Studies show that as we become older the quality of women’s eggs and men’s sperm decrease.  You combine that with a generally weaker body due to aging and it is easy to see why infertility, miscarriage and genetic disorders occur.  Of course, genetic disorders can also occur due to exposure to radiation, pollutants and toxic chemicals.  In this article, Read the rest of this entry »

I always tell my patients that a body that wants to have sex is a body that wants to reproduce.  Having a good libido and interest in sex is a good sign of fertility for both women and men.  Many women notice that they have a higher than normal libido during ovulation and many men unconsciously are attracted to women that are ovulating.  Studies have shown that Read the rest of this entry »

Late periods or cycles is defined as 3 consecutive months of cycles greater than 30 days in Chinese Medicine.  The cycle may be up to 40-60 days long.  There are a few reasons why a woman may experience late periods.  First, it can be due to poor hormone (esp. estrogen or thyroid) production in the body.  Because estrogen along with FSH help with follicle development, if these hormones are not at an optimal level, that will cause Read the rest of this entry »

Recurrent miscarriage is by definition three or more consecutive pregnancy losses.  A miscarriage occurs after an embryo successfully implants and the pregnancy has shown to be positive with a pregnancy test or ultrasound.  Defective embryos is a sign that there is something wrong with either the egg or sperm.  Exposure to radiation and toxic chemicals are examples of things that can cause the embryo to become unviable.  When there are some chromosomal abnormalities, but not enough to Read the rest of this entry »

Scanty and light periods indicate that there could be a problem with the uterus.  You see the the lining of the uterus needs to have a nice thickness to it in order for implantation to occur.  Otherwise, nothing will latch on.  Considering that the uterus is the life line of the fetus, the lining should be thick and full of nutrition.  Scanty and light periods could indicate that the uterus lining is Read the rest of this entry »

First, it must be understood that in a given year, a woman should ovulate 12-13 times if her cycles are 28-30 days long.  Irregular menstrual cycles can decrease the number of ovulations in a given year therefore decreasing your chances of conception.  So having regular cycles @ 28-30 day cycles will maximize your chances of conception.  Irregular menstrual cycles are often times due to Read the rest of this entry »

Amenorrhea (absence of period) will of course lead to infertility due to the lack of ovulation occurring.  There can be a number of reasons why a woman can experience amenorrhea.  First, the woman may be under severe physical and emotional stress.  A female athlete who puts her body under excessive physical stress does not ovulate because her body will not allow her to get pregnant while she is under such intense physical stress.  It’s a self protecting mechanism.  The same is true of emotional stress.  The body being under severe emotional stress will Read the rest of this entry »

Adequate and quality sleep is paramount to good health.  I think many of us know this instinctively, but we still refuse to do it.  I always give the analogy of charging your cell phone when it comes to sleep.  If you just use it all the time and don’t charge it, then it wont work.  The same is true for your body.  It needs Read the rest of this entry »

First, when we talk about diet, I think it’s important to understand what NOT to eat.  Let’s first take away the bad.  You should stay away from processed foods, sugary and greasy foods.  Excessive spicy and raw foods can also be damaging.  A little spicy food can be Read the rest of this entry »

This is for the laywoman or layman to understand the basic workings of the female reproductive system.  After bleeding, FSH (Follicle Stimulating Hormone) will prepare 10-20 eggs to mature in each ovary.  Each egg is encased in a follicle.  These follicles produce estrogen.  A woman’s estrogen levels gradually rise until hitting a threshold, Read the rest of this entry »