Acupuncture and Fertility

Sarah Holland Fertility Focus Telesummit Andrew Loosely Page 1 of 30

Sarah Holland, The Fertility Focus Telesummit 2012

Sarah: Hello, everyone, and welcome to the very first presentation at The Fertility

Focus Telesummit 2012. Im your host, Sarah Holland, and Im so pleased

that you could join us this week. I do hope that you manage to listen in to

as many of our expert presentations as possible.

Now if you couldnt make the Welcome call that we held yesterday, Id

recommend that you do listen to the recording of it as soon as you can to

help you get the most out of the week ahead. Youll be able to find the link

to listen in to that recording on all the emails I send to you each day. Id

recommend that you have a listen to that at your earliest convenience.

If youre on Facebook Id love you to join us there on my Facebook page

which Im turning over to the telesummit all week long. Just visit

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Lets get started with todays presentation. Before we do that, please be

aware that any advice given in these presentations does not replace that

given to you by your own medical caregivers. You may want to check with

them before following any new regime and by taking part in this

telesummit you are acknowledging that you take responsibility for your

own health and wellbeing.



Now I am really pleased to be welcoming back Andrew Loosely to the

telesummit this year. Hes going to be speaking to us about The Baby

Creating Plan: A Three-Step Plan to Successful, Natural, and IVF

Conception and Pregnancy.

Andrew is the founder of The Baby Creating Plan which is an

internationally recognized natural fertility treatment plan. He works with

couples all over the world and has achieved a success rate of over 71%.

Hes a regular contributor to Fertility Road and Multiply Magazines and

regularly presents on radio programmes including the BBC. Andrew feels

that to increase fertility results it is vital to have a structured plan that uses

an integrated diagnostic system, using conventional and traditional

medicine skills, and an integrated conventional and natural treatment plan.

Hello, Andrew. Welcome back to the telesummit. We are so pleased to

have you here.

Andrew: Hello, Sarah. Thank you. Its wonderful to be here again. Its been a very

quick year actually.

Sarah: Its amazing how quickly a year goes past, isnt it, when you measure it in

this way. It does feel 5 minutes since we first spoke at the telesummit last

year, but here we are again which is great.

Now before we get started I want to remind everyone that if theyre

listening to this call LIVE theyll see on the webcast page that there is a

box where they can submit questions to you to answer. Please take

advantage of that and we will have time at the end to answer your

questions. I know that youll answer as many as you have time for, wont

you, Andrew?

Andrew: Absolutely.



Sarah: A bit of advice from me about those questions is to keep them specific to

what Andrew is talking about and then well make sure that we do get

around to answering those. Lets get started. I cant wait to hear what

youre going to talk about today.

First of all, Id like to hear a bit about how we take control of our fertility. I

know thats what youre a great believer intaking back control of our

fertility and thinking about what could be causing the delay so far.

Andrew: Yes. I think it is obviously a very big question. Taking control of your

fertility is a big thing. I meet lots of couples that generally when they come

to my clinics are in a situation where they just feel they dont really know

which way to go next.

Taking control of that situation and understanding where theyre at and

where they need to go is a fundamental part of really the initial steps. As I

say, a lot of people that I meet seem to be in a slightly confused situation

of having tried lots of different things over the yearsgenerally it is years

and not months4, 5, 6 years and sometimes even longerand just

really dont know where to go.

So to take control I think there are different ways of doing this, but a

fundamental thing is to really start at the beginning of trying to understand

where youre at in the process of things. Almost go back to the beginning

again and say: Alright. Okay, lets have a look at whats going on with my

health first and foremost.

The idea from the way that I work in the clinic or what we do with our

clients is the minute they decide that they actually want to embark on a

program with us we sort of go back to square one and we start to look at

the diagnostic side of that person or that couples health.



Wed start by looking at the conventional side of things. It would be asking

them to go back to their GP or getting in touch with their GP or their

consultant (if theyre going through IVF).

Generally, a couple going through IVF will be going down a diagnostic

route anyway, but if just trying to conceive naturally in their home that may

not be the case. They may need to sort of create a relationship with their

GP or get back to their GP and ask for some help.

The first step really is to just gain an understanding of your fertility status

as we refer to it. That really is to find out how your body is working from a

conventional perspective. I say conventional because what we do is an

integrated system so were using conventional diagnostic methods and

modern methods of diagnosis and modern medicine and then were using

natural methods of treatment to actually work with the couples that we

see.

So in the early days its just about running some really standard blood

tests, having a look on the female side the hormonal level, looking at the

blood at different times and aspects of the menstrual cycle. So we

normally start between days 1 & 3 of the cycle and have a simple blood

test done with the GP. They can do that with no problem. It doesnt have

to cost a lot of money through the GP. In the U.K. it will be free anyway.

The kind of things you want to do during the first stage of testing is to test

a couple of hormones. Between days 1 & 3 of your cycle ideally you want

to test for FSH which is a follicle-stimulating hormone, estrogen a

particular type called E2, and prolactin, and then another really important

hormone called Anti-Mullerian hormone, AMH for short.

