Perhaps you’ve noticed an increase in the number of baby shower invites you’ve received lately.   You’re having trouble jogging around the reservoir without bumping into double strollers.  And friends who were on the Career Track have made the shift to the Baby Track.  It’s no secret there’s a baby boom going on in the United States – and it seems to be magnified in our major cities.

A recent Los Angeles Magazine article by Monica Corcoran Harel subtitled “One Woman’s Window Into L.A’s Booming Fertility Industry” profiles Ms. Harel’s journey to conceive – the happy ending (spoiler alert!) involves Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine.  Harel’s piece cites, “the number of women over 40 in California giving birth increased by 300 percent in the 1990s.”

When I started specializing in Women’s Health and the Childbearing Cycle, I knew I’d be getting referrals from existing patients, obstetricians, midwives and doulas, but I never expected to get patients sent directly to me by their Reproductive Endocrinologists (fertility doctors).  When you help a woman who’s been trying to conceive for 4 years finally get pregnant, they don’t hesitate to tell all their friends (and doctors).

I treat many women over 40 who are using various forms of ART (Assisted Reproductive Technology), but I also treat a lot of women (and some men) who have been diagnosed with “unexplained infertility”  – in other words, “you still have plenty of eggs and your hormone levels are normal (even over 40), so we don’t know why you’re not getting pregnant.”  This is one area where Oriental Medicine really shines.

But how, exactly, can needles and herbs help you get – and stay – pregnant?  Let me explain the basics.

Acupuncture is one technique of Traditional Oriental Medicine.  It involves the insertion of sterile, stainless steel needles at specific points on the channels through which Qi (or energy) flows.  Stimulating these points helps restore the normal flow of Qi in the body so the internal organs and body systems can work together in harmony.  Restoring Qi flow helps to regulate the female hormones, can lower FSH levels, and break up masses (such as cysts, polyps or fibroids).  Acupuncture does this without any drugs or side effects.

In Oriental Medicine, herbal formulas are used to facilitate the body’s own restorative processes.  Acupuncturists in California are highly trained in the science of herbal medicine and a pharmacopeia that consists of about 500 Chinese herbs.  Chinese herbal formulas contain combinations of roots, seeds, grains, flowers, berries, fruit, bark, leaves, stems, shells, nuts, resin, or seaweed.  The goal of Chinese herbal medicine is to treat the root of a problem, rather than simply medicating its symptoms.  In so doing, the patient’s body is stimulated to heal itself.

• Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine nourish and moves the blood; increasing blood flow to the uterus can enhance implantation of an embryo in the endometrium (uterine lining).
• Acupuncture helps reduce stress – and if you’ve ever struggled to get pregnant or know someone who has, you know how stressful it can be.
• Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine help improve egg quality (this takes at least 90 days), which is important for women of “advanced maternal age” (35 and over).  We’re born with all the eggs we’ll ever have, and unfortunately, these eggs don’t get any younger.
• Acupuncture, herbal medicine, good nutrition and moxibustion are excellent for helping women enhance their fertility in the months leading up to a couples’ attempt to get pregnant – whether there are known fertility problems or not.
• Acupuncture helps IVF (in vitro fertilization) work better.  A well-known study showed that “clinical pregnancies were documented in 34 of 80 patients (42.5%) in the acupuncture group, whereas pregnancy rate was only 26.3% (21 out of 80 patients) in the control group.”  (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11937123)
• Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine help reduce the nasty side effects of the fertility drugs that are sometimes necessary to help women get pregnant, especially the cocktail of drugs used with IVF.

Sometimes, in the desire to get pregnant and have a baby, it’s easy to lose track of oneself.  I often see women becoming hyper-focused on those lines on the pee sticks, the fertile signs, and the image of a baby, baby, baby.  It’s easy to lose track of the fact that as childbearing women, we are our child’s house: everything we put into our bodies, the state of our emotional, physical and mental health affects not only our ability to conceive but also the way we grow the child inside us.  The beauty of Traditional Chinese Medicine is that it takes the whole person into consideration; we do not only treat the disease or problem (i.e. infertility, endometriosis, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome), we treat the person’s whole ecosystem.

For more information about Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine and how it can help with fertility enhancement: http://www.floatchinesemedicalarts.com/fe.htm

Menopause is a natural, physiological event that occurs in every woman between the ages of 45 and 55.  (Early Menopause can occur much younger in some women, but this is not normal.) Menopause is a gradual process by which a woman’s ovaries stop producing eggs, her body produces less female hormones, and her menstrual cycles become less frequent and more erratic, eventually stopping altogether.  A woman is considered to have reached menopause (as opposed to still being “perimenopausal”) when she has had no menstrual period for 12 months.

