Who is this for?
The Fertility Enhancement Plan is designed for ladies who want to improve their fertility naturally. Typically, it is for anyone who has not been able to fall pregnant for 6 months or more of trying to conceive and in many cases the ladies I have worked with successfully have been trying for 2-3 years or even up to 10 years in some cases.
Although the reasons for failure to conceive are many and varied, there are certain circumstances that make it extremely challenging for anyone EG chronic long term stress, which directly reduces reproductive hormone levels. Of course there is little that is more stressful than not being able to conceive when you want to so we use Functional Medicine techniques to help to break this cycle.
How long will the Fertility Enhancement Plan last?
This is a 4-month programme designed to measure and re-balance your hormone levels, to address the mental and emotional well-being issues that accompany fertility problems and crucially to look at your digestive and immune health to ensure you are going to be as physically healthy as possible in order to be able to carry a child to term.
What Does It Include?
- Very thorough 1:1 Discovery consultation and intake forms
- Functional Medicine Timeline
- Functional Medicine Matrix Summary
- Relevant testing kits will be delivered to your home with detailed instructions on use
- Courier service will collect your specimens from your home (you will receive details of how to arrange collection with your kit)
- All packaging and shipping costs included
- Very detailed lab reports with recommendations regarding supplementation and quantities.
- 1:1 Consultation to discuss the findings, recommendations and the next steps.
- 4 months of 1:1 support via TeleMedicine appointments, secure chat facility or telephone support
- Healthie portal and mobile app to schedule appointments, keep medical records, set exercise goals and much more. See How We Work Together
Lab Tests
Rhythm Plus
This 28-day saliva test is a critical part of the Fertility Enhancement Plan as it measures your reproductive hormone levels over the course of one month which is an extremely powerful way of seeing what is going on ‘behind-the-scenes’. “Test, don’t guess” is our mantra if you want to find out:
- Am I ovulating at all?
- When am I at my most fertile?
- Are my reproductive hormone levels high enough?
- Are the hormones in the right ratio to each other?
- Could I be peri-menopausal?
- Which phase of my cycle is out-of-balance?
- What is happening behind-the-scenes of ‘unexplained infertility’?
Comprehensive Adrenal Stress Profile
There is a DIRECT relationship between your stress levels and your fertility hormones! The adrenal glands are responsible for producing cortisol, which gives you your ‘get-up-and-go’ energy, and another hormone called DHEA which has many responsibilities, but in terms of fertility it is known as the ‘mother’ hormone because its balance with cortisol affects its signaling to your fertility hormones. If you are suffering from what is commonly called ‘adrenal fatigue’ then you will likely not be producing enough DHEA to trigger the fertility levels you need to fall pregnant. Ladies who are trying to conceive are often told to ‘relax and let it happen’ and as frustrating as it may be, the ability to balance stress and relaxation is crucial to improve your fertility. Whilst many of the stressful factors in your life may not change, your body’s ability to respond to it can, so we conduct this comprehensive adrenal stress profile to find out not how much stress you are under, but how you are coping with it and what the knock-on effect is on your other hormones.
Secretory IgA
SIgA is one of the main markers for your frontline of defence in your immune system. It shows us whether your body’s defences are currently fighting something off. SIgA is triggered by any toxin whether it is from the air or an unhealthy diet, inflammation in the gut malabsorbtion etc. so it is a good basic indicator of the physiological stress your body is already under.
[/ed_column] [ed_column span=”2″] [/ed_column] [/ed_column_wrap]Cortisol Awakening Response
Cortisol is a hormone produced by the adrenal glands and when it is out of balance it is likely to have an effect on our melatonin levels which govern our ability to sleep soundly. These two hormones should act like a see-saw so that when you wake up cortisol is higher and gives you a feeling of energy and of being refreshed and ready for action when you wake up. Conversely, in the evening as bed time approaches, you need cortisol to be lowering and melatonin levels to increase to ensure a good nights’ sleep, not just to give you energy for the next day, but also for your body to heal and recover from the physical and emotional stresses of the day.
Comprehensive GI Analysis
This is an extremely thorough test that analyzes stool samples over a 3-day period. It is singularly the most informative and beneficial of all the panels I work with because it provides so much information about your gut health which is absolutely central to everything – your energy levels, the ageing process, your immunity, your ability to adapt to changes and stress etc. It is a fantastic marker of your overall health, irrespective of the fertility issues. This is the one that indicates to me how well you will cope with pregnancy and beyond, because if your body is depleted before you conceive, you will be utterly exhausted throughout your pregnancy and may not enjoy it!
How much does it cost?
This is a fully-supported plan which means that I will be your health partner ‘from discovery to recovery’. I will work with you on a 1:1 basis throughout the 4 months as we explore the factors that may be holding you back. I have a great many ‘tools in the box’ but no-one knows your body better than you, so there will be a lot of questions, a lot of tweaking as we go along, a lot of mental and emotional support (especially around the time your period is due!).
In order to support you to the best of my ability, we will be using a health portal which will allow us to communicate securely online. We will have video conferencing sessions, there is a secure chat facility, goal setting and accountability reminders, bespoke diet plans, an area where we can share your lab test results and if you choose to you can share your whole treatment plan with other practitioners involved in your care. The goal is to support you thoroughly so that you have continuity of care throughout this challenging time and to share the emotional highs and lows with someone ‘on the outside’ who can help you to keep everything in perspective.
The cost of this unparalleled support will depend upon the package you choose which is mainly (but not exclusively) determined by the lab tests you will benefit the most from.
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Bronze £1,995
- Comprehensive Adrenal Profile (Are my stress levels stopping me from getting pregnant?)
- Cortisol Awakening Response (Is poor sleep affecting my fertility?)
- Rhythm+ (When am I most fertile? When do I ovulate? Is a hormone imbalance causing infertility? Am I perimenopausal? )
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Silver £3,495
- Comprehensive Adrenal Profile
- Cortisol Awakening Response
- Rhythm+
- Metabolomics+ (Am I lacking the nutrients my body needs to fall pregnant AND nourish a baby as well?)
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Gold £3,750
- Comprehensive Adrenal Profile
- Cortisol Awakening Response
- Rhythm+
- Metabolomics+
- GI Effects Comprehensive Stool Analysis (Is my digestive system strong enough to fuel a healthy pregnancy, a developing baby and ultimately me as a breast-feeding mother adequately?) A healthy gut takes time (months) to develop so don’t wait until you are pregnant just in case you develop morning sickness and need to call upon all your reserves to keep you and your baby well-nourished.