Doing that will give a really clear picture as to the first half of the menstrual

cycle and look at all of the hormones and the balance of the hormones in



relation to each other. It will show a very good picture of the pituitary

situation within someones body.

In the second half of the cycle then there is another hormone to test for

which is progesterone which many people have probably heard of and

progesterone is really fundamental to a fertilized egg implanting itself and

also to keeping the uterus in really good condition for a positive

pregnancy. With todays modern lifestyles progesterone is quite often low

in a lot of the people we work with. So this is a really key thing to have

tested.

This is always done 7 days after you have ovulated. Thats a really key

point. Many people get tested on day 21 of their cycle which is not actually

always correct if people have longer or shorter cycles than the normal 28-

day cycle. Then that would be out and the reading would be incorrect. All

of these tests need to be done at specific times. Progesterone specifically

needs to be done 7 days after ovulation.

Of course, weve got the guys side as well. Its really important that men

are tested as well. Generally, actually in conventional medicine men are

tested first purely because its a very straightforward and non-invasive

test. We take the same approach.

Generally when we work with a couple we get the guy tested very early

on, establish what the health of the semen, the sperm, are like, and then

sort of go from there.

We always get our female clients to do those basic blood tests that Ive

just run through. This is kind of the very first step in taking control.

Once you get some results and you know whats actually going on

chemically and hormonally in the body from a very physical and very

conventional view, then you can actually start to understand the picture.



Also, with the increase in AMH (the test I was talking about Anti-Mullerian

Hormone) this really gives a very good picture of what someones ovarian

reserve is like and this basically means that we can start to see very

approximately what kind of level of eggs a woman has left in her reserve.

This will give us a fairly good idea of the natural level of fertility.

Once we know that that gives a good direction as to where the couple

should be headingwhether they should be with assisted methods such

as IVF even that toward stimulated cycles, or whether they actually have

time to go down that route.

The key thing with taking control is that youre also taking control of the

time factor and being really aware of where youre at so you dont waste

time. I do often see couples that have spent years and years trying

naturally and get into a situation where when theyve come to doing IVF

theyve left a little bit late for that as well. It puts a lot of pressure on them

and can make the whole process really quite uncomfortable.

Its all about planning and timing. I think thats the real key to taking control

but obviously, it depends on where youre at in your journey and that is

obviously different with each couple.

So once weve covered the conventional side of things the physical

testing- we go into the natural assessments and diagnosis. This is where

from a natural medicine perspective we work with our clients to really

establish what the underlying causes are within their body, what their

health is like on a day-to-day basis, and really go that level deeper than

conventional medicine to see how the body is working, whats functioning

effectively, and what isnt working effectively because my belief is that the

majority of us are born fertile and its really through modern living,

stresses, environmental factors, pollutionall sorts of different things that



accumulate within our bodies and its those things that start to cause

issues with infertility.

So if we can get back to the very fundamental balance that should be

there naturally through good living, then we can help to restore that and

start to improve the way the body works which then naturally improves

fertility.

So doing the traditional assessments and having a diagnosis from a

traditional medicine perspective is really important because that gives us a

jewel diagnosis really which then creates a basis for a strategy to begin.

I think with regards to answering the question about what could be

causing a delay so far from our perspective its really about the underlying

issues that may be present.

In conventional medicine youll find that people are categorized. There are

specific categories. Someone may be diagnosed with PCOS (polycystic

ovarian syndrome). Someone else may be diagnosed with having

endometriosis. Other people may have blocked fallopian tubes and so on.

There are quite a few different diagnoses.

There is a very high percentage that fall into unexplained infertility. Any

one of those situations really reflect that there is something going on in the

body.

If people cant conceive within a 1-2 year period naturally and very easily

then there is something that is out of balance and of course, its good to

get the conventional diagnosis because that just clarifies things, but

sometimes it isnt clarifying enough.

Having the traditional and the natural medicine diagnosis goes a little bit

further and looks at the underlying aspects of the body and finds that even



in situations where there are diagnoses with unexplained infertility there is

actually something going on in the body that is not allowing the pregnancy

to occur or to be successful to full term. So that is a really important

aspect of taking control.

To sum it up, taking control for us is about really being clear from the

beginning, having a good diagnosis in conventional medicine, having a

good diagnosis and understanding of the body from a natural perspective

and then combining these two to really start to develop the first stages of

the treatment strategy based on those findings.

I think when I talk to couples about this and the fact that we have this kind

of process it does seem to really resonate. They seem to get quite

relieved that there is a method that you can actually have a very

structured system to something that feels very unstructured and a little bit

out of control.

Sarah: Yeah, thats what really strikes me about the way youre approaching this,

Andrew, how very structured it is. These are the steps that need to be

taken. These are the tests that need to be done. Also, its a very

integrated approach the way you approach fertility. Youre looking at the

whole picture there, arent you?

Andrew: Yes. Absolutely. We go throughIll explain throughout our conversation.

