Can Fertility Counseling Help A Couple Get Pregnant?

Having a baby together is a natural step for many couples. But if pregnancy doesn’t become a reality relatively quickly, relationships can become overly stressed with guilt and blame, which leads to even more stress. Fertility counseling can help couples process these new emotions, and studies have shown that couples are even more likely to become pregnant with counseling.

The stress and guilt associated with infertility, whether temporary or permanent, can stir up individual and relationship issues that may have been buried or suppressed. Family psychotherapy uses stream of consciousness methods to expose areas of anxiety so they can be dealt with properly. Participating in fertility counseling sessions, either as individuals or as a couple, can be equally effective. The goal is to clear away the noise of failure, lost hope and blame.

Couples with older children or children from a previous marriage may benefit from a family therapy session. This allows the kids to express any restlessness or anxiety they may have about the possibility of a new sibling. Through family counseling, parents can put to rest any fears regarding the children in order to better focus on the pregnancy.

Documented cases have shown that simple everyday stress causes biological symptoms that affect fertility. Women can produce less eggs, and men less sperm. Stress also causes people to adopt unhealthy habits such as smoking, eating and sleeping poorly, drinking more and exercising less. This behavior leads to a lack of intimacy and other relationship problems. In fact, stress, whether due to relationship difficulties or from work, increases cortisol levels. This in turn can cause a hormonal imbalance, which of course can affect fertility. Family and couples counseling can help ease the strain of everyday stress and make the body more prepared for pregnancy.

Practitioners of fertility counseling are licensed and experienced in family psychotherapy and knowledgeable about treatments. They are trained to use family counseling tools to help couples deal with everything from the side effects of fertility drugs to changes in sleeping and eating patterns. They also specialize in helping couples cope with any feelings of guilt, depression and despair associated with failed pregnancies.

If fertility treatments fail, the couple is faced with tough decisions. Do they want to use an egg donor, adopt a baby or older child, or live a life without children? Fertility counseling will open the lines of communication, so decisions are made as a couple with a clear and optimistic look toward the future.

Reproduction permitted only when all active hyperlinks are included. 2010 All rights reserved.

Stephen Daniels is an acclaimed NetBiz SEO 2.0 researcher. If you are seeking fertility counseling in Boulder, he recommends Boulder Psychotherapy Services. With more than 18 years of experience, this psychotherapist specializes in helping couples cope with and hopefully overcome the difficulties and tough decisions related to infertility.

Pregnancy Pain Relief Through Cox Flexion-Distraction Decompression

Lower back pain is often a symptom that pregnant women experience during the second and third trimesters of their pregnancies. Treatment options are often limited during this time because of the potential dangers to the baby. However, chiropractic adjustments using the Cox Flexion-Distraction Decompression technique can offer the pregnant woman incredible benefits with very little risk.

Developed in 1973 by Dr. James M. Cox, a well-respected, published chiropractor, this technique is a research-based, non-invasive approach to lower back and leg pain relief, even during pregnancy. In the standard procedure, the patient is positioned face down on the chiropractic table; however, because this is nearly impossible for a woman in her second or third trimester to manage, this position is modified for her to lie on her side during treatment.

Once the patient is positioned, the chiropractor gently performs the decompression procedure, which eliminates or significantly reduces the level of pain by releasing the nerves. Depending on the severity of pain, the patient may be seen daily or two to three times per week. Within one month, she could experience about a 50 percent reduction in her pain levels. If the procedure does not appear to be working effectively, the pregnant woman will be evaluated for compliance with the treatment plan and/or the need for further testing.

Since its development, several research studies, including some funded by the United States government, have shown that the Cox procedure reduces disc pressure to as low as 192 mmHg and widens the spinal canal area by as much as 28 percent. In addition, disc height increases, and the spine is realigned. All of this results in improved posture and the ability to move more freely, resulting in relief from the pain and a generally improved sense of well-being.

Compared to other methods of pain management, the Cox technique works more quickly. Research shows that the average patient will show maximum improvement in approximately 29 days in only 12 visits to the chiropractor. More than 90 percent of patients reported significant improvement within the first three months of treatment.

53 percent of chiropractors state that they used Flexion-Distraction Decompression in their practices, making it the third most frequently used method of spinal manipulation. Even so, pregnant women who are experiencing lower back or leg pain should make sure that the chiropractor they are working with is trained and experienced in using the Cox technique on pregnant patients. The doctor should also be licensed to perform treatments in the state in which he or she is practicing.

Chiropractors are trained to view the human body holistically. Not only do they focus on relieving the symptoms of pain; they also work to find and eradicate the root cause. In addition, chiropractors encourage their patients to live healthy lifestyles, which include eating properly, not smoking, getting sufficient physical activity and managing stress – all of which are especially important for pregnant women. Ultimately, non-surgical, hands-on care by a trained chiropractor is the best option for pain management during pregnancy.

Reproduction permitted only when all active hyperlinks are included. 2010 All Rights Reserved.

Stephen Daniels is an acclaimed Netbiz SEO 2.0 researcher. If you are looking for a chiropractor in Chicago, he recommends Chiropractic Care, Ltd. Specializing in non-invasive chiropractic therapies, their practitioners are certified in Cox Flexion-Distraction and have experience using this treatment for pregnancy pain relief.