Shared Vision | Health | Adventures in Baby Making ... Traditional Chinese Medicine style

Dean and Aeri, a Vancouver couple in their mid-30s, tried to conceive naturally for two years. After getting medical check-ups and being told they had only a two to five percent chance on their own, they opted for a mainstream medical approach for revving up fertility. Basically, it would entail injecting Dean’s sperm into one of Aeri’s eggs. It’s highly invasive, involves powerful drugs, and costs about $10,000 a try. They made an appointment but had to wait several months.

That wait added a fateful twist to their adventure in baby making. Several weeks later, following a lecture they
attended on natural fertility methods, the couple found themselves drastically changing their lifestyle; they cut out coffee, chose organic foods, had acupuncture treatments, and used Chinese herbs and nutritional supplements.

“Before, I wasn’t healthy at all—250 pounds, about 40 more than what I weigh now,” says Dean, a consultant who spends a lot of time on the road, and was inactive and eating junk food. Was it tough to convert? “Not at all. We wanted a baby. I had to give the program every chance to succeed.”

by Michelle Hancock

Published Feb 2006

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