Get Inspired...

Dear Friends,

A new type of support group (with a coaching twist to keep us on a positive track) is starting soon!   The exciting part is that you don’t have to drive anywhere, you can just call in on a specific telephone number (that I will provide) at the same time each week for one hour.   This support group is quite different to any other that you might have come across in the traditional sense.   We will be coming to the calls from a place of love, non-judgement, and positive energy.

 I have found that groups I do coaching with over the phone, really enjoy a close connection with each other, and I believe part of that is the fact that no one knows one another, and can’t see each other!  Hard to believe!? 

Everyone relaxs in that space and just takes the time out to be nurtured, to share, to be coached, and to set inspired actions that week that will support the ongoing journey in trying to conceive, whether naturally or through medical assistance.

 This group is specifically for those who face the challenge of infertility and the steps they take from that diagnosis.  There will be two groups, one for newbies who are new to this journey, and another for women who are at least 1 year in. 

If anyone would like to enquire or book their space ( limit of 8 to a group, so everyone gets to participate) please email me at louise@keystoclarity.com or call me on 732-2992347.   The cost of belonging to this group is nominal to cover my personal outlay, as I see this as a way to give back a community that has been very important to me over the last few years.   The monthy fee is $50.

Baby Dust Powercircle     (for Newbies)  will take place at 12pm Noon EST or – 5 hrs GMT

Mega Baby Dust  Powercircle  (for the more seasoned ladies who have been on the journey for over a year) will start on 20th Jan 12pm Noon EST (or – 5 hrs GMT)

Please pass this information or link onto anyone you know who might like to know about this opportunity.  Many thanks!

Warmly,

Coach Louise

Hi folks,

This is such a big question, but in truth there is a lot you can do improve the quality of either eggs or sperm!   It takes 3 months for follicles to mature into eggs, and also the same time for sperm to develop ready for ejaculation.    So it stands to reason that you want to give yourself at least a few months before you start seriously trying to fall pregnant to take care of things on your end! 

Discovery Health did a recent documentary on men drinking a mix of fruit and veg smoothies twice a day for a few months, and the quality of their sperm increased dramatically.  These men were chosen as they were not successfully creating a pregnancy with their partner, and this was because their sperm was not up to scratch.   So even making that simple change can make the world of difference.   Often individuals, women and men included are not getting enough minerals and nutrients through their diet,  so this is a great place to start looking at how you can influence the outcome of fertility issues.

Minerals are also really important, so nuts like Brazil nuts are great because of zinc and selenium for men to produce healthy sperm.  Men, and women, need folic acid, so choose lot of green leafy vegetables to put into your smoothies, or juicing.   (if you’re juicing, which incidentally I love, make sure you are taking in enough fibre during the day, as juicing would not be enough)   Make sure you are mixing vegies and fruit as you want a really good mix of nutrients.  By the way asparagus has lots of folic acid!

I am by no means an expert but from my own experience and from all the reading and research I do, this seems to be a great platform to start from.  

To add to the mix, do a little exercise too.  Don’t go crazy, and don’t do it in fits and starts – if you do that, it can potentially do more damage than good.   Fit regular exercise into your routine that gets the blood circulating.  Like walking or swimming.   For women, hard exercise is going to detract from the fertility process, so make sure you are moving but make it gentle. 

Let me know how you get on!  Ultimately what this says to me, is rthat we really need to take good care of ourselves first!  Nature’s way of preparing us for taking good care of the little ones we will bring into this world!  And that we are able to do something before we resort to other methods and extremes.  Good luck!

Warmly,

Coach Louise

Hi everyone,

I was doing some research and found an interesting article from an Australian website.  Whats interesting is that the men have low folate and high homocysteine levels,  they don’t mention the gene mutation of MTHFR, which men can have too.  MTHFR gene can lower the ability to turn folate into an amino acid which helps to lower homocysteine.  This is a known cause of infertility in women.  Interesting…?

 http://www.news-medical.net 

‘Australian fertility experts say a dose of daily sunshine could help men with fertility problems and they suggest couples struggling to conceive should consider getting out in the sunshine more often.

According to Dr. Anne Clark, the medical director of the Fertility First assisted reproduction clinic in Sydney, blood tests of 794 men who visited the unit found more than a third of them had vitamin D deficiency – they were also found to be deficient in folate and had elevated levels of homocysteine, an amino acid in the blood associated with cell toxicity.

While previous research has shown vitamin D, produced from natural light and found in oily fish and eggs, is important for a healthy pregnancy, this latest research shows a deficiency may also affect sperm.

Dr. Clark says the results show lifestyle changes can be beneficial and just spending ten minutes outside in their shirt sleeves would be enough of a boost along with giving up smoking, losing weight, and reducing caffeine and alcohol intake.

Dr. Clark says the vitamin D deficiency could have been caused by worries about skin cancer and by men trying to avoid too much exposure to sunshine.

A group of 123 men agreed to make the changes, and to also take multivitamins and antioxidants for two to three months, after which time tests revealed ‘an improvement in the shape of the sperm which saw a 75% reduction in the level of sperm fragmentation among the 123 men and 31 of the men went on to achieve a pregnancy.

