NATURAL REPRODUCTION
QUALITY vs QUANTITY
Naturally Assisted Reproduction
Infertility and subfertility have become significant concerns for an increasing number of couples, while medically assisted reproduction has become an increasingly familiar part of modern reproductive care.
From a Nature Cure perspective, however, difficulty conceiving raises an important question that should not be overlooked:
Why is conception not occurring naturally?
Fertility does not exist independently of the health of the woman or the man. Reproduction is a biological function of two people, and the fertility of a couple often reflects the combined reproductive health of both partners.
As Professor Emeritus James B. Brown observed in Studies on Human Reproduction:
“Fertility is one of the most variable phenomena in human activity and is the sum total of both partners’ fertility.”
Nature Cure regards fertility as an important expression of overall health.
This does not mean that every fertility problem can be corrected through lifestyle. But subfertility is not the same as sterility.
For many couples, difficulty conceiving may instead indicate that reproductive function is less than optimal. In these circumstances, I believe an important step before moving immediately to more invasive (and expensive) reproductive technologies, is to ask whether there are factors affecting the health and fertility of either partner that can be addressed naturally.
The objective should not simply be achieving a pregnancy. Wherever possible, it should be achieving a pregnancy from the healthiest mother and father we can create — providing the best possible foundations for the health of their future child.
Before IVF, ask whether IVF is necessary
This is not simply a Nature Cure position. Professor Rob Norman, one of Australia’s prominent reproductive medicine specialists and an early figure in Australian IVF, speaking to ABC’s Four Corners, estimated that 40–50% of people presenting for IVF may become pregnant without it, through measures including understanding your fertile window, accurately tracking your menstrual cycle, addressing weight and exercise where appropriate, or using less invasive fertility treatment.
His conclusion was clear: “You may not need IVF in the first place.”
If you are subfertile rather than infertile, natural conception may be possible given appropriate investigation, fertility education, improvements in health and, importantly, sufficient time.
What about the health of mother and baby?
IVF is a significant medical intervention and deserves the same balanced consideration you would give any other medical procedure.
Research has identified increased risks for some pregnancy and birth outcomes following assisted reproduction, while researchers continue to investigate possible longer-term health differences in children conceived through these technologies.
For women undergoing fertility treatment, questions have also been raised about the long-term consequences of repeated ovarian stimulation and fertility medications. Current evidence suggests there may be an association between fertility treatment and ovarian cancer and borderline ovarian tumours. Before jumping to assisted reproduction, you should be fully informed.
Where natural conception remains possible, I believe we should first ask whether the health and fertility of both partners can be improved sufficiently to allow reproduction to occur naturally.
Naturally Assisted Reproduction
This is where my approach differs.
Rather than attempting to bypass reduced fertility, Naturally Assisted Reproduction seeks first to understand why fertility has declined and what can be done to improve it.
- We look at both partners.
- We learn to accurately identify the woman’s fertile window.
- We examine the menstrual cycle as an indicator of reproductive health.
- We consider the conditions affecting normal reproductive function.
And most importantly:
- We work towards improving the health of the prospective mother and father before conception.
Because ultimately the objective isn’t simply:
“How do we get pregnant?”
The better question is:
“How do we create the healthiest possible conditions in which to conceive our child?”