Hot flashes occur in more than two-thirds of menopausal American women, and other common symptoms during “The Change” include anxiety, insomnia, irritability, low libido, dryness, and weight gain (especially around the middle of the body).  Menopausal symptoms (or Menopausal Disorder) may last as long as five years.

Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine, combined with nutritional changes and exercise, can reduce and even eliminate the symptoms of Menopausal Disorder, and are a safe, non-drug alternative to Hormone Replacement Therapy and Bioidentical Hormone Therapy.

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, the body’s 12 major organ systems have a balance of yin and yang energies.  The three main (yin) organs associated with the female reproductive system are the Kidney, Liver and Spleen.  The Heart (also yin) is also involved with reproduction and blood flow.  Typically, estrogen is viewed as a Yin hormone and progesterone is viewed as a Yang hormone.

During perimenopause, as a woman’s reproductive organs are in the process of going to sleep, the balance of yin and yang energies shifts.  This shift can wreak havoc on the emotions and our temperature regulation centers.  Emotional lability, unpredictable temperature shifts (daytime and nighttime hot flashes, sweating), and fatigue and/or insomnia result from the declining Yin and Yang energies of the Kidney system, which in turn throws off the balance of the Liver, Spleen and Heart systems.  When the latter are insufficient, the system that governs the flow of hormones is out of whack, leading a menopausal woman to feel like she’s “going crazy” or “losing her mind.”  (Phrases I often hear my menopausal patients utter!)

Traditional Chinese Medicine helps reduce hot flashes, insomnia and the emotional ups-and-downs of menopause by helping to regulate the balance of Yin and Yang in the key organ systems involved with female reproduction.  Rather than giving you a pill to help your body make more or less estrogen, an acupuncturist/herbalist will use needles and Chinese herbs to help your body regulate itself.

In my practice, it can take anywhere from 4 weeks to 6 months of regular treatment for a woman’s symptoms to improve.  She may continue experiencing some normal, physiological symptoms associated with menopause (such as the occasional hot flash), but they will typically no longer be something she finds highly inconvenient and disruptive.  Traditional Chinese Medicine is not an exact science, and everyone responds differently to acupuncture and herbs; remember, we are treating the whole person, not just her symptoms or disorder.

Good nutrition during “The Change” is key.  I’ve found that encouraging a patient to keep track of everything she eats and drinks for a week, then take a good hard look at her food journal with me can help identify foods she should avoid and foods she should eat more of.   Soy is often touted as a miracle food for menopausal women, but because it is a phytoestrogen (plant-based estrogen) and it is very “cold and damp” in nature, it makes most perimenopausal women feel tired, sluggish and fat.  Eliminating soy, as well as sugar, white flour and processed foods, can dramatically improve menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, moodiness and fatigue.

Don’t wait until you have been suffering for a year or more – consult an acupuncturist/herbalist as soon as you notice your menstrual cycles changing.

If you are interested in learning more about how Traditional Chinese Medicine can help with the symptoms of menopause, please check out our website: http://www.floatchinesemedicalarts.com and join our mailing list by sending an email to: Abigail@floatchinesemedicalarts.com.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the ancient yet Modern approach to treating the whole person with acupuncture, herbal medicine, nutrition and bodywork, is about 5,000 years old.  It is a system of internal medicine that uses tongue and pulse diagnosis, along with attentive listening and looking at the person, to address a wide range of issues including but not limited to pain, stress, depression, anxiety, digestive problems, infertility, general health and longevity.

The Ancient Chinese considered food and herbs to be medicine; Modern Nutrition that is inspired by Traditional Chinese Medicine uses food and herbs to nourish Qi and Blood.  It looks at the effect a particular food has on the body, rather than how many grams of iron it contains in a laboratory; does it warm us up or cool us down?  Does it move Qi or help us make more yin or yang?  Raw lettuce eaten by one individual in the summer might make her feel energetic, yet when eaten in February, it might make her bloated, tired, and gassy.

The average American today is deficient in Qi (a.k.a. energy or Life Force), which can show up as fatigue, depression, sluggish digestion, bloating, and loose stools, among other things.  Many Americans are also deficient in Blood (they may be anemic, pale, prone to irregular periods, light-headedness, insomnia, have difficulty concentrating or poor memory), as is anyone who has lost blood via menstruation, childbirth, or trauma.

