Natural pregnancy has better chance of lasting, research proves.

Hi everyone, Dr, Trevor Erikson here. In our modern world couples have a lot more options available to them in order to increase their odds of becoming pregnant. Fertility clinics exist all around the globe, ready to offer treatments like clomiphene citrate to help you ovulate, intrauterine insemination, injectable gonadotropins to help you ovulate even stronger, and then of course the ones where an embryo is formed outside the body like in-vitro fertilization (IVF), Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), and frozen embryo transfers (FET). All of these treatments can lead to a pregnancy and the creation, or expansion, of a family. After many years of these treatments being readily available, I think around 30, we are now able to look back and see how well these treatments are working.

One interesting question that has been raised is whether or not these assisted reproductive techniques (ART) actually increase the odds of carrying your baby to full term. A recent study published in Reproductive Biomedicine Online, Feb 2011, showed that ART may increase the  risk of miscarriage compared with natural conception. All of the different techniques were associated with a higher rate of miscarriage, with FET being the highest at 26%.

The results show that, although it is absolutely amazing that scientists have figured out how to manipulate the body in such a way to achieve pregnancy, they still have a ways to go in understanding how to assist the body in keeping it. Which is one of the reasons I like Chinese medicine so much, as it actually helps women ovulate on their own and improves their uterine environment.

How do we know? Well, history and empirical evidence tell us. Thousands of years of documented cases confirm the efficacy of Chinese medicine's treatment of infertility. Modern research has also proven this to be the case.

In my own clinical experience I have seen this occur several times. One case I can recall in particular was Tricia's, who had a history of 4 pregnancies, all of them achieved through ART and all of the them unfortunately miscarried. After taking herbal medicine with weekly acupuncture for a few months, Tricia achieved her first natural pregnancy - one that she carried to full term. Giving her the little boy she now holds dear to her heart.

Of course ART serves a purpose and for some couples it may be their only chance of family building, other than adoption. However, if something in you is saying that you can still achieve a natural pregnancy, I would encourage you to listen to your intuition and not give up. Seek out qualified support and see what happens.

Dr. Trevor Erikson, Dr. TCM, FABORM, Dimploma of Chinese Medical Dermatology