'Fertility Goddess' in Vancouver for public seminar

As a best-selling author on women’s health issues, Jill Blakeway has been called the ‘Fertility Goddess’ by the New York Times.
She will be in Vancouver to give the keynote talk to the hundreds of fertility experts from around the world attending the Integrative Fertility Symposium which runs on April 28th to May 1st.
Blakeway is best known for her book Making Babies: A Proven 3-Month Program for Maximum Fertility. She is also considered one of New York City’s top acupuncturists having made appearances on The Dr. Oz Show, CNN, the Early Show, Good Morning America, NBC news, ABC News,  Fox News, and The Talk to name but a few.
Blakeway was also the first acupuncturist to give a TEDTalk, at TEDGlobal in 2012
Making Babies (co-authored with reproductive endocrinologist Sami David MD) explains how integrating the best of Western and Eastern reproductive medicine can give women the best chance of overcoming infertility and achieving a healthy pregnancy.
 Blakeway will be offering a talk for the public May 1st at 4 pm at Harbour Centre - to register go to  www.acubalance.ca.

One on one with Jill Blakeway

Recently Jill sat down with the Asian Pacific Post to answer some important fertility questions. 

Q. You wrote this book with a fertility doctor - what is the benefit of combining Eastern and Western medicine when it comes to enhancing fertility?
A. I wrote Making Babies with a reproductive endocrinologist because I think what people want is the best of all worlds. They want the best that Western science has to offer without being over-medicated. They also want any traditional wisdom from Eastern medicine that helps them to conceive as naturally as possible. When we combine both systems the patient gets all the precision of western diagnostic testing combined with the subtlety of Chinese medicine, which excels at bringing the body back into balance.
The book contains a three-month program to help couples conceive as naturally as possible. A lot of people will be pregnant by the end of this program. And those who aren’t will either need a bit more time. Or they’ll be in a better position to do IVF because they’ll have worked to improve their reproductive health.

Q. How does Chinese medicine treat infertility?
A. Chinese medicine has been used to enhance fertility for over 2000 years. In my clinic I use acupuncture every day to bring blood to the ovaries to help egg quality, to improve circulation to the uterus to promote a good uterine lining, and to balance hormones and reduce inflammation.
There have been many recent clinical trials that show that acupuncture can enhance fertility. One particular trial looked at 180 women doing IVF. ½ had acupuncture with the IVF and ½ didn’t and the women who did the acupuncture had a 50% better outcome.
Acupuncture is very popular with women trying to conceive because it works. The medical journal Fertility and Sterility devoted an entire journal to examining acupuncture a couple of years ago in order to educate fertility doctors about acupuncture because so many of their patients were doing it.

Q. How does acupuncture work?
A. From a Chinese point of view there are channels of energy that run throughout the body. They are often compared to rivers. Blockages in these energy rivers are like a dam that is blocked up. Needling the acupuncture points unblocks the dam and re-establishes flow.
From a Western scientific point of view, the acupuncture needle acts upon your nervous system causing chemicals to be released into your nerves, spinal column and brain.
These chemicals would do one of two things: either change your experience of pain or trigger a cascade of other chemicals that which influence the body’s own internal regulating system. The improved energy flow and biochemical balance produced by acupuncture stimulates the body’s natural healing abilities and enhances physical and emotional well-being.

Q. In your book you say that IVF is over used and misused - why do you think doctors are using it so much?
We are not against IVF, which we think is a wonderful technology, but we do think that many women who do it could conceive naturally if they worked to improve their reproductive health and received proper diagnosis. Reproductive medicine has become more and more about assisted reproductive technologies and, if the answer is always IVF, then we stop asking the question, “why is the couple not getting pregnant?”
I’ll give you an example. We had a patient Kelly who was told by a very eminent fertility doctor that unless she did IVF she would have a 3% chance of conceiving. However, when she came to see us Dr. David found that she had a little infection that was stopping an embryo implanting so he gave her antibiotics. I found she had a minor hormone imbalance so I gave her some Chinese herbs. She was pregnant naturally, within 4 months.

Q. What can couples do to increase their chances of getting pregnant?
• Get familiar with your body’s rhythm so that you get your timing of intercourse is right 
• Have plenty of sex – studies show that unless the man has a low sperm count – the more sex the better your chances. 
• Eat a wide range of foods, preferably organic and not processed 
• Have regular acupuncture which has been shown to improve fertility 
• Find something that helps you relieve stress like yoga 
• Get proper testing. of: hormones, semen, fallopian tubes and cervical fluid issues 
• Get checked for hidden infections 
• Follow the Making Babies 3-month program for your type 

And what shouldn’t they do?

• Over-exercise 
• Drink too much coffee 
• Have more than 3 alcoholic drinks a week 
• Take high doses of vitamin C or anti-histamines which can dry up cervical fluid 
• Use personal lubricants (they can kill sperm) 
• Go on an extreme diet

Jill Blakeway presentation

Topic: Jill’s top 5 tips for making babies naturally

Date: Sunday, May 1, 2016
Time: 4:00 pm
Location: SFU Harbour Centre 515 West Hasting Street

Join Jill Blakeway, along with fertility acupuncturist Lorne Brown, clinical director of Acubalance Wellness Centre. This is for you if you:

• Want to learn how to maximize your fertility naturally. 
• Have experienced failed fertility treatments 
• Are over 35 and worried about your chances of having a baby 
• Are struggling with male fertility issues 
• Want to understand how to best prepare your body for a healthy pregnancy 

Space is limited Register now by going to  http://acubalance.ca/jilltop5

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