Blog - The Point of Wellbeing

Falling Pregnant in 2017

on January 16, 2017

If you and your partner have been ‘kind of trying’ for the last couple of months or even years with little luck but have now decided that this is your year to fall pregnant, listen up…

Stop comparing yourself to strangers on the internet – get off the forums and get in to see a real live person who can give you individual advice and treatment.
Stop making excuses about your diet. No matter what anyone tells you, your diet and the nutrients you and your male partner absorb are incredibly important for your fertile health.
Get some basic blood tests done, sperm testing done and pelvic ultrasound to eliminate serious causes of infertility so you can either seek natural treatment or move on to another cause.
Start charting your basal body temperature and show it to the real live person you are seeking treatment from in step 1. Learn how to tell when you are fertile and when you are not, learn about your body and start building a better relationship with it
Exercise – get your body moving! Walking or yoga are two great options that everyone can do. Moving blood around your body helps deliver nutrients to your growing eggs or developing sperm for the males.
Sort out your ‘minor’ health complaints – if you suffer from bloating, poor digestion, frequent headaches, tiredness, skin complaints, low libido, insomnia, painful periods, short or long menstrual cycles, get these treated. They may be related to your difficulty in falling pregnant.
Seek emotional support – either through a great group of friends or with a professional, surround yourself with people who love and support you.
Drink water – the simplest tip but for some reason, the most difficult. Keep hydrated. You want full, luscious reservoirs of eggs for ovaries, not dried out raisins
Relax. Falling pregnant can take time. Stress can negatively impact ovulation and your ability to conceive so do the things that bring you joy.
Have lots of sex! The biggest cause of infertility is not enough sex. Knowing when you’re fertile (step 4) can help target the best ‘window’ but regular intercourse is your best chance at conceiving.
Lastly, get acupuncture. This incredible therapy has the ability to help with all of the above – provide individual and holistic advice and treatment, help you relax, improve your blood flow, treat a myriad of health complaints and provide emotional support especially when given by a practitioner experienced in fertility.

Best of luck in your pregnancy goals for 2017. I’d love to hear from you if you have any specific questions about your individual fertility concerns – info@thepointofwellbeing.com.au

Paige x

Prenatal Vitamin Comparison Chart

on November 14, 2016

Prenatal vitamins can be such a contentious subject and for some reason, this has been a project of mine for a little while. Whilst I have plans for finding the source of each brand’s ingredients, the recommended daily dosages, the additional fillers added and any research supporting each. I think I need to send something out in the meantime. And here it is (below).

Firstly, I need to make this very clear, that no single prenatal vitamin is going to be perfect for everyone. It is suggested for all women to take prenatal vitamins because we are lacking certain minerals and vitamins – due to our diet or digestive systems and the quality of foods available. Although unless you have had this investigated through blood tests, you won’t know your state of mineral, vitamin and nutrient status.

Some brands have been particularly great at marketing their product to us and to doctors, but does that mean they are the best? Maybe yes, maybe not. The chart helps determine this for you.

I think it’s important when choosing the best vitamin for you too, you understand more about your diagnosis and health. If you have no deficiencies in minerals, vitamins or nutrients you may not need a prenatal vitamin. However, if you’re iron deficient, you’ll need a vitamin with iron. If you have some signs of PCOS, inositol may be helpful. If you’re tired and have other signs of B vitamin deficiency, maybe you need more of those.

Of course there is the option of adding other supplements on top of your prenatal vitamins. Which is something you can consider as well. Keeping in mind the added cost.

I just like you to be informed and then you can make your own decisions about your health. I also want to be able to make a recommendation based on your individual health status when asked.

I am really happy to hear any feedback (positive or critical), suggestions or even another brand to add.

Paige.

