Here is an interview with a former patient who was able to conceive against the odds at age 44.
How old were you and what was your FSH when you tried to get pregnant with your second child? What did the doctors say about this?
–I started trying to conceive my second child when I was 42. I didn’t seek medical intervention until I was 44. By this time, my FSH was 10. It fell to 6 when I took the fertility drug Clomid. The doctors I consulted were willing to work with me, but they were careful not to raise my expectations. (I think I surprised them when I called to schedule a prenatal appointment!)
What turned you on to Chinese Medicine?
–After two and a half months with no success on Clomid, I started wondering about other ways to boost my fertility. I didn’t have any experience with acupuncture, but I was intrigued by what I learned from the Blossom website. And when I called to schedule an initial consultation with Liz, she recommended two books: Fertility Wisdom by Angela C. Wu and the The Infertility Cure by Randine A. Lewis. Both of these books include truly inspirational examples of women my age (and older) who relied on Chinese Medicine to achieve successful, healthy pregnancies.
What kind of advice would you give someone who is told that they have a small chance of conceiving on their own?
–Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Western medicine tends to focus on statistics. Here is an example of one statistic I encountered when I was thinking about a second child: “A forty year old woman has a less than 10% chance of having a successful pregnancy using her own eggs.” My doctors also warned me about my elevated risk of miscarriage and chromosomal abnormalities. By contrast, Liz never gave me the sense that my efforts to conceive and carry a healthy baby were futile. She counseled me to make some changes in my diet, try herbal supplements, and come in for regular acupuncture sessions. Less than two months after my first appointment with Liz, I was pregnant. I am now solidly into my second trimester and expecting a healthy baby boy in January.