Reproductive Health & Fertility
Perhaps the most fragile system in the human body
The reproductive system is a delicate and complex system – for men and women. It’s important to protect and care for it in all stages of life.
A woman’s body goes through many cycles in the course of a lifetime. From the onset of puberty to pregnancy and menopause, with decades of menstruation in between, a woman’s body is in a constant state of change. While traditional female fertility testing focuses on reproductive organs and sex hormone levels, there are many more lifestyle and environmental factors at play, from nutrition and sleep quality to stress and immune function.
And of course, the same holds true for men. Male infertility rates have climbed over 50% in the last century. Average testosterone levels have also dropped 30-40% over the last 30 years, and you need only look at recent medical standards to see the impact. A healthy sperm count used to be defined as 80 to 100 million sperm per milliliter – now the “healthy” range is defined as only 20 million!
The fact is that people are having more difficulty getting pregnant than they used to. One out of every four pregnancies end in miscarriage, and 12.7% of women in the U.S. aged 15-49 have used infertility services.
If you’re facing infertility, you’re not alone: 1 in 8 couples struggle to get pregnant.
Most infertility diagnoses are actually just a symptom.
Certainly hormone imbalances and structural issues are a common culprit, as are frequent diagnoses such as PCOS, endometriosis, and fibroids. But it’s vital to ask why and how these issues develop, because the root causes are the key to reversing infertility.
As with the rest of your body, the reproductive system is impacted by a host of external elements that traditional fertility treatment seldom considers. Ann Arbor Holistic Health practitioners use a holistic approach because we understand that infertility can happen for numerous reasons:
Nutrient-weak diet
Inflammatory foods and food sensitivities
Inadequate digestion and absorption
Poor thyroid function
Insufficient sleep quantity or quality
Not enough or too much exercise
Toxins from non-organic foods, heavy metals, personal hygiene products, cleaning products, dentistry, or electromagnetic radiation
Congested detox pathways
Infections and weakened immunity
Blood sugar imbalance
Mental, emotional, or spiritual stress
Stress from the fertility journey itself
The fact is that the body wants to make babies, but it prioritizes safety first.
Modern life involves so many stressors that your body considers you in constant danger, putting you in fight or flight mode much of the time. Working overtime and sleeping less, grabbing food on the go while you juggle a massive to-do list, social media and world news… your body notices it all.
When stress is high and your stress hormone cortisol is elevated, your body burns through a tremendous amount of nutrients. In order to keep you breathing, walking, and talking, your body must steal those nutrients from other systems of the body, and the reproductive system is a prime candidate.
Chronic stress is just one example of the numerous effects that modern life has on your fertility and overall health. It doesn’t take much to disrupt the delicate symphony of hormones that control the reproductive system, and all of these root causes can lead to infertility.
Regardless of the specific symptoms you are dealing with, Ann Arbor Holistic Health can help you uncover the sources of your reproductive health issues and guide you on the path to better health.
The average cost of having a baby with IVF is $60,000.
There are other options. Wherever you are on your pregnancy journey, we can help you work to restore balance and overall vitality. Our goal is for you to have a full term pregnancy and a healthy mommy and baby afterward.
Lab Tests for Her
With in-depth analysis of advanced lab testing results, we can help uncover obstacles standing in the way of pregnancy. Typical test results our practitioners might look into include hormone imbalances, genetics, food sensitivities, nutrient weaknesses, heavy metals, or digestive problems.
Lab Tests for Him
Most reproductive specialists start and end with a “normal” semen analysis. In reality, male fertility is impacted by all of the same core issues that women might experience. Examining hormones, genetics, nutrition, toxin exposure, and gut health are all key.
Nourish & Restore Fertility
Discover areas that need support and implement a custom comprehensive wellness plan to prepare your body for pregnancy, helping you nourish your fertility and remove the factors that may be standing in your way.
How Sarah Reversed Infertility and Had a Healthy Baby Girl
When Sarah came to Ann Arbor Holistic Health, she was 38 years old, diagnosed with PCOS, and had endured the grief of multiple miscarriages. She and her partner were incredibly discouraged and beginning to doubt they would ever have a child of their own.
Sarah had struggled for years with irregular menstrual cycles and would often go several months between cycles. When her period finally came, she faced five days or more of bad cramping, tender breasts, and bleeding so heavy that she needed transfusions on a few occasions.
But that’s not all. Sarah had been dealing with weight gain year after year, and she was exhausted, bloated, and unhappy. She found herself needing to turn to caffeine all day just to stay awake.
Sarah began working with her AAHH practitioner, and together, we uncovered numerous opportunities for improvement.
Importantly, we discovered that Sarah had several food sensitivities. Once she adjusted her food choices, her high blood sugar leveled out and she lost 40 pounds without even trying. Functional lab testing also uncovered a thyroid imbalance, congested liver, and problematic mold in her house.
Within the first four months of her personalized wellness plan, Sarah had 56% fewer symptoms. In that same time period, Sarah’s cycles finally became completely regular for the first time in her life. Her energy came back without caffeine, and her doctor told her that her chances of pregnancy were equivalent to those of a 25-year-old!
Now Sarah and her partner are cherishing every moment with their healthy, adorable daughter.
You don’t have to go it alone, and we would be honored to join you on your fertility journey.
Many of the root causes for fertility challenges are the same as they are for other varieties of hormone imbalance.
There are many factors involved in the physical process of getting pregnant and staying pregnant, more than you may have imagined.
An overview of rhythms, cycles and fertility awareness, including how your lifestyle choices can help regulate your reproductive system.
Hormonal imbalance can reveal itself in a wide variety of ways, and supplementing with natural progesterone cream may help.
Antioxidant supplementation – glutathione (GSH) in particular – can improve sperm quality, and possibly increase your chances of conceiving.
At least 1 in 10 women of reproductive age in America suffer from PCOS, and there are easy, practical ways to manage your symptoms.