Acupuncture in Pregnancy and Childbirth – Course Summary

on October 17, 2016

I was fortunate enough to spend last weekend with a bunch of acupuncturists learning about acupuncture in pregnancy and childbirth. The course was held by the lovely Debra Betts, an experienced nurse and acupuncturist from New Zealand who is making unreal progress with acupuncture and pregnancy in hospitals. She is an absolute wealth of information and I learned so much! Over the next few weeks, I will go further into detail on specific topics, but here are the takeaway points from the course.

Acupuncture has a huge role to play in pregnancy from prior to conception, first trimester, second trimester, third trimester, labour and post partum
Research has shown acupuncture to help prevent and manage; bleeding in pregnancy, miscarriage, gestational diabetes, pre eclampsia, caesarian section, premature or small for date babies, post natal depression
Medical knowledge around acupuncture is improving with continual research which means communication and collaboration with specialists is improving
In the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle (from ovulation to conception), acupuncture can help support the first trimester, support an ‘at risk’ pregnancy, support threatened miscarriage and as a treatment for nausea and vomiting
Trophoblast cells are the cells responsible for implantation and are a key focus of research for identifying problems with pregnancy
Lack of oxygen from time of cell division to 10 weeks pregnant is important (this seems opposite to what we think about blood flow)
Stress has repeatedly shown to affect pregnancy outcomes and acupuncture has been consistently shown to reduce stress markers – perhaps the biggest role acupuncture can play in fertility and pregnancy
Sleep – really important for pregnancy outcomes and acupuncture can treat sleep concerns
Medical clowning post embryo transfer (laughing) improves IVF outcomes and massage prior to embryo transfer improves pregnancy outcomes
The so called ‘forbidden points’ have been hugely misrepresented in modern practice – “there is no evidence of harm following needling at forbidden points”
Acupuncture can support natural birth in missed miscarriages and stillborn pregnancies – assisting the natural process of birth
Recurrent miscarriage has been historically identified as a ‘slippery foetus’ – there are acupuncture treatments available to support this
Pregnancy stress syndrome is a thing – it can over stimulate the HPA axis causing decreased progesterone production, altered immune response and poor environment for maintaining a pregnancy, acupuncture can help
Women want support from medical specialists – to be taken seriously, to feel they are listened to and understood, to be asked how they’re doing and to be given relaxation tools to unwind – this is where a natural health practitioner and acupuncture specifically can be of incredible benefit
We have a fantastic acupuncture point – KI 9 which is known as the ‘happy baby point’ – it has historically been used to improve poor hereditary traits, improve complexion and help babies ‘sleep at night and smile during the day’. In research, this point has shown to be valuable in relaxing a contracting uterus
Some great acupuncture protocols for morning sickness
Potato soup – one of the best things for early pregnancy morning sickness, especially when unable to keep water down
Acupuncture is successful at treating back pain and pelvic pain in pregnancy
Acupressure – being taught to birthing partners is really helpful in reducing pain in labour and facilitating a difficult labour
Treatments for heart burn, headaches, rib pain, itchiness, swelling, emotional changes and high blood pressure have been shown helpful in late stage pregnancy
Research currently looking into acupuncture for pre-eclampsia and it’s looking promising
Treatment protocols for anemia in pregnancy – take home moxa helpful
Breech presentation very well treated when seen at 36 weeks pregnancy – take home moxa also helpful
Supporting still birth and providing acupuncture and take home acupressure to help with birthing and labour, caring support important and shows improved clinical outcomes and experience
Induction support – acupuncture can support a women’s natural hormone response
Debunking the cord around the neck myth, too often blamed for many negative birth outcomes – “multiple cord entanglement is not a contributing factor in intrapartum stillbirth, placental abruption or caesarean delivery”
Midwives are being educated in many hospitals around New Zealand and Australia to use acupuncture in delivery rooms. This will take time to be fully integrated but is looking really promising.
Acupuncture and moxa is great to use post birth for caesar scar healing, breast feeding difficulties and hormone irregularities

So much! There’s so much more detail I want to go into over the next few months so stay tuned for more information. Based on information from courses like this and what I see in clinical practice every day, I would find it really difficult NOT to recommend acupuncture for all pregnant women. Please pass this information on to any of your pregnant friends or family members, I would love to help support them through their pregnancies and prepare them for childbirth…naturally!

