The Broken System of IVF
“It’s embarrassing to say but even as a Fertility Naturopath, I made the mistake of thinking the technology of IVF was the solution. My husband and I waited until we were “ready” to start. But by that, I just mean when we thought it was time.”
Are you struggling with infertility and considering IVF? You're not alone. But before you jump into the costly and often stressful process, there's something you need to know.
Often the heatlh system portrays IVF as the ultimate solution for couples struggling with infertility. And it truly is the most amazing technology that we are so lucky to have access too. However, the truth is that IVF alone may not be enough for many couples.
It’s embarrassing to say but even as a Fertility Naturopath, I made the mistake of thinking the technology of IVF was the solution. My husband and I waited until we were “ready” to start. But by that, I just mean when we thought it was time. I honestly thought that we were healthy enough and that we would just go through the process and be pregnant. I wasn’t naïve because I’d already worked with hundreds of people going through IVF by then. I think I was just honestly hopeful that I would be one of the ones that went through it and got pregnant on my first cycle.
But it was after our first cycle that didn’t work that I realised what was happening and I knew that we needed to pause before jumping straight back in and get a few things “right” before we could go again.
One of the biggest things for us was changing our team. Our care provider never felt quite right but we just wanted to get going.
But the other steps were all things we had to work on. We put more steps in place to prepare our bodies for optimal fertility, I implemented a set of techniques to support my mind and emotions and we took space to heal our hearts and prepare our enviroment before we were ready to go again.
And it was after changing our team to the one that felt right plus implementing my own PREGNANT protocol to prepare our bodies, mind and environment that we got pregnant.
But, its not just my own experience that makes me feel like the system is broken sometimes, it’s the stories of the people I work with too. Now I want to emphasise that some of my patients have THE most amazing fertility specialists/ fertility clinics. And they are informed, educated, their health is well looked into, options presented etc. But, I do have a lot of people from all different countries who are rushed into cycles and not informed at all about how they can optimise their fertility or what other tests they should be having done to assess their fertility fully.
The other big factor here is time. I just don’t think that your fertility specialist often as the time in their appointments to go through all of the things that you might need to consider to try to optimise your health and fertility for your cycle.
So, if you’re having an aha moment realising that IVF alone was presented as the solution to you and you’re seeing that maybe it’s not that simple here are some tips to consider:
1. Make sure you’re with the right care provider for you. Not all fertility clinics are the same and not all fertility specialists are the same. Do your research and choose a clinic that aligns with your values and priorities. Even better meet with a couple to see who you feel confident in- not just their facilities and knowledge but also the way you feel working with them.
2. Make sure you consider the big picture of your fertility potential and not just one test result that appears to be out of normal.
3. Improve the environment around you to set you up for optimal fertility.
4. Make your mind work for you, not against you. There are so many strategies that I like to unpack with people to help them do this.
Send me an email if you have an IVF cycle coming up. Together, we can work towards a healthier, happier, and more successful IVF journey.