Dr. Clark says the results clearly show that lifestyle changes and dietary supplements can be beneficial for the conception of a healthy on-going pregnancy.

Dr. Clark presented the paper to Fertility Society of Australia conference in Brisbane – the research is part of a study by University of Sydney doctoral student Laura Thomson who is investigating DNA fragmentation of sperm, a significant factor in male infertility which is most often the result of cellular damage resulting from infection, smoking or advanced paternal age.

Dr. Clark says their findings support a European study earlier this year that showed women’s vitamin D levels strongly correlate with their ability to conceive.

She says vitamin D and folate deficiency are known to be associated with infertility in women, but the outcomes of the screening among men in our study group came as a complete surprise.

Among the group of males tested, 40 pregnancies had been achieved, with more than half of those pregnancies occurring naturally or with minimal intervention such as intrauterine insemination and with only three miscarriages (6%) compared to an average 22% miscarriage rate among women using fertility treatment.

Dr. Clark says the findings could have major implications for the costs of fertility treatment as one in six Australian couples experiences infertility – a blood screening test costs about $450 while a cycle of IVF treatment is about $4,500.

The sun sets on today, opening up new possibilities tomorrow...

Hi all,

I had a moment of clarity this morning, a wonderful reminder that it is okay to feel strong emotions, so we can let them go, to bring new and wondrous things into our lives.   It is an opportunity to be able to move out of the grief and beyond, when we allow ourselves to express and experience the grief to begin with.  The society we have been brought up in doesn’t condone showing emotion, particularly for men.  Well its about time that all changed!  We would live much healthier and happier lives if we were able to express our emotions without having to worry about others expectations, and in turn our own.    You can make a change right now, to change your own expectations of yourself and others.

My grandmother’s funeral was today.  It was in Northern Ireland and for a number of reasons I couldn’t be there.   So today has been a bit of weird day for me, but mainly sad.   My DH and I went for a walk in the woods, which was great – it gave me the chance to feel a sense of peace and connectedness, but it also allowed me to  acknowledge how sad I was feeling.    I realised that I was doing what so many of us do, which is fighting the feeling of sadness – that is just too painful to remain in that space, wanting to ’snap out of it’ and feel ‘normal’ again.  Well, ironically as I write this, I recognise that these feelings are ‘normal’…. What is ‘normal’ afterall ?- everyone has a different perception or definition.    I transgress… 

Anyway, I realised I was being impatient and didn’t want to experience feeling such sadness.  It occurred to me, especially because of the work I have done, personally going through the untimely loss of my mother and a miscarriage/ infertility too, and through The Journey experience, that I was forgetting something.   We have to embrace these strong emotions of loss, to be able to move past and beyond them, and to heal.   (That doesn’t mean you forget the person you lost, it just means you are able to let go of the pain, and remember them in genuine and positive way through the wonderful memories you have created together.  Their death doesn’t define them.)   This might not apply to miscarriage or grieving the vision of what our life might have been like – but it is grief all the same.  Some of us hang onto our grief wearing it like a banner for years and years, but how is that serving us and honouring life at large?   Its a great question to ask yourself. 

Through The Journey, which is about healing at a cellular level from emotional and physical wounds,  it became very clear to me that we have to confront our feelings and emotions, to get a sense of freedom and of letting go.  To me, being able to let go, allows us to bring new possibilities into our lives…  to be able to keep going and striving, and living!   I am not saying put a time limit on your grieving, but allow yourself the opportunity to grieve, when it arises – this will help you move through the process of grieving more quickly.

So today, I sit in quiet contemplation embracing my grief not just for this grandmother but also for others I have lost and for myself.    I cancelled all my appointments because I owe it to myself,  I let the tears come when they come,and I am nurturing my soul. 

Bless all those of you who are grieving.   Know that we are all connected.

Warmly,

Louise

www.thejourney.com

Hi Everyone!

I hope you are all doing well, and coping with whatever stage of your journey you are at!   I know some of you are in waiting to find out if you have embryos for transfer – hang in there!

I was listening to a show this morning where a male fertility specialist was talking about a couple of things that I thought were interesting.

In fact when men or their partners, feel that the men should cut down on their caffeine intake to impregnate their partners or through IVF,  they couldn’t be more wrong!  Caffeine is a stimulant, and therefore has an effect on the sperm’s motility – that is..how fast they swim!  I have heard that some specialists will even add caffeine powder to the sperm before fertilisation in a lab for this reason.  Interesting hey!?  Now that doesn’t necessarily mean men should become coffee addicts!  Everything in moderation.

Also it takes about 3 months for the sperm to be ready to be ejaculated.  The male (as does the female) has an influence on the quality of his sperm.  Heat is not a good idea and can definitely can effect the quality of the sperm.  So no hot baths, jacuzzis or steam rooms or saunas in the 3 month lead up to conception!  

Abstaining before ovulation for 3 days is also recommended, so that there will be enough mature sperm available to take the necessary action of reaching the egg, and being able to fertilise it.

Well there are some titbits for you!

So besides my radio show on fertility which focuses on life balance and information for the fertility journey – Dawn Davenport has a show which often gives great information from various experts too.  Check her out on Blog Talk Radio.

making your journey easier and more joyful!

Coach Louise Crooks