Paige x

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The Body Doesn’t Lie

on September 25, 2016

Do you remember the television series ‘House’ with Hugh Laurie. The sarcastic, grumpy but brilliant doctor who consistently claimed that ‘all patients lie’.

After almost 5 years in clinical practice, I would definitely agree….however (and this is important) very rarely is this intentional or deliberate.

As a side note, I don’t like calling people who come in to see me ‘patients’. I feel like it implies that you are unwell and that’s not always the case.

Back on track – in the times where we are taking many types of pain relief, antibiotics, hormone therapy and indigestion medications, we really don’t know our bodies very well.

But one of the most wonderful things about Chinese medicine, is body symptoms don’t lie. Pulses and tongues can’t lie ;-) So even if you’re unsure about your body symptoms, I can still work out what is going on and what we need to do to fix it.

Whilst I spend time asking you questions about your health and your symptoms. I am also checking these answers with specific signs I can read from your body.

The tongue is a great example – I can see how you digest your food, how you handle stress, how your fluid metabolism is working and your level of energy by having a look at your tongue. I can also see how you respond to treatment by assessing your tongue prior to treatment and after treatment.

Your pulse can also confirm these findings. I can feel your quality and quantity of energy in each organ and how they relate to your specific complaint.

Palpating specific areas of the body can give me an incredible amount of information too – the stomach can help diagnose infertility complaints, digestive complaints and general wellbeing. The tightness of specific meridians can give me information about how that particular organ is functioning and individual points can give me an incredible amount of diagnostic information about your body. Some points can be tight, can feel like there’s a bubble underneath, can feel soft, can feel ‘sluggish’ or be really tender for you.

The beauty of Chinese medicine and acupuncture is that we use all this information together to get a clear pattern of disharmony so we can treat your complaint uniquely for you. No one method of diagnosis is more important than others.

If you would like to know more about how Chinese medicine can diagnose and treat your particular complaint, please don’t hesitate to email me at info@thepointofwellbeing.com.au.

Paige x

CoQ10 and it’s Role in Reproduction and IVF

on September 18, 2016

There is a fair bit of confusion surrounding CoQ10 and what its role is in reproduction. The confusion is because good quality evidence for dosage and length of time taking this supplement aren’t easy to find. Another reason for the confusion, is that there are two types of CoQ10 – ubiquinol and ubiquinone. They are both important but Ubiquinol is more readily used by the body.

A brief biology background on CoQ10. Within each cell in the body, there exists a small organelle called mitochondria. This part of the cell houses the energy required for that cell to function. It uses that energy for metabolism, transport and division. Mitochondria are similar to your petrol tank in your car and CoQ10 is like your petrol.

Each egg cell and each sperm cell has a mitochrondria and therefore requires CoQ10 for energy. The egg needs the energy to keep it moving through the fallopian tubes and a sperm cell needs energy to swim towards the egg, as well as the energy to fertilise an egg. The egg and sperm combined also need energy to continue cell division so they can form a healthy embryo and hopefully a viable fetus and then beautiful baby.

Even though this process is incredibly microscopic, it involves a huge amount of cellular energy to work. I suppose it would be similar to running a marathon….but for cells. If they don’t have enough energy, any stage of the fertilisation process could be affected.

So dosing CoQ10 can help with this process. There are very few contraindications for taking CoQ10, so it appears safe for most people. Those on warfarin do need to consult their specialist before taking it. I always recommend both male and female partners to take the supplement if possible and I generally suggest three months of taking it to make any significant changes. This advice is based on very preliminary research which can be updated when we have more information available. The dosage does depend on the person and their age.

For some people, taking it at night can keep them awake, so it is often best to take first thing in the morning.

