We receive many questions from both doctors and patients regarding various herbal preparations, fertility blends, etc. We discourage the use of herbal medicine for IVF unless it is being prescribed by a licensed herbalist with a thorough background in the IVF process and the specific medications involved.
There is substantial research demonstrating that herbs can have a marked effect on the endocrine system and on female and male fertility in general. There is no question that herbs can be a very valuable adjunct to most fertility regiments.
However, there is a common misconception that herbs are only beneficial. Herbs, like anything, can be either beneficial or harmful. Much of this depends not only on choosing the most appropriate herbs, but on timing and dosage as well. Using certain commonly used "fertility" herbs at the wrong time may antagonize a normal cycle and exacerbate infertility rather than help.
With IVF there are additional issues. For example, some herbs have been shown to upregulate detoxification enzymes. This can reduce the effectiveness of certain medications and interfere with your cycle. There is also the potential for direct interaction with medications. In addition, many women undergoing IVF have other complicating factors. One common complicating factor is elevated natural killer cell activity. Many herbs have been shown to boost the immune system and have specific effects increasing the activity of natural killer cells. While this may be desirable if you are fighting cancer, it may be undesirable when you are trying to grow a fetus.
Because of the number of complicating factors, we only suggest incorporating herbal medicine into your IVF cycles if you work closely with a licensed herbalist that specializes in IVF. Properly prescribed and administered herbs can have profound effects both on fertility and on helping to maintain a pregnancy.
For more information, contact us.