This is obviously trying to cram in lots and lots of information here without

going too far off in any one direction. I do like to talk quite a bit soIts an

integrated approach.

Ive been practicing fundamentally I practice Chinese medicine. I use

acupuncture and a variety of other things combined, but Ive integrated it

and created a system over the last decade because I just felt that there

isnt a single system that covers absolutely everything.



I feel that were moving into a new direction with health and medicine as

wellinto a new era where East is meeting West. I think both have so

much to offer.

I think that just using traditional methods on their own can be incredibly

effective. When Im talking about traditional things I mean natural medicine

such as acupuncture, herbal medicine, nutritionthose kinds of therapy or

treatment. They can be very effective but theyre obviously going to be

more effective if you have an even clearer understanding from another

perspective.

I think integrating systems is a great way forward for humanity in general

and particularly for infertility.

Sarah: I think its the way ahead in lots of areas of healthcare, isnt it?

Andrew: Absolutely, and also bringing in the mind aspect as well, not just the

physical side of things but actually the mind in understanding that stress

and emotions effect the mind and the mind effects emotions and that

affects the physical being as well quite significantly.

Its amazing how many people once on the program actually sayI heard

one of my clients just the other day say that she felt that she was actually

sabotaging her own fertility journey. It was only through getting into the

program that she realized that because one our guys works with our

clients on that kind of level.

I know you do as well, Sarah. Its the mind aspect thats incredibly

important as well.

Sarah: Absolutely. Yes. Its a huge area to look at it, isnt it? Like you said, we

dont want to overwhelm people with too much too early on, but it just

gives an overview of that whole picture.



You did touch on all the different elements to the plan that you work with.

You mentioned acupuncture, herbal medicine and so on. Could you tell us

about what often you see as the most effective treatments for both male

and female fertility in the way that you work?

Andrew: Absolutely. Ive chosen 6 basically to make up the program. As a

practitioner originally of Chinese medicine we studied quite a few different

aspects of treatment but we primarily work with acupuncture, herbal

medicine, and nutrition.

Those 3 form a really fundamental treatment approach that we use. But I

realized also that there were other aspects and other things that clients

needed help with and couples needed support with.

So I just started doing some research and looked from an outside

perspectiveI did research and looked at different clinical trials that were

being done around the world related to fertility. I looked to the key areas

and the findings and basically the list of treatments that I came up with

were the 6 most effective that I could find based on clinical trials.

These were things written up in The British Medical Journal. There were

studies done in America and Denmark and Germanyall over the place.

All were showing really positive effects with fertility.

Basically the ones I chose were acupuncture - because thats what I

practice- and herbal medicine, both of which have been shown to increase

natural fertility quite significantly. Those are very effective for increasing

IVF resultsup to 70% according to some clinical trials that have been

done over the last 10 years. So there is a lot more research that needs to

be done on those but I think these are two very effective treatments.

The third is nutrition. I like to work in a very traditional Chinese way with

nutrition where we use food much more as medicine rather than just as a



nutrient sort of delivering substance. We look at how it affects different

organ systems and different aspects of the body.

Thats kind of the strength of Chinese medicine because it is so old and

has a lot of history of using food and plants as medicine. So those are the

first 3.

We look at part of the program which is lifestyle factors. Now its looking at

toxicity. Its looking at chemicals that may be in your environment around

you, chemicals and substances that you may actually be using such as

cleaning fluids and things in your direct environment, and also chemicals

or different products that you may be coming into contact withall of

which are substances that are not naturally or shouldnt naturally be in

your own environment.

There is a lot of research to show that there are quite a few different

compounds and chemicals that are out there that people are in contact

with daily that cause an endocrine imbalance which basically causes your

hormonal system to get really out of balance.

Of course the entire menstrual cycle is based on your hormonal balance

so if that starts to get out of sync then that affects the menstrual cycle

which has an effect on fertility.

The other aspect is exercise. People either over exercise or under

exercise quite often when it comes to fertility. So we work with clients to

really identify the right type dependent on their constitution.on the state

of their health, how much energy they have (The Chinese refer to that as

chi.) If youre chi your energy is quite strong and youre able to do the

specific exercises where you can burn off a little bit more energy.

If your energy is particularly weak and that is an issue for you conceiving

then it doesnt make sense to be running 10 miles a day because youll be



using a lot of energy doing that. We look at exercise and we try to balance

that.

Then the sixth component is creating a healthy state of mind. Thats really

just helping people stay very focused, looking at any past issues that they

may have had on their fertility journey and in their life and really helping

them get into a positive state of mind and giving them tools to work

through a 12 or 24-week program and giving them a really positive focus

and overcoming any negative aspects of their mind.

Those are the 6 key treatments and approaches that we use on the

program. Ive found together that they work phenomenally well and people

feel really well after quite a short time period.

Even if people arent able to do this kind of program, these are the kind of

things you can actually work on yourself. Using acupuncture and herbal

medicine with a practitioner, getting some really good dietary advice, and

looking at the environmental aspects and then exercise and using

products and working with people who can help with a really positive state

of mind.

