Natural fertility is a part of my job that I find very rewarding and am extremely passionate about. I was delighted to receive this email from one of my clients today documenting her fertility journey. A struggle to conceive is a very difficult and stressful time for any couple with most couples finding it very hard to talk only about. My client is hoping her narrative of her journey will help others. I have omitted her name to protect her privacy.
"Our fertility journey started in 2011 when we decided to have a baby. I already knew I had polycystic ovary syndrome. I knew it would be more difficult to conceive but it wasn't until I had to document my cycles that I realised it was more difficult than I thought. Most "normal" period cycles are 28 days and most people would be ovulating on day 14 after the period. My periods were between 35 to 40 days apart. I knew getting pregnant wouldn't happen straight away but after a year and a half of trying and several false pregnancy tests I decided to approach my doctor so I could start blood tests to determine roughly when I was ovulating and to see if they may be more problems.
I did a little research online into natural fertility and the benefits. I had previously been a client of Denise for other issues so I decided to contact Denise again about fertility.
After having a consultation with Denise we decided to start treatment, we opted for reflexology and made some alterations to my nutrition. The first thing to do was to regulate my period so I would at least have an idea of when I was ovulating. In the meantime my bloods didn't show anything significant. The public waiting list to see a gynaecologist was going to take some time.
During one of the treatment sessions I was asked the question by Denise "was I stressed?" my immediate response was "no I am not stressed". I now know looking back that of course I was under a great deal of stress. Unfortunately the pressures of trying to conceive had taken its toll and it now became some kind of a race. Around the same time a few of my friends had become pregnant either without trying or were very lucky to conceive very quickly. Naturally I was starting to feel a little under pressure and always felt "why me!!". Denise explained how stress can hinder pregnancy and wanted me to concentrate on taking better care of myself and making sure I relaxed. I committed myself to continue treatments because I knew it was the only way it would work.
In the first few sessions I was quite alert and possibly on edge. I found it difficult to relax and was concentrating too much on the treatment. It was only further on in my treatments that I started to relax and fall asleep having reflexology.
My periods thankfully started to regulate and the cycle became shorter. I was due to have more fasting bloods taken to review the situation. Then a day before I went in I just browsed threw my diary to check when I had my last period. I just realised while reading it either my periods had gone out of sinc again or I was pregnant. I was at least 4 weeks late!! In a bit of a panic the next morning we decided to take a pregnancy test (because we had boxes of them) to our shock and delight it said 4 weeks +. I went along to my GP appointment still in shock and disbelief. I told my GP the story so we did a urine sample and it confirmed I was pregnant (yepeee!).
I thankfully had a very trouble-free pregnancy with only a few little niggles. I continue some treatments with Denise mainly massage because of some pain in my back and I wanted to be prepared for the labour ward. We welcomed our beautiful little girl in 2013.
It's great that there are alternative treatments for infertility and there is more than one treatment option available. Like most couples experiencing fertility problems we bought all the usual ovulation kits, started temperature testing etc. If I have learned anything from our journey it's to be relaxed that is the key.
I would like to thank Denise for all her support before, during and after the pregnancy"
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