So many people out there need fertility support – going through the IVF process with all the stresses that come with it. They’re needing help and guidance, but might not know where to turn or what their options are. 

That’s why I’m pleased to introduce you to Dr. Susan Fox. She’s a doctor of acupuncture and Chinese medicine, and she’s the creator of the “Your Fertile Health Program” as well as the “Best Prep for Pregnancy – Naturally or through IVF or Egg Freezing” Online Summit.

I think it’s wonderful that Dr. Susan is offering fertility support from a Chinese medicine perspective. In my practice I also help many couples to conceive naturally and/or through IVF, and to prevent a miscarriage, with a naturopathic approach. It is so rewarding to help people to create the family of their dreams. 

As with most health concerns, including preparation for pregnancy and prevention of pregnancy loss, it is when we use strategies from all systems of medicine that we can achieve improved results. It’s not about choosing one approach or another. Natural approaches can be combined with allopathic approaches to improve fertility outcomes.

Learn more the role of Chinese medicine and acupuncture in this episode, and about the Best Prep for Pregnancy Summit, with Dr. Susan Fox.

Dr. Susan’s Journey to Fertility Specialization

When I asked Dr. Susan how she discovered her passion for helping people with fertility, she explained it was quite fortuitous. When she opened her practice, it happened to be soon after one of the first acupuncture protocols for fertility had been published, showing statistically significant improvements in outcomes on the day of transfer. People started coming to her through a grassroots approach. She also happened to have an office across the hall from a fertility center.

From 2002 to 2024, there’s been so much progress in the IVF world. There’s been much more inclusion of acupuncture thanks to solid research that demonstrates the efficacy of complementary approaches. It’sbecome quite an integrative model for the most part.

Dr. Susan feels passionate about this work because she believes that infertility is a bit of a misnomer. She feels that we suffer from chronic subfertility due to many environmental factors – environmental toxins, lifestyle issues, sleep-wake patterns, limited circulation, and limited targeted circulation. 

That’s where practitioners like Dr. Susan and I can help to remind women that they can make some simple (though not always easy) changes to improve their fertility.

The evolution of fertility medicine has been remarkable over the decades, with increasing recognition of how lifestyle factors, stress, environmental exposures, and overall wellness contribute significantly to reproductive health.

The Role of Acupuncture in Fertility Support

When people are on their fertility journey, they often come to a place where they ask themselves, “What else can I be doing?” 

They’re following along the conventional path with their gynecologist, obstetrician, or reproductive endocrinologist, but at some point, they wonder what more they can do. Because of the research about acupuncture and its benefits, more people are aware that they might choose acupuncture to support their fertility path.

For those considering acupuncture, it’s best to look for practitioners with proper qualifications. There’s an organization