Female Fertility
I love working with women who are curious to learn more about their bodies and their hormones. Whether you are just coming off the birth control pill for the first time in years, or if you’re trying to understand your fertility status, I help empower and educate women about their bodies’ incredible ability to create life. I suggest women come see me 3-6 months before they want to conceive for basic health screening and hormone assessment. This preconception time is an ideal time to check in diet and lifestyle, and make healthy changes to support a vibrant pregnancy and have a healthy, happy baby! During this time, I help to coach women through choosing the best vitamins and supplements they may want to take for their individual needs, as well as diet and lifestyle support. Remember, it takes 2 to make a baby! I encourage women to bring their partners in for a fertility and health assessment to involve both partners in the family planning journey. I coach partners in dietary, lifestyle and stress management to help both parts of the couple feel supported. Once a couple becomes pregnant, I provide naturopathic support and guidance through the whole pregnancy journey as part of your medical team. See the “Pregnancy” section for more details.
Male Fertility
Did you know that for couples who don’t conceive in the first 12 months of actively trying, about 20% of those cases are due to a male factor? Women often carry the emotional weight of difficulty conceiving, and for this reason I always encourage women to bring their male partners in for a health check up and assessment during their family planning journey. I work with men to check in on their health through blood tests, and sperm analysis where necessary. I examine their health history, diet, past blood work and body composition to identify how we can optimize their fertility through diet, natural supplements, and lifestyle changes. This is an important step for couple who are undergoing further fertility work up and treatments.
Naturopathic Support for IVF
Couples who have been trying to get pregnant for a longer period of time may require additional support. Specifically, couples with female partners under the age of 35 who have been trying to conceive for 12 months, or those over the age of 35 who have been trying for 6 months, may require additional testing and fertility support to help with conception and a healthy pregnancy. For couples undergoing Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART), such as Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) or In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) through Vancouver fertility clinics such as PCRM, Genesis or Olive, I provide adjunctive care each step of the way to optimize your chances of a successful, healthy pregnancy. While you’re undergoing testing and hormone treatment with your fertility clinic, I complement your journey using evidence-informed, natural support to improve success rates and mitigate medication side effects. The support I provide involves dietary support, stress management and lifestyle guidance, specific nutrient and supplement recommendations as well as acupuncture.
