successful cycle, I don't know if it made me more fertile, but it helped my energy level noticeably, and I think that helped us BD more. (I stopped taking it a week after my bfp because I had some green poo and got all weirded out though!! )

Over our time trying, I have also made DH: a) stop using a laptop on his lap without a pillow; b) change from tighty-whiteys or nylon Soffe shorts to cotton boxers; and c) take vitamins. He ate a lot more oysters than usual in our successful cycle too.

Since I am an environmental scientist who has worked in human health risks and toxicology, I am also paranoid about lots of environmental and consumer contaminants. I use natural/non-irritating cleaning products, don't wear sunscreen, try very hard to eat organic (especially animal products), NEVER dry clean ANYTHING, and avoid most cosmetics and anything with artificial fragrances (shampoos, lotions, etc), among other things. However, I have done work on mercury in seafood, and do not feel that the evidence is strong enough to warrant avoiding seafood as much as many people do. The mercury is not a fertility issue per se, but most of the stuff I avoid is for avoiding endocrine disruptors and reproductive toxins.

[missy123]

Shen - why no dry cleaning?

[shen7]

Missy, here's a link to part of a Greenpeace report, I think it sums things up well:
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

In my last job, we had some projects involving nasty cleanups of old dry cleaning establishments. Perc/TCE is a very bad environmental contaminant. Part of my reasons for avoiding it are environmental, not just for the personal dangers.