Spring is just around the corner, and The American Fertility Association (AFA) is offering a variety of infertility workshops and seminars in your area this season. The AFA is committed to bringing you dynamic programming that addresses your needs. Please join us at our spring events, where you’ll meet physicians and patient advocates who’ll answer your questions and provide you with support and advice. A schedule of selected AFA events appears below. And stay tuned for details about Fertility Talks and Illuminations, our exciting southern California events in May, which will appear in the next Connections newsletter.

The AFA believes in empowerment through support and education. If you need help finding the right doctor, The AFA can help. Call our patient advocate, Lori Masi, at (888) 917-4777, or visit our Web site, www.theafa.org, and log on through No Barriers. There you’ll find The AFA’s National Infertility and Adoption Resource Directory and the Physician Referral List, both available online 24 hours a day, seven days a week, completely free to all AFA members. Become a No Barriers member today and receive complete access to all AFA online events and publications anytime you need them.

Are you taking advantage of all The AFA has to offer? If not, mark your calendar now for these informative AFA events across the country:

NEW YORK CITY
The AFA National Infertility and Adoption Conference 2004
Sunday, April 25, 2004
Marriott Marquis Hotel
7:00 AM-6:00 PM
Contact Lori Masi at (888) 917-4777 for more details and to register.

LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK
What You Need to Know About Infertility
Wednesday, March 31, 2004

Presented in association with The Cornell Institute for Reproductive Medicine
This event is free and open to the public.
Contact Lori Masi at (888) 917-4777 for more details and to register.

7:00 to 9:30 pm (Registration begins at 6:00 pm)
The Garden City Hotel
45 Seventh Street
Garden City, New York 11530

Speakers and topics include:
Stress Management and the Mind/Body Connection – Elizabeth Grill, Psy.D.
The Treatment of Male Infertility – Brian Gilbert, M.D.
Update in IVF – Dan Goldschlag, M.D.

CALIFORNIA
Egg Donation Discussion Group
Saturday, March 13, 2004

10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
4590 MacArthur Blvd., Suite 660
Newport Beach, CA 92660
(310) 454-0502 or (949) 252-1525

The American Fertility Association is sponsoring discussion groups for patients considering egg donations as a family building option. The emotional, medical and practical aspects of a donation arrangement will be explored in order to help prospective parents make informed decisions about whether egg donation is the “right” path for them. The fee is $30 per individual and $40 per couple. Group Size Limited, Reservations Required.

Guest speakers include:
Elaine R. Gordon, Ph.D., a licensed clinical psychologist with a specialty in reproductive medicine. She has worked in the field for twenty years helping individuals and couples build their families through non-traditional parenting opportunities. Additionally, she is the author of “Mommy, Did I Grow in Your Tummy?”
Ellen Speyer, M.A., M.S., MFT., a psychotherapist with over fifteen years of working with assisted reproduction, pregnancy loss, surrogacy, and adoption. She is the Co-chair of the Education Committee for the Mental Health Professional Group of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.

BOSTON

The AFA is pleased to announce a variety of infertility workshops now available in the Boston area. All workshops are led by Peg Beck, LICSW, an infertility specialist and advocate for over 10 years. The workshops are designed to provide factual information as well as emotional support. Every participant receives a packet of written material for use at home. Upcoming workshops include:

Infertility 101: Coping with the Fertility Crisis
Tuesday, March 2
An evening workshop for people new to the fertility struggle. How to most effectively manage your treatment plus taking good care of yourself during this challenging time. Participants will be helped to develop an infertility plan and a personal record keeping system. $25 per person.

Exploring Donor Egg
Wednesday, March 16
A one evening workshop to look at the practical as well as emotional issues in donor egg, including getting started, couple issues, and talking to our children. $25 per person.

Finding Hope & Building New Dreams When Infertility Treatment Is Not Working
Saturday, March 20
A Saturday meeting to allow us to gently explore our feelings as we look for a new solution to our infertility. We will talk about adoption, donor egg or sperm, gestational carrier, or making peace with our family as it is right now. We will talk about how to compare these alternatives plus strategies for decision-making. Workshop will include practical information about each of these options.

Stay well,

Pamela Madsen
Executive Director

Connections Online
Sessions Schedule - March

March 11, 2004, Thursday
Speaker: Lawrence Grunfeld, M.D. (Reproductive Medicine Associates of New York)
Topic: Why Use Ovulation Induction Instead of IVF
Time: 8-9 PM, EST (DST)

March 16, 2004, Tuesday
Speaker: Nancy Klein, M.D. (University of Washington’s Fertility and Endocrine Center)
Topic: One Embryo Transfer/Multiple Pregnancy and How They’re Connected
Time: 8-9 PM, EST (DST)

March 24, 2004, Wednesday
Speaker: Lisa Rosenthal, AFA Educational Coordinator
Topic: Just Us! Come chat, ask for help, and yes, whine a little!
Time: 8-9 PM, EST (DST)

March 31, 2004, Wednesday
Speaker: TBA
Topic: IVF: Dealing with the Tough Cases
Time: 8-9 PM, EST (DST)

Click here for Connections Online

Randine Lewis, Ph.D., Lic. Ac.
www.easternharmonyclinic.com

REPRODUCTIVE ENHANCEMENT WITH TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE

Infertility is a multi-faceted problem affecting up to one out of six couples around the world. Traditional Chinese medicine is a natural, safe and effective form of healing, which has been practiced by almost one-quarter of the world’s population for five thousand years. Evidence of treating infertility with Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) dates back to 11 AD. Western medicine has been attempting to treat infertility, with sometimes discouraging results for less than 100 years. The two systems together, however, can greatly increase the likelihood of ensuring a successful pregnancy.

