Fertility Boosters

cultivated from community
for MotherSpirit

• I'm not the expert in this arena, but have you read "Herbs for the Childbearing Year" by Susan Weed? I drank fertility tea - damn what was it...made me frigging loopy (which is why I swear it is fertility tea)... um... RED CLOVER LEAF that's it. I drank red clover leaf tea to promote fertility.

There are some other herbs too that the book mentions and that others will probably know off the top of their head.

I know how hard the waiting is and I especially know how difficult losing a child can be {{{HUGS}}} and I'm thinking such positive vibes for you.

• I highly recommend Susan Weed's "Wise Woman's Herbal for the Childbearing Year" 

Also both man and woman drinking red Raspberry Leaf Herb tea increases fertility. I can't find my copy of this book, but I know there is other great advice in it. Chinese Herbal medicine has the same rates as Western Medicine for infertility, but is MUCH less invasive.

• Oh, I have been through this! I'm sorry to hear about your m/c...I had one in March and I know how devastating it is to experience one.

I knew nothing at all of natural approaches when I was trying to conceive my son (now 2.5). We tried for three years and I never conceived. So I took Clomid (yuck) and conceived him the first month. I decided that for my second child, I would not do Clomid again but would do it on my own with natural approaches. It still took me 18 months to conceive - then I miscarried, but I conceived again quickly and am now 16 weeks PG.

The first person who made me believe I could really do it was our own DW. If she speaks up on this topic, I hope you will listen closely!

Another piece of advice someone gave me was that if you have been pregnant before, even if you m/c, you are not infertile. That is a very GOOD sign! Hey, six so-called expert doctors told me I'd never have kids and I do anyway. You can beat any odds that you decide to - and quite honestly it sounds premature to say the odds are against you. If you have been only trying for a year (which is the minimum length of time a young couple should try on their own before pursuing conventional fertility medications) and you had a pregnancy/miscarriage in that time, I don't think you're doomed yet LOL.

There aren't really any one-size-fits-all natural treatments for fertility like there are in allopathic medicine. At the same time, I personally had excellent luck with false unicorn root and progesterone creme. I think the false unicorn root boosted my fertility enough that I could conceive in the first place, and progesterone creme can help prevent miscarriage.

• Actually, I think you are right on the ball. I commend you for learning and communicating with other mothers BEFORE your pregnancy and, in fact, it is the main reason I wanted you as a member here. If only *I* had been as smart at that time in my life - if only *I* had realized what my priorities should have been and reached out to learn from mothers with spirit and soul and brains. There are so many things that WOULD NOT have happened in my son's life from the way he was born, to his early weaning, to his mutilated penis, to his early days in daycare (OMG look how far I've come).

I applaud you for learning FIRST...it is the mark of a true soul mother.

• Have you considered your partners fertility? I only ask as you said you are charting (good!) & therefore timing intercourse at your most fertile times. The fact that you are not conceiving (though I have to stress that this is in NO way not normal, so PLEASE do not worry, ok!?) could indicate that your partner needs some fertility boosting!. Does he smoke, drink, wear tight underwear? Sorry, personal questions I know, but they could they be relevant?.

My DH smokes (NEVER in the house, I am the mother of 3), so with my 2nd pregnancy I boosted his fertility with zinc (which I personally swear by!). Vitamin E & a good all-round Vitamin B Plus, Vitamin C, garlic & raspberry leaf (we took tablets as neither of us like the tea!).Plus lots of fresh fruit & veggies. Avoid anything which may have high trace metal content, so organic is best. No alcohol, or very little and where possible avoid yeasty drinks like beer. Also drink lots of water, to keep the body constantly flushed.

If your DH doesn't already, can you encourage him to wear loose boxers until you conceive? This will help. Also avoid hot bathes & showers before sex too...this can hamper sperm production & vitality.

Can I suggest that you visit a few "Trying To Conceive" boards? They are an endless source of information. You do have to wade through a bit of stuff you won't find relevant or right for you, but there is support, ideas & lots of hope! Of COURSE please keep posting here!!.

Keep us updated and I completely echo soulseeker’s post to you - I take my hat off to you! We need more mommas-in-the-making to be just LIKE you!.

Oh I also HIGHLY RECOMMEND affirmations. At night when you are ready to sleep (your subconscious is at its most attentive and receptive at this time), say (either outloud or to yourself a few times), "I am ready to be with child. I am healthy & whole & full of love. I ask my body to receive the soul of my child waiting to come to me". "I am fertile, I am ready".

Choose what is right for you, but I do urge you to do this. I am a big believer in affirmations & their power!

• Thanks for all the info! As far as DH goes, no he doesn't smoke. He does drink (he likes his beer) one or two nights a week. Nothing excessive, although maybe for these purposes it is! He's in a band and they practice one night a week so he usually has a few drinks there and then if he happens to play over the weekend he'll have a few. I will say something to him about cutting these out or limiting them to one for a while. Let's see...he has boxers and boxer briefs...I guess it depends on his mood that day. I think I will go buy him some new and exciting boxers! Fortunately, he's a wonderful man and probably won't even blink at any of my requests....since they are not very big ones.

The affirmations will help me a lot, I love that idea!

DH drinks water all day at work and that's all we drink at home....I mean that, never have to buy drinks at the grocery store. Anyway, he also has started to drink A LOT of coffee through the day. I have cut out caffeine, will his drinking it cause problems?

Thanks for the suggestion of the TTC boards, but they drive me nuts. I don't know why, I have questions but I can't talk about getting pregnant all the time. If you know of a particularly good one, let me know and I'll check it out.

Again, you have been so helpful and kind...looks like I get to go shopping today!

• Definitely the Susan Weed book, and my personal theory on fertility..two words... simultaneous orgasm... It's pretty obvious why men have an orgasm to procrate, but why do women? I have always felt there must be a good reason, other then just the obvious enjoyment factor. The cervix contracts/undulates during orgasm, probably to pull semen into the vagina.

I have never seen any studies or other information on this, but from personal experience... we have conceived the first month of trying both times and I really think it has something to do with that. And hey, it can't hurt to work towards that goal, can it?

• Yes, I totally agree! I had read/heard a lot about female orgasms helping 'suck' the sperm into the cervix, and the timing also seems to be very important. I just wish I knew where I read all this stuff, but basically, if you orgasm before your partner's ejaculation, you are less likely to become pregnant than if you don't orgasm at all, but if you orgasm simultaneously, or very soon after your partner, your chances of conceiving go up dramatically.

Anecdotally, both times I got pregnant (first time took 9 months of trying, second time 7 months) I orgasmed after DF, instead of my usual before (there! WAY more than you wanted to know about me! LOL)

BTW, just wanted to ditto what everyone else said about the teas etc. Progesterone cream worked great for me too. Good luck!