Sarah: I think thats a great overview and really good elements for everybody to

look at on their fertility journey. You did mention that you have 12 & 24-

week programs. Im interested to find out what can really be done in 12

weeks. Can someone really go from infertile to getting pregnant in that

time? How could they do that?

Andrew: Absolutely. Yeah. Its interesting that when I first started out with my

practice I found that people were conceiving really quite fast within 6

weeks on occasions and sometimes even quicker after years and years of

not being able to conceive. Even though as a practitioner I was quite

shocked by that, I just thought: How can the body change so quickly? But



for some people it can but it does obviously depend on each person. That

is one thing Im really clear about on the program.

Its different for everybody and it really depends on each persons health

situation. Thats where the diagnosis comes in right at the beginning.

When you have a clear diagnosis and you know exactly whats going on in

the body you kind of get a good idea of the time span it should take and

what is realistic.

Twelve weeks is quite a significant time period. Its 3 months and during

that time you can quite significantly change the quality of someones eggs.

You can most definitely change the quality of the endometriumthe lining

of the uterus and the blood flow into the uterus which feeds the uterus and

helps with an egg trying to implant.

You can also change the quality of the sperm. That takes about 72-90

days. Within 12 weeks, within 3 months, you could actually if you really

really work hard on those 6 components I just mentioned and put all of

them into gear at a really good pace, you can conceive within that time

period. It is definitely possible and in some cases its even quicker.

As I say, it does depend on each person so youve got to have a good

understanding of your situation beforehand to know roughly what kind of

time span youd be looking at.

Sarah: That is so empowering, isnt it, to think of a relatively short period of time

of 12 weeks (3 months) and seeing how much can actually be done during

that time as long as you dedicate yourselves to looking at every element

and really going for it. Im sure thats motivating for a lot of people to hear.

You have mentioned acupuncture as one of your elements that you bring

in here. I know we hear a lot about using it for both natural conception and

for IVF. Could you tell us a little bit about that?



Andrew: It can be used for any fertility issue from the mentally and gynecological

issue, too. For the purposes of our conversation I think its really important

to think about it from a fertility perspective because there is a little bit of a

difference. Theres a difference in the way that its used.

I think people who are embarking on a fertility journey that does involve

acupuncture or that is thinking about using acupuncture I think its really

important to try and find somebody that has an understanding of fertility

and using acupuncture specifically for that.

There have been some great advances in acupuncture within the fertility

world in China, Japan, and other parts of the world. I feel that whenever I

have a conversation with people about it relating to fertility I always

suggest that they seek someone out that actually is in the fertility world as

such and has some experience particularly with regards to using it for IVF

conception.

I think thats really important because were trying to do different things at

different times of the IVF cycle and we want it to compliment the cycle and

work alongside it. The points that are used are being used in a different

way to the standard acupuncture approach. Were using it to work along

and support the IVF cycle to try to enhance everything as much as

possible. I think first and foremost its really important to understand that

there is a bit of a difference.

Acupuncture is acupuncture. Even if you see someone who isnt a fertility

specialist they could still help you but I think its better to work towards

finding someone that does have some experience and even more so, as I

say, when youre going down the IVF route. Its very effective and there

are trials as I mentioned briefly earlier relating to acupuncture and fertility

thats natural conception and also IVF conception and these trials show up

to 70% increase in results particularly with IVF.



So if you look at the standard idea of results youre talking about 25-30%

on average when you bring all of the different age groups together. It

doesnt take a lot to see that if youre getting a 70% youre more than

doubling the effects of that.

Now as a practitioner seeing those results in the clinic myself and being

slightly over 70% its really fascinating. Its always difficult to know when

youre using 2 treatments exactly what is happening and which one is

working or is one working more efficiently than the other. To me its gotten

to the point in my practice where I think: Does it really matter? The main

thing is that the results are higher. If theyre higher then its a positive thing

to do because it doesnt cause any issue with the medicines that people

are using through the IVF cycle and its basically a very balancing

treatment.

The greatest thing with using acupuncture alongside assisted methods like

IVF and egg donation also is that when there is any medication that is

being used you can sometimes have side effects as people listening who

have done a cycle may be awarenot very common, but people do

experience side effects sometimes.

Acupuncture really seems to help with that. It seems to make peoples

bodies a bit more efficient at using the various medications that theyre

given and prescribed throughout their treatment cycle. It just really helps

to relax their mind as well. It has a very physically relaxing effect on the

body but its working on a very deep level and really enhancing the cycle-

if its used correctly- to make the IVF more effective and the body more

receptive to whats going on and what needs to happen.

Sarah: I know you have a lot of background with herbal medicine as well. I know

youve had a lot of experience using it with both men and women. Could



you give us an idea of how that can help couples improve their fertility

health, too?

Andrew: Yeah. Herbal medicine is such a vast area, Sarah. Its been around for so

long and really in Chinese medicine we go back a good 5,000 years.