Clinically, I have seen some great results with this supplement. It is safe and effective and has very few side effects. I would have difficulty not recommending this supplement for couples going through fertility treatment, especially if they are over 40 years old.

Image result for bioceuticals ubiquinol 300mh

Complementary Therapies for Labour and Birth – New Study

on July 18, 2016

When it comes to complementary medicine, the scientific results for what to use to assist with a safe and natural labour, are very hit and miss. The reason for this, is that complementary medicine usually treats individuals and research studies look at large groups. So it’s hard to say for sure what single therapies work best on their own in large studies. Unfortunately small studies aren’t able to give enough weight to the result either – a constant problem with complementary medicine research and evidence based medicine.

However, with a rise in the rates of intervention in labour, particularly in Australia and other developed countries, more information is desperate.

So earlier this month, there was a new Australian study published looking into the effect of an integrative antenatal education programme to assist pregnant women through labour. The integrative part is the bit I like best. They looked at six different techniques including; acupressure, visualisation and relaxation, breathing, massage, yoga techniques and facilitated partner support.

They were looking to see what effect these therapies combined would have on the rate of epidural use, onset of labour, augmentation (added methods to bring on labour like manual membrane rupture or oxytocin medication), mode of birth and newborn outcomes.

They found that the implementation of these techniques together significantly reduced epidural use and caesarean section.

Other findings – although not significant, they also found that there was a reduced rate of augmentation, length of second stage labour, perineal trauma and resuscitation of the newborn.

For full disclosure – there were no differences found in spontaneous onset of labour, pethidine use, rate of postpartum haemorrhage, major perineal trauma or admission to intensive care unit. However, these may have been more physical or functional concerns associated with existing conditions and not able to be assisted with complementary methods.

Something they noted, is that the study did include a high number of ‘relatively wealthy, well educated women’ but it was also followed up with the discussion point that the highest rates of epidural use and caesarean section are amongst this same population.

Any complementary therapies that can help reduce epidural use and caesarean section numbers are a worthwhile investment in my opinion so it’s some exciting news. Not so much for the people already using these therapies because you’re already benefiting. But it will mean more women and families could be directed towards this style of protocol.

I do recommend all of these therapies with all of the pregnant women I see. Usually prior to 36 weeks because I find it can take some practice for some of the visualisation, yoga and breathing techniques. The great thing is, all of these therapies are safe. Safe pregnancies with healthy mums and bubs is the most ideal outcome.

For a link to the original article, click here.

Wonderful news!

Details of the techniques if you’re interested…

The protocol started prior to 36 weeks in combination with their usual hospital care and included:

Visualisation – four guided visualisations rehearsed through the courses and given to participants on a CD to practice at home
Yoga postures – five postures and movements practiced to encourage relaxation, physiological position for labour, opening of the pelvis and downward descent of the baby
Breathing techniques – four breathing techniques were introduced: soft sleep breaths for relaxation between contractions; blissful belly breaths (BBs) which were used during contractions for pain relief; Cleansing Calming Breaths used following contractions during the transition period of labour; and the gentle birthing breath (GB) which was for use during the second stage of labour and encouraged descent of the baby avoiding active pushing and protection of the pelvic floor
Massage – two techniques were shown to partners: the endorphin massage used between contractions, which is a soft technique and encourages endorphin release; and the stronger massage which is used during contractions for pain relief and focuses on squeezing the buttock, especially the piriformis muscle, to interrupt pain perception
Acupressure – the use of six main points for use during labour selected from a previously published protocol. These focus on hormone release for labour progression, augmentation of contractions, pain relief, nausea and positioning of baby. For a free booklet on these acupuncture points and how to use them, head to Debra Bett’s website here.
Facilitated partner support – used concept of working with pain and instructs partners to advocate for the labouring woman, promoting her oxytocin levels and minimising her stress with actions and techniques which are supportive for the birthing woman, and gives time for facilitated discussion and rehearsal by couples during the course.