Oriental medicine not only focuses on the specific causes of infertility, be they hormonal imbalances, PCOS, mechanical (uterine, cervical or tubal) obstruction, sperm factors, endometriosis, autoimmune or implantation issues, but treats the whole man or woman – body, mind, and spirit. In this way, we address the underlying cause of the disharmony, rather than attempting to override the imbalance. These treatments are safe, natural and cause effective, and can improve overall health as well.

How can TCM help?
Traditional Chinese Medicine can help enhance your reproductive potential by harmonizing your endocrine system with herbal medicine, nutritional supplementation or dietary modification, and by removing obstructions to conception with exercises and acupuncture. The first visit to the acupuncture clinic consists of a thorough diagnostic evaluation, analysis of present symptoms and past medical history. We then design a treatment plan for each individual, usually consisting of weekly acupuncture treatments and herbal preparations which are usually taken daily, in addition to practices employed on your own. The treatment plan is based upon the pattern ascertained from the results of each individual evaluation, and may change as your body responds to the treatments.

TCM can help you balance the disharmonies that have been preventing conception.
It is very common for couples today to feel like “it is getting too late; we must employ severe measures.” While its true that many couples wait until later in life to conceive, TCM may help “turn back the reproductive clock”. Please be patient with yourself. It takes at least three cycles to normalize a woman’s cycle; longer if she has taken fertility drugs, has a history of sexually transmitted disease, endometriosis, pelvic inflammatory disease, or polycystic ovaries. Likewise, it takes 70 days to generate new sperm in a man.

You are not alone. Approximately one in six to seven couples experience problems with fertility. Innumerable women grieve the loss of a potential child once a month, and lose a little more hope with each period. We believe that we can give you reason for optimism, no matter what approach you take.

TCM also increases the likelihood of conception if you opt for the fertility drugs or medically assisted fertilization techniques. Studies have proven that certain acupuncture techniques improve the blood flow (and therefore hormonal delivery) to the ovaries and uterus (better blood flow correlates with better implantation rates), which greatly increases the likelihood of a successful cycle. Other treatments may be aimed at making the uterus “non-reactive” before catheter insertion, making cramping and rejection less likely. The most common reason, however, that women seek acupuncture treatments during IVF cycles is because of the stress reduction and relaxation it provides. One study reported women categorized with a high level of stress were 93% less likely to conceive in any given cycle.

Acupuncture and herbal medicine function to restore balance to the energies of nature contained within us. Traditional Chinese Medicine would suggest that we look at the processes in nature and make parallels with the internal processes of change occurring within us. The oriental medical diagnosis differentiates all pathological conditions first as being of excess or deficient nature. The etiology is then broken down into constitutional weaknesses, stress factors, cold or heat processes, damp or dry reactions, the presentation of the symptoms, and the effect of diet. The process is then defined by how the individual body, mind, and spirit respond to the factors of imbalance. All of these elements influence fertility, and therefore effect how the practitioner of Chinese Medicine treats infertility.

Many hormonal problems are due to slight imbalances in the delicate endocrine system, which may alter a pathway by which the body produces hormones. A slight aberration can throw the entire system off so it no longer functions smoothly. Modern diagnostic techniques may not detect any laboratory abnormality or functional causes at all. This does not necessarily mean that fertility drugs or surgical procedures are the only solution.

Research has shown that acupuncture influences these hormonal pathways, and assists our own internal energies to restore endocrine harmony. Certain meridians influence the internal organs, some control the reproductive organs themselves, and others affect the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, which is responsible for ovulation and sperm production. Deeper meridians rule the endocrine and immunologic systems. They all need to be in balance to function correctly. Fertility is the natural expression of optimal reproductive health.

Certain herbs contain natural energetic substances whose essence gently corrects underlying deficiencies or removes obstructions. By way of a thorough analysis, a TCM diagnosis of your body’s individual disharmonies is derived, and a prescription designed precisely to correct your imbalances. These herbal formulas will be created based upon your past medical history – from an Eastern and Western perspective, your present symptoms, and menstrual patterns. A proper herbal prescription will contain no hormones, but will urge your body to produce its own, naturally and in the right amount. Over the counter herbal remedies are not as effective, because they are aimed at a “general population.” The whole key to effective treatment is that each individual’s particular needs be addressed. Each herbal remedy is tailored to meet your body’s reproductive requirements. The herbal formula is multi-faceted, containing herbs to:

1) strengthen your entire system and improve general health;
2) correct your particular imbalances;
3) directly improve your reproductive function – depending on your individual diagnosis.

Acupuncture and herbal therapies are gentle, yet effective. Conventional Western medicine offers a bigger bang, but we liken this to putting a thumbtack in the wall with a sledgehammer. Many women do not need fertility drugs and medically assisted reproductive techniques, yet they go through months of physical and emotional agony, not to mention the financial burden. TCM will put the tack in the wall with a thumb. It is safe, natural, cost effective, and has no side effects. In fact, TCM can only make you stronger, while helping create a healthier environment for a harmonious pregnancy.