Chinese medicine has about 1,500 years of usage of herbs for

gynecological issues and for fertility.

Its quite different to acupuncture in the sense that with herbal medicine

we start to work a little bit like we do with food and supplements. We start

to work a bit more chemically on the body.

We start out with our diagnosis right at the beginning and we do an

assessment with people. When I say we Im talking here very generally

with practitioners. We get a good clear understanding of whats going on

in the body and then we choose specific plants which are known to be

effective for altering the body in a particular way.

We use those plants either in a tea form, a powder form, or a tablet form.

They are administered over a time period. What were doing is we are

trying to counterbalance any imbalances that weve found in our

diagnoses and really work on areas that weve found are out of balance

and are too weak in the body or areas and processes or things that are

out of balance and too strong or too over-active.

Were always looking for this midway of balance basically of reaching a

point where the body is working at its optimum level where nothing is in

excess and nothing is too deficient or too lacking. Herbs do that by

delivering nutrients, different vitamins, different minerals, but more so

theyre delivering different substances, different natural chemicals that

exist in foods and plants and they are starting to cause a change in

chemical balance of the body.



Over time this will then start to have a physical effect which builds up and

starts to make the change that youre wanting to see. When using herbs

for fertility with women we would be looking very specifically at the

menstrual cycle.

The way that I work is to break the cycle down into four stages. We have

the first two stages which are the first half of the cyclepartly during the

period and then the post period. Then we have the other two stages which

are ovulation. Once the egg is released or being released and post

ovulation.

These are the four different stages of the cycle that we work with. Herbs

are applied differently at each stage of the menstrual cycle. The reason

thats done is to enhance every aspect.

We track the menstrual cycle as we work through and we look at different

factors and different aspects of the cycle and make sure that everything is

functioning as it should be. Any areas that are flagged up are shown not to

be working efficiently or effectively we then target with herbs in a very

specific way.

We do that with acupuncture as well in the other treatments but in the

herbal side were looking to really work on the menstrual cycle

fundamentally and get that in balance. That is done by delivering a whole

variety of different nutrients and chemicals to the body that restore the

body and get it working in the way that it should be. With men its very

similar approach but obviously we dont have the menstrual cycle which

does make things a little bit easier.

For men were looking at most definitely a 3-month treatment period and

herbs need to be administered every day for 3 months. It makes it quite

simple with guys because once your consultation is done we can actually



administer the herbs pretty much the same formulation the same

combination- throughout the entire 3 months.

Theres very little reason to make changes through the 3 months because

it takes almost 3 months for the sperm to change. We always start with a

sperm test at the beginning to look at the quality of the sperm. Then we do

another test at the end and check what the progress is and decide

whether its sufficient or we continue.

Herbs are basically being used in that situation to deliver nutrients to the

body and start to change the chemical balance of the body so that it works

more efficiently and heads back to its natural state.

Once that happens your body is really working efficiently, then your fertility

whether male or female will naturally improve and increase. Therefore

your chances of conception also increase.

Sarah: It sounds like a very in-depth approach especially when we consider that

this is just one fix of what you deal with within your plan. It sounds like it

could work on a very deep levelvery detailed. So its fascinating.

Thank you for sharing so much with us so far. We are getting lots and lots

of questions coming in so I wonder if youd like to answer some of those?

Andrew: Absolutely.

Sarah: Great. First of all, lets see. We had a few questions coming in about the

tests. I think it was just a bit of clarification talking about taking control and

the kind of test to get as a baseline first of all. You talked about the AMH

test. Jana from London was wondering if that needs to be taken at any

particular time of the month or if it can be taken any time in the cycle?

Andrew: I think its really betterthe 4 main hormones that need to be checked at

this time so this is between days 1-3 of your cycle- actually during the



period. Obviously that is very difficult is somebody has polycystic ovarian

syndrome where theyre not actually having a period.

They need to get these checked at any point but bear in mind that they

may not be completely relevant tests until a period actually occurs. It can

be tricky but for everybody else who is experiencing a period on a fairly

regular basis you want to do it between days 1 and 3 of your cycle with

day 1 being the first day bleeding.

So you definitely need to get your AMH checked then. Also, the prolactin,

the estrogen which is E2, and the FSH. Those 4 need to be checked

within days 1-3 of the cycle.

Sarah: Thanks for clarifying that. We have others who asked that question, too. I

think we have a lot of people who are going to be getting out there and

getting these tests done which is great.

We had a question about the progesterone test. What do you do if your

provider refuses to test progesterone levels on 7 days after ovulation?

Shes gone to 2 doctors who want to test progesterone on day 21 and Ive

told them I only have a 24 day cycle. (Obviously thats the wrong date for

her.) Ive asked to be done 7 days after ovulation but they insist on day 21.

What should I do? They will not refer me to a third doctor and my GP

refuses to test.

