Trying to get pregnant?

If you can't get preggers, there are several things you can do.

One is, quite a lot of infertility issues are linked to syndrome x, and the polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) that comes with that. Get rid of the underlying problem and your infertility goes away. (Read the syndrome x information on this site.).

One is, the problem might lie with your partner. Get him to ditch tight trousers, and to do quite a lot of vitamin C every day. He'll also benefit from taking either zinc or foods which are high in zinc.

One is, if you look like Barbie and are stressed to the max, you won't have a harmonious set of hormones. Try to step things down a few notches (both exercise and stress-wise), you might be surprised.

One is, you might be afraid. Possibly not of getting preggers, but of what your life will look like once the new member of the family has arrived. Talk to recent moms and ask them about their take on continuing to do things which really are important to them. Make arrangements to get OUT once a week, if necessary before you even try to start getting preggers - have your extended family (or your true friends) promise to babysit forever more, or find a babysitter. Or fix things in other ways - it's doable, if you first admit to there being something stopping you.
(You might never want that once-a-week off, but it's good to arrange it anyway, in case you do need to get away from it all every now and then.)

Herbs, then: Jim McD says that people who use carrot flowers and seeds (Daucus carota) as their contraceptive of choice get preggers immediately -- if they ever forget to take their carrot tincture. Which is why I've told a few ladies to do carrot flower'n'seed tincture daily, stopping for about a week around their fertile days, and stopping during bleeding, too.

One lady blamed my fresh lily flower tincture (any Lilium will do), mixed with a fresh peony root tincture (any old-fashioned Paeonia will do), for her baby daughter ... she used to have routine d'n'c:s (I didn't ask), they didn't usually use contraceptives after those, and she got pregnant after one such d'n'c. She blamed the tincture I'd given her for her severe menstrual cramps. I said "congrats", cos really, what else could I have said?

And of course, both raspberry leaf and lady's mantle strengthens the uterus, which helps you to get pregnant.

Ladies who try to get preggers should also do loads of minerals, vitamins and trace elements. A Cananananadian study found that various birth defects were lowered by 33 - 63 % from doing not only folic acid but also other vitamins (the rest of the Bs, C, D), fats (fish oil etc.), minerals (magnesium, zinc, chromium) for things like harelip, waterhead, and a host of other problems. Folic acid of course fends off spina bifida, which can be truly bad, and can be just annoying. Most of those are also included in the syndrome x dance - really, it makes sense to go that route if you're aiming for descendants.

There. Anything I forgot?

Ovarian cancer

I have just been diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer. It has spread into my lymphatic system. I am opting not to do chemo. I haven't long to live and I cannot see spending all my time at doctors and hospitals. Any herbal suggestions. Quite poor, if it matters, no health care coverage. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Would like to live as much quality as I can.

This is a blog, not a

This is a blog, not a discussion board. Try the herblist, if you want suggestions. Or find a herbalist close to you to work with, in person, against payment, nevermind poor - most herbalists are accomodating on the payment front.

queen anne's lace seeds

well, we've always used the seeds, dried and chewed, but people do also use the tincture. There's very little good info on using queen anne's lace seeds for contraceptive use, and next to none as a potential way to encourage fertility. As for the people I've directly spoken with, though, forgetting or running out of seeds seemed to encourage fertility. Good to flesh this out from speculation to experience...

jim mcdonald
~herbalist~
www.herbcraft.org

How much seed have you used,

How much seed have you used, at what kind of intervals?

Many thanks for that, Gail!

Many thanks for that, Gail!

I use cleavers as a lymphatic

I use cleavers as a lymphatic and for urinary tract infections - and I haven't ever used chamaelirium (an exotic which, as far as I'm aware, is endangered over its entire range). Perhaps you're thinking of somebody else?

what form of chromium is best?

Chromium supplementation is mentioned quite a bit for syndrome x, fibroids, fertility, insulin resistance. What form is best to take - I see ch. picolinate, GTF chromium, ch. polynicotinate - and I wonder which is best absorbed/utilized by the body. Are different forms of chromium used to correct specific conditions? Many thanks!

Ask where they sell that. Or

Ask where they sell that. Or simply eat liver.