The good thing is that we can make more Qi and Blood by eating the right foods, herbs, doing regular exercise, getting acupuncture, and reducing stress.  In Winter, we should eat warming foods such as organic grass-fed beef, bison, lamb and chicken, sweet potatoes, dark leafy green vegetables, barley and brown rice.  We should avoid cold and raw foods.  In the Summer, it’s best to eat more cooling foods, including brightly colored fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans, and fish.

I like to think that the best medicine is located within us; we are all our own greatest healers.  We are what we eat, of course, and the importance of eating locally grown, seasonal and organic food is even more important in this day and age of genetically modified foods and packaged everything.

In my opinion, there’s nothing more healing than cooking a meal with ingredients I bought at the Pasadena farmer’s market (while wearing my 6-month-old in a sling and pushing my 2-and-a-half-year-old in a jogging stroller), washing the veggies with help from the kids, chopping them mindfully, picking a few herbs from the garden, and putting everything together into a yummy winter stew.  (Find your own SoCal farmer’s market here).

The slow-cooker (a.k.a Crock Pot), while a modern invention, is quite suited to Chinese Nutrition (not to mention the Slow Food Movement) because it heats food at low temperatures (180-280 degrees) over a long period of time (6-9 hours).  It’s incredibly useful for those of us who are big on good intentions but short on time; we want to prepare healthy and delicious meals for our families but are overwhelmed by the demands of work and family.  A good 6-quart slow-cooker is a busy parent’s best friend.  You can get a nice one at Williams-Sonoma or Sur La Table, or a perfectly good one (perhaps from the 1970’s) at a yard sale.

Here, I share with you a recipe I’ve developed for the slow-cooker; it is just as good cooked in my favorite stoneware Dutch oven, but that involves more preparation and oven-watching time (which can be nice and meditative, if there’s extra hands around my house to keep an eye on the kids).  The great thing about this slow-cooker version is you can prep it in the morning, turn on the slow-cooker, completely forget about it, and dinner will be ready 8 hours later.  Slow Food for a Fast-Paced Life.

Abigail’s Winter Stew

Serves 6-8, or a family of 4 with leftovers

(Inspired by a recipe from my grandmother, Jeanne O’Sullivan Sachs, along with inspiration from “Not Your Mother’s Slow-Cooker Cookbook” by Beth Hensperger and “Feeding The Whole Family” by Cynthia Lair.  These are two excellent, highly-recommended cookbooks.)

All vegetables should be organic and preferably bought locally

2 lb boneless chuck grass-fed beef (ideally organic and locally grown)

2 medium red onions, chopped

4 lg. carrots, chopped

2 parsnips, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

8-12 small boiling potatoes (fingerling, Yellow Finn or Yukon Gold)

1 28-oz can organic whole peeled tomatoes

1 T. cumin

1 Bay Leaf

Pinch cayenne

Sea Salt (to taste)

Black pepper

1 T. Olive Oil

2 c. beef broth (make your own or use store-bought)

1 c. good red wine (Syrah or Zinfandel work well)

1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1. Coat slow-cooker with olive oil, using a cloth napkin to distribute it around the stoneware insert.

2. Saute onions and celery in a pan until translucent.  Add garlic and a pinch of sea salt.  Cook another 5 minutes.  Remove from heat.

3. In a bowl, combine flour, salt and pepper.  Toss the beef in the mixture, shaking off excess flour, and place on a plate.

4. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.  Brown the meat in batches, gently stirring, making sure all sides get browned.  Add more olive oil to the skillet when necessary.

5.  Place the potatoes and carrots on the bottom of the slow-cooker.

6. Place the browned meat on a plate covered with a muslin cloth or paper towel, blotting up excess oil, and then transfer the meat to the slow-cooker.

7. Add the onion, celery and garlic mixture to the slow-cooker, stirring gently to make sure they are distributed throughout the dish.

8. In a bowl, mix together the red wine, beef broth, cumin, and pinch of salt.  Pour into the slow-cooker.  Add the bay leaf.

9. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 9 hours.  (Check after 7 hours for doneness, and season w/ sea salt to taste at that point.)

10.  Discard the bay leaf.  Stir in the parsley, and serve the stew over brown rice.  I do believe this stew is best the next day.

As of July 2011 our new office hours are as follows:

Monday 8-3:30
Wednesday 8-3:30
Thursday 8-3:30

And please note that the office will be CLOSED the week of July 18-22.