Andrew: Right. It is tricky but Ive heard it on quite a few occasions and I dont like

to encourage people to do things that are not correct; however, I wouldnt

tell them the length of my original cycle. I just would say that is day 21 of

my cyclepersonally. Or alternatively, either find another GP or do it

privately.

Thats the only option really. Its something that is quite tricky and I think

the problem is there are a selection of people out there that really do think



its day 21 and it isnt. It should be 7 days post ovulation because the

measurement that theyre looking for only occurs 7 days after ovulation.

So if your cycle is 24 days long youll be ovulating much earlier and

basically it just wont give a clear reading at all. Day 21 will actually show a

drop-off probably of progesterone which will give a low reading on a short

cycle. Its really important to get it 7 days after ovulation.

Normally when people come in with this situation to the clinic I think they

work it out in the end for themselves that they say: You know what? Im

just not going to say how long my cycle is and Ill just say its day 21.

Thats probably not the most ethical advice, I suppose, but its really tricky

when people dont help you in that situation.

I think the other option is just going privately. We have a GP that works

with us who does help us out in those kinds of situations. Unfortunately,

people have to pay for that. It is your right to have tests done with your GP

to some degree.

Sarah: Ive been in those situations. I must admit that was the approach I took as

well. I would just say: No, this is the right day. This is day 21. Make sure

that you are getting it done on the right day for you. Take a bit of control

back again.

Andrew: Exactly. This is all part of taking control that is really recognizing thatIve

just had someone sign up with us for the program and Ive been talking to

her for quite awhile. Its taken 4 years for them to recognize that theres

a low progesterone level. This couldve been worked out 4 years ago

which actually is not very good.

I think this is where people do need to have a little bit of understanding

about these things. People would just rely on the advice from everybody



else controlling the situation. I think this is why we do need to come and

have some kind of control so they know that things are being done at the

right time and that theyre getting the right readings as well. Thats why I

think its also good to work alongside a practitioner who does know about

these things. You just get that extra support.

Sarah: Exactly...that integrated approach that ticks all the boxes. Lets see what

other questions we have. We have lots of them coming in. Well try and

get through as many as possible.

Dawn in Manchester says shes been having acupuncture for 2 years to

assist her fertility and also IVF but unfortunately, its not yet helped. If

acupuncture hasnt helped she wonders if Chinese medicine could help.

Andrew: Yes, it very well could. I think as Ive tried to put across its an integration

of all of these methods for me. If shes just been doing acupuncture on its

own then I most definitely would support it with herbal medicine and

nutrition, lifestyle stuff, exercise, and then the mind aspect as well.

I think all of these together are really important particularly when I hear of

couples who have been going through several years with IVF as well and

its not working and its several cycles down the line.

Then definitely I would bring in some other aspects. She should bring in all

6 components if possible and just look at each one of those as a united

treatmenta unified treatmentand try to address all of them so you

really are doing the absolute ultimate that you can.

Herbal medicine could really help support the acupuncture. In some

people acupuncture just isnt enough because it works more on moving

energy throughout the body.



Herbal medicine delivers energy. So if people have a lack of energy and

their bodies are not working efficiently and therefore their fertility level is

low because theyre underactive, then acupuncture alone may not be

enough.

Herbal medicine could restore that kind of deficiency, that slight lack of

energy, and bring it up efficiently so that the acupuncture can then work

more effectively as well.

Sarah: So essentially what you should be doing is adding in the herbal medicine

not doing it instead of the acupuncture? Although it hasnt helped so far it

may just be another element needs to be brought in there it sounds like.

Andrew: Exactly. Yeah. I definitely wouldnt, if possible, choose one over the other.

I would try to always do them together. Im been doing that since 1998,

and it works very well. I would definitely suggest that you do it together.

Sarah: You mentioned earlier about being able to change the quality of the egg

by following this kind of plan. The caller is saying: My doctor is saying that

nothing can be done to change the quality of the eggs. Can you explain

what you meant?

Andrew: Absolutely. One thing that most definitely cannot be changed is the

number of eggs that are present because you have a set amount per

person.

When it comes to quality what Im talking about there is the way the egg

may respond and the health of the egg. I think certain aspects of the

quality can be changed. The reason I believe that is because eggs are

actually cells and every cell that exists in y our body is alive.

We have this tendency in our modern way of thinking to think that certain

aspects of the body are not really alive but its just structural stuff or things



that are there, but every single aspect to the deepest aspects of our body

is made up of living cells. Those cells live and thrive in a particular

environment that they need.

When theyre not in that environment then they are affected negatively

and they dont function as efficiently. So by giving the body lots of

nutrition, concentrated nutrition, and balancing it in every possible way you

can to get back into the more natural state, then every single cell in your

body will change to some degree. It depends on the time span, I think, in

most cases as to how long you actually apply that.

In some cases it can be a bit of a journey. It can take months. You are

looking at about 3 months for the body to change and for nutrition and

nutrients to get down to a deep level and start to affect the body

significantly. Im quite a firm believer that certain aspects of egg quality

can change.

Sarah: Really its the quantity that cant be changed but the quality possibly can.

