Many parents-to-be are turning to Osteopathy to give their fertility a boost and to prepare the mom-to-be’s body for a healthy pregnancy. It’s a holistic approach that helps align your musculoskeletal system and supports optimal health to make conception easier and pregnancy healthier and safer.
Keep reading to learn the importance and value of regular Osteopathic appointments as you prepare for conception and your healthy pregnancy.
What are fertility and infertility?
Fertility is your body’s ability to conceive. Several things need to happen for a conception to occur:
- A man’s sperm needs to be healthy.
- A woman needs to produce eggs.
- The sperm needs to travel through unblocked fallopian tubes to the egg.
- One sperm must fertilize the egg.
- The egg must successfully implant in the woman’s uterus.
Infertility is when this process is made difficult or impossible due to physical or psychological barriers. The causes of infertility aren’t always known (20% of all infertility issues are unexplained) but are most often attributed to stress, age, injury within the reproductive system, disease, or diet and lifestyle habits. Infertility affects 1/3 of men, 1/3 women, and the remainder is undetermined.
To receive an official infertility diagnosis, couples need to wait one year from actively trying to get pregnant. For many couples, the stress of not getting pregnant in this first year often makes their infertility worse.
Couples who have concerns about their fertility before the 12-month mark can turn to Osteopathy. Osteopathy fertility assessments and treatments can begin before you try to conceive, while you’re trying to get pregnant, and throughout your pregnancy and postpartum recovery period. It doesn’t require a referral from a GP or that you wait a year for that official diagnosis.
Boosting fertility with Osteopathy
Many couples experience struggles getting pregnant. While the causes can vary, I’ve found that stress is the number one cause of otherwise unexplained fertility. Some couples wait years to get this diagnosed, but you can get help now through Osteopathy.
Osteopathy helps remove barriers to conception by helping you relax and improve your mental health, in addition to helping resolve other common fertility causes, including:
- hormone imbalances
- immunity issues
- pelvic misalignment
- physical trauma
- scar tissue
- anxiety and depression
Osteopathic manual techniques can help treat dysfunctions in your joints, muscles, nerves, connective tissues, and organs to help you get pregnant within one year. These non-invasive techniques help to:
- Reduce emotional, physical & traumatic stress
- Enhance immunity
- Align the pelvis, lower back & hips (while increasing nerve conduction to the uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries)
- Align your uterus and ovarian ligaments
- Reduce scar tissue surrounding the uterus, ovaries, and surrounding muscles
When moms- and dads-to-be are as healthy as they can be, they often get pregnant easier. Osteopathy can help you achieve peak health by removing as many conception barriers as possible.
Supporting muscle and joint health
Strong muscles and joints, especially around a woman’s reproductive organs, are critical to successful conception. By improving blood flow and circulation in your body, Osteopathy helps ensure your reproductive systems get the blood flow they need to support healthy fertility. Strong blood flow also supports healthy menstrual cycles, making tracking your cycles and timing pregnancy easier.
Muscles and joints also play an important role in pelvic health and alignment. A properly aligned pelvis (and spine) makes it easier for the sperm to travel through the woman’s reproductive system to reach the released egg.
Osteopathy can also support a strong pelvic floor, which minimizes your chances of common issues like incontinence, prolapse, and pelvic pain. This is accomplished through non-invasive techniques like stretches, targeted exercises, and manipulations.
Emotional and mental well-being during your pregnancy journey
Reducing stress and anxiety is a core contributor to healthy fertility in both men and women. Osteopathic massage and other techniques promote calm so your body’s resources can go into conception, not managing the effects of stress in your body.
Your parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems are also core components of healthy fertility. Your parasympathetic system promotes relaxation and calm in your mind and body, boosts your immunity, and helps with nutrient absorption and waste disposal. Your sympathetic system is responsible for increasing your heart rate, getting blood flow to your muscles, and supporting overall positive mental activity.
These systems are both critical to supporting your optimal health, which contributes to your ability to have a healthy conception.
How/When to see an Osteopath
The great news is you can begin seeing an Osteopath at any point in your pregnancy journey. Many couples wait until a year of trying to conceive before seeking help, but with Osteopathy, you don’t need to wait for a diagnosis.
However, the ideal time to see your Osteopath is before you start trying to conceive, often as early as 3-6 months prior, depending on your health or conception concerns. Your Osteopath will work with both sexes to boost their fertility, removing as many barriers as possible to make conception easier.
How often you see your Osteopath will depend on your health concerns or worries. Your fertility consultation will begin by discussing your health history (including details of past pregnancies, if any) and what concerns you have about getting pregnant. Then, they will assess to see what areas of your musculoskeletal system need support or realignment. Your Osteopath will then recommend a health and treatment plan for your needs.
Important note: Ensure your Osteopath has experience working with fertility patients. This requires special training and experience. Ideally, find one who can support you throughout your pregnancy journey, from planning to conception to pregnancy and postpartum recovery.
No matter when you start, you can benefit from these non-invasive treatments. Book a complimentary 15-minute phone call with me today to discuss your fertility concerns or challenges.
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