On Tuesdays and Fridays we are out of the office but check messages regularly so feel free to leave us a message on our office line: 818-392-8797

As of January 3rd, 2011 our new office hours will be:

Monday: 8-3
Wednesday: 8-3
Friday: 8-3

The office will be closed on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but voice messages will be returned on those days, so feel free to leave a message: 818-392-8797.

Please note the following changes to our normal office hours during the last two weeks of 2010:

Week of December 20
OPEN: Monday, December 20: 8-3
OPEN: Tuesday, December 21: 8-3
OPEN: Wednesday, December 22: 8-3
CLOSED: December 23, 24

Week of December 27
CLOSED: December 27, 28
OPEN: Wednesday, December 29: 8-3
OPEN: Thursday, December 30: 8-3
OPEN: Friday, December 31: 8-3

As of Tuesday, September 21, 2010, I’m back from maternity leave!  Please note our new office hours:

Tuesdays 8-3
Wednesdays 8-3
Fridays 8-3

If you would like to schedule an appointment please call our office at 818-392-8797. The office is closed on Mondays and Thursdays, but we do check and return voice messages on those days.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

I WILL BE AWAY FROM THE OFFICE ON MATERNITY LEAVE from July 26-September 20, 2010.

I plan to return to the office on Tuesday, September 21.

SUBSTITUTE ACUPUNCTURIST IN OUR OFFICE:
During my leave, my colleague Laura Erlich, L.Ac, MTOM, will be seeing patients in my office on Thursdays only, by appointment.   Laura has been a trusted colleague of mine for over 9 years, and has a thriving acupuncture practice of her own (M, W, F) on the West Side (www.laherbsandacupuncture.com).  Laura is one of the only other L.Ac’s in Los Angeles who specializes in TCM Obstetrics & the Childbearing Cycle as well as Orthopedics, and she has also been a birth doula for 12 years.  We went to the same Chinese Medical school in LA, and (ironically) the same massage school in New York City, many moons ago (though not at the same time).  We also share a very similar approach and needling style.

If you would like to be treated by Laura in my office (on Thursdays only) during my leave, please call her office directly at 310-598-5209.  If Thursdays are not convenient for you and you’d prefer to be treated on a M, W, F, Laura would be happy to treat you in her own office in West Los Angeles.  Laura and I have the same insurance biller, so if you’ve been using your health insurance plan to cover your acupuncture treatments with me, nothing will change.  Similarly, if you usually pay cash or use a health savings plan card, Laura will honor the same rates as you pay me.  The only difference will be that you’ll be paying your co-insurance or office visit fees directly to her instead of to me.  She will also have access to your chart, and will be able to refill or change any herbal prescriptions, supplements or topicals you have been getting through me.  If you lose this email, all of this information will be available soon on the blog section of my website, and Laura’s contact number will also be on my outgoing voicemail.

PROSPECTIVE PATIENTS

If you have been referred to me as a new patient and were hoping to set up an appointment during the dates I’ll be gone, you may either call Laura Erlich, L.Ac., at 310-598-5209 and set up an appointment with her in my office or hers, or you can call my office at 818-392-8797 and leave a detailed message requesting an appointment with me on or after September 12, 2010; my assistant Jacqueline will return your call within 48 hours and get you on the schedule.

SCHEDULING APPOINTMENTS FOR MY RETURN / HERB REFILLS:
My office assistant will be checking messages and mail during my leave; if you would like to schedule an appointment on or after my return on September 12, please leave a detailed voice message at 818-392-8797 and Jacqueline will get back to you within a couple of days.  Please remember that as always, we handle all scheduling requests and changes by phone, NOT email.

Jacqueline will also be available periodically to refill herbs/supplements/topicals for existing patients; we can do one refill without a re-exam.  If you’d like to pick up a refill between July 26 and September 10, you may leave a voice message (please no email requests for refills) at the office line (again, 818-392-8797) and schedule a time to pick it up with Jacqueline.  Please note that we cannot sell herbs or supplements to anyone who is not a current patient.

MASSAGE THERAPY
Many of you know Sara Pereira, LMT, Licensed Massage Therapist and Certified Placenta Encapsulation Specialist (www.mommyfeelgood.com).  Sara will continue offering full-body therapeutic massage for men and women in my office, by appointment, while I’m gone.  To schedule a massage with Sara (either in our office or in your home), please contact Sara directly at 213-924-3239 or through her website.

Thank you so much, and I look forward to seeing you when I return to work in September!

–Abigail

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