Andrew: Possibly, yescertain aspectsnot everything but to a degree. I just think

you can get more life force into the eggs that are there. They are alive and

theyre waiting for nutrients to be delivered all the time to feed them.

Once theyre chosen and theyre on their journey to getting to the ovaries

and then being released, they can be affected. Theyre almost like

dormant seeds that are being gradually nurtured and fed to that point to

where the egg is released and thats one opportunity.

I think you can change certain aspects of the quality of the egg.

Sarah: Ive got a question here from Helen in Yorkshire. Shes asked whether its

a bad idea to self-administer herbal medicine such as agnus castus to

increase fertility.



Andrew: I think I got asked this last year as well, actually. It comes up really

frequently in particular with agnus castus, I think, because its prescribed

and talked about as a menstrual cycle balancing herb. My answer in short

is: Yes, I do think its a bad idea, unfortunately.

The reason I would say that is because everyone is different and the

chemical balance of the body is different so Im just as a lifelong herbalist

not into the idea of people just taking something because its thought to be

good or even known to be good for addressing certain situations because

for some people it will be for other people it will be really detrimental. It

could actually cause more imbalance in the long run.

So really I would say where possible dont self-prescribe and just find a

herbalist thats local to you or even long distance, but find someone you

can work with who can do the proper assessment and decide what needs

to be used and for how long as well.

Sarah: Ive got quite a few questions coming in here from more people than I can

probably name so Ill just ask it as a general question. Asking about your

success rates for your overall program in the over 40 age brackethow

do you find the success rates are there?

Andrew: Actually very good. Ill be quite clear with this. The majority of our over 40

clients are actually going down the IVF route and so were not totally

reliant on my program as such. We are working with people that are doing

another treatment and so you have to bear that in mind, but the IVF group

(I was just looking at statistics before we came online.) who are on our

program is 71.4%. Of that I would say that about 55 or 60% are over

40a fairly significant number. I find results really good. The effects are

good.



I think particularly once youre over 40 if youre going to do IVF its really

quite important to support it with something else because I think theres a

lot thats going on. Theres pressure as well..Its a lot of psychological

pressure because of this whole idea that their clock is ticking and they

havent got very long and its got to happen now.

There is lots of emotional stuff going on so I do think supporting yourself in

that situation is really important. I cant give you an exact figure but 71.4%

of our clients conceived that are doing IVF and of that I would say 55-60%

are over 40.

Sarah: Thats reassuring and interesting. Ive had someone asking if they have

blocked tubes and that is the problem with their fertility, will these 6 factors

help them conceive naturally or not?

Andrew: That really depends on what is actually blocking the tubes. In Chinese

medicine there are a variety of different causes of blocked fallopian tubes.

Some are much more easily clearable than others. Some require surgery.

It really depends on the individual situation. In some situations herbal

medicine, acupuncture, particularly those two treatments can be very

effective and then when you combine them with the other factors, of

course, those are supporting factors to those two treatments.

The answer would be yes in certain situations depending on what the

blockage is and whats causing it. It would definitely be a worth a try. This

is where the person needs to go to a fertility specialistsomeone who

actually understands acupuncture and herbal medicine for fertility from a

gynecological perspective so that they really are very clear on whether or

not this would be helpful.



Sarah: Right. Question from John and Bristol says: Hi, Andrew. My initial semen

analysis shows I had a slightly lower than average number of normal form

sperm. Should I be worried about this or could it be improved?

Andrew: Normal formtheres a lot of discussion about this because theyve said

there isnt any man on earth anymore that has completely well formed

sperm. The morphology, the shape of them, is now not correct. That

degree varies within each man. I think the shape, the morphology can be

affected.

It definitely requires lifestyle change. Unfortunately, its the slowest aspect

of the sperm quality to changethe motility, the speed, the quantity, and

the volume of the sperm can change.

Those factors can change much more quickly just by eating really well and

having a good lifestyle, but the morphology is the part that takes the

longest. Its something thats quite deeply rooted.

It can be changed and I would encourage any man that is trying to

conceive to really take on a good lifestyle program and look at those 6

components I talked about and try and apply those in a complete program

so that theyre doing everything they can to make some changes.

Could you just clarify, Sarah, what their percentage was for me?

Sarah: There wasnt a percentage given on there. It just said a low average.

Andrew: Okay, unfortunately, thats not quite clear enough. I like to work

specifically and this is one of the things where taking control of your

fertility is getting the results and being clear on the actual numbers rather

than In a lot of cases I see where couples are just told or guys are just

told that their sperm is okay or its average or below average or slightly

above average. That doesnt define anything really.



Its really important to get the test results and if youre going to work with

another practitioner like myself or someone else they can look at the

proper numbers and go: Okay, 15% is too low. We need to work on that. If

it is low on the morphology side its something that he should really look at

some lifestyle stuffdefinitely healthy eating.

Acupuncture and herbal medicine can be very helpful, but it will need to be

3-6 months probably of treatment.

Sarah: Id just like to interject there part of the taking control of our fertility is

asking for those results. When the results come back ask what the figures

are and get the numbers in front of you so you can share those with any

other practitioners youre working with. Thats really useful, isnt it, to have

those numbers.

Andrew: Absolutely. Its really important. As I say, I do get clients who come to me

and say: Its above average. This used to happen in the past. We preempt

this now so we get everybody to test before they even come to meet with

me. Were clear from the outset. It just gives you a good picture so that

you know the motility is 20% and it should be much more. We say: Okay,

we need to work on that.

If someone said: Its just averagethat doesnt give us any information at

all. As you say, its really about asking for the results and making sure

they give you a printout so you can take it away.

Sarah: Now we only have a few minutes left. Im just going to see if we can fit one

more question in. I dont want to ask you anything thats going to be too

long right now. This might be a short and sweet one.

Anna in London has asked if a short luteal phase could be preventing her

from getting pregnant?



Andrew: Yes, absolutely. Its an area Im really passionate about because Im

finding this is becoming really quite a problem.

Ive been working with a couple in the states who the woman has had a

short luteal phase for over 4 years. Weve just extended it to a normal

phase. Its taken 6 months but its finally got there.

If the luteal phase is too short it means that the progesterone which is the

hormone that is really dominant in the second half of the cycle and that

hormone is really there to enhance the quality of the uterus and basically

create a really fantastic environment for the implanted egg or the fertilized

egg to implant and the implanted egg to thrive and grow- so progesterone

is really important.

If the luteal phase is short it means the progesterone is dropping off too

soon. That could mean that the follicle where the egg has been released

from is just not releasing enough progesterone.

In my experience for the majority of women that I work with its because

their body is underactive. Theyre lacking energy or chi as the Chinese

would say. There are other aspects and its individual with each person,

but its something that I feel is changeable from my experience.

It would definitely require herbal medicine and acupuncture to support it

but herbs and nutrition are really fundamental in that.

Sarah: Great. Thank you for clearing that one up. Now Im getting an awful lot of

questions coming in from all over the world asking about how they can

work directly with you. You did mention that you were working with some

people in the states. We know that youre based in London. Do you work

with people outside of the U.K. and how would that work?



Andrew: I do. Yes. Absolutely. Basically the Baby Creating Plan, the program that

weve been talking about, is available to be used in the U.K. I can work

directly with clients. When I see them face-to-face its obviously great. I

can do the acupuncture myself and everything else as well, or I have a

team of people nutritionists, a GP, and a wellbeing coach- that work with

me as well, but basically that can be done in person but for anybody who

is outside London or cant get to us in any way we have a long distance

version of the program which is basically tailored to each person. It works

incredibly well.

Its something that we launched last year actually after the last Fertility

Focus Telesummit. Its been very successful. All I would say is get in

contact with me and we can explain more. We work primarily by using

Skype because its the easiest way to feel that youre actually meeting

with somebody, but we deliver everything apart from the acupuncture

because I cant be there unless people want to invite me abroad. Thats

fine. But there is a possibility and we are doing it now. Were sort of all

over the world actually now.

I would just say email in and get in touch and well get in touch with details

on it.

Sarah: Okay, so will you let everybody know how to do that? How can they find

your website? How can they get in touch with you?

Andrew: If you dont mind, Sarah, Ill just say if any of the listeners would like to get

free copy of my fertility guide its called The Ultimate Fertility Guide. They

can go to my website and just sign up for the free guide. Youll then get

lots of information on the back of that guide but the guide itself is packed

with everything Ive been talking about today.



You can do that at www.naturalfertilityexpert.com. If youd like to email us

directly there is an email address in the guide but Ill just tell you now its

[email protected].

If you email us well get in touch with you directly; otherwise, just feel free

to get a copy of my guide and all the information Ive been talking about

today.

Sarah: Thank you, Andrew. That is so generous of you. Id also like to mention a

bit more about your generosity and the fabulous bonus that youve added

to the Golden Ticket upgrade as well. Its a free chat with you to discuss

more how this approach could work. So I just want to let everybody know

if you do purchase the Golden Ticket upgrade before the end of this

telesummit week youll automatically receive the opportunity of this free

chat with Andrew as well. So take advantage of that.

Thank you very much for sharing so much in this time. Im sorry to those

people who submitted even more questions than we had time for but I

hope that the ones we got through applied to a lot of you. Im sure a lot of

you could relate to the questions that were being asked.

Thank you once again, Andrew. Its been great speaking to you. We really

enjoyed it. Ive learned a lot again. I learn more and more every time I run

this telesummit.

Andrew: Yeah, its amazing, isnt it? Im looking forward to listening in for the rest of

the week. A great big thank to you for giving me the opportunity to

approach everybody. I wish lots of luck to everybody thats listening.

Thank you for inviting me. Its been a great hour.

Sarah: Youre very welcome. Goodbye, everybody. See you again soon.

Documents

Acupuncture and Fertility