Rising Rates Of Infertility In America

By Bill Reddy, LAc, Dipl. Ac

Pinecrest Wellness Center

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Rising Rates Of Infertility In America

One out of every six couples in America are having trouble conceiving naturally but Professor Bill Ledger from Sheffield University warned this could rise to one in three in the near future.

Public health professionals are pointing to a number of factors including poor diet, exposure to toxic materials such as heavy metals and solvents, use of estrogens in our livestock/poultry, and xenoestrogens, or estrogen-like compounds found in pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and plastics.

Experts say that because fertility is linked to social, behavioral and biological factors, it is hard to determine to what extent each is responsible for the problem. Men have a simpler reproductive system, and the three most common issues with sperm are number (not enough), mobility (can't swim, or can't swim in circles), and morphology (shape and structure).

They may also have a problem with an undescended testicle, testosterone deficiency, variocele or genetic defect.

Women, on the other hand, are quite complex, with a huge number of hormones that must be regulated within a very narrow margin for reproduction to occur successfully.

The most common roadblocks to motherhood are polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), endometriosis, ovulation disorders, uterine fibroids, pelvic adhesions and occluded (blocked) fallopian tubes. The Mayo Clinic reports the following, regarding the couples they treat

In about 20 percent of cases, infertility is due to a cause involving only the male partner.

In about 30 to 40 percent of cases, infertility is due to causes involving both the male and female.

In the remaining 40-50 percent of cases, infertility is due entirely to a cause involving the female.

Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine has been clinically proven in double-blind, placebo controlled studies to have a positive effect on both male and female infertility issues. Good candidates for trying acupuncture are people who have a functional, rather than a structural reason for infertility (for example, blocked fallopian tubes are structural).

There are no drugs involved and therefore no side-effects are associated with acupuncture therapy. For those who choose In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), acupuncture therapy can increase the outcome by an extraordinary 60%.

Chinese herbal medicine is also quite effective to balance hormones, increase the size and viability of an ovum, improve sperm quality, and eliminate fibroids and endometriosis to pave the way to a healthy baby. An herbal approach has the possibility of a drug/herb interaction, but that is extremely rare when prescribed by a qualified Licensed Acupuncturist (L.Ac.)/Doctor of Oriental Medicine (DOM/OMD).