With the help of a fertility awareness-trained doctor, couples suffering from infertility may be able to find affordable, effective treatments for infertility without the hefty price tags or ethical challenges that come with artificial reproductive technologies (ART) like intrauterine insemination (IUI) or in vitro fertilization (IVF).
A natural, restorative approach to treating infertility
When couples struggle with infertility, most doctors are quick to refer them for IUI and IVF. But IVF can be extremely costly, invasive, and comes with no guarantee of success. Although IVF success rates have improved over the past few decades, clinics often advertise overinflated rates, which can be misleading to patients. For IUI, results are mixed on whether the procedure is more effective than timed intercourse (TI), that is, intercourse timed around ovulation induction.
In many cases, both IUI and IVF are used to circumvent the root causes of infertility, rather than healing and addressing them. Restorative reproductive medicine (RRM) takes a different approach to treating infertility, by treating infertility as a symptom of a health issue that requires attention. This means that doctors trained in RRM see infertility as a sign of a broader underlying pathology, which may also be impacting the couple’s health beyond their fertility. In treating the underlying problem that is causing a couple’s infertility, RRM works cooperatively with their reproductive systems to improve their chances of conceiving naturally. This also means that each person is treated not as a means-to-an-end only for a baby to be conceived, but as a patient deserving of healing in her own right.
Healthier you, healthier fertility, and a healthier baby
Babies conceived via IVF face increased risk for a number of health issues. These include premature birth, low birth weight, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, and childhood cancers. In working to restore your own health and fertility so that you can conceive naturally, you may also be protecting the health of your future baby.
Learn more about infertility here, and find articles on treatment for infertility below.
This page was last updated on February 28, 2024.
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Is it time to rethink Clomid as an infertility treatment?
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Why aren’t all women struggling with infertility taught to chart their cycles?
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By Clare Sharp • February 10, 2023In a separate article, I covered the debate on whether worldwide decreasing sperm counts are cause for concern… -
Common infertility treatments increase risk for mother and child, large study shows
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How Fertility Awareness and Gentle Nutrition can Assist in Eating Disorder Recovery—and Maybe Infertility, Too
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Dealing with the emotional challenges of infertility: Interview with Marc Sherman of Organic Conceptions
By Natural Womanhood • April 15, 2020Anyone who has dealt with infertility knows that it is nothing short of an emotional roller coaster ride.… -
How Whole30 Helped Me Manage my PCOS and Overcome Infertility
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“Is infertility treatable?” and other questions: A Natural Womanhood Infertility FAQ
By Natural Womanhood • February 18, 2020Infertility is a devastating reality for many couples today. Too many have unanswered questions about their options going… -
Gluten and Unexplained Infertility: Can undiagnosed Celiac Disease make it harder for you to get (and stay) pregnant?
By Grace Emily Stark • January 25, 2020There is perhaps nothing quite like the struggle of unexplained infertility. It is baffling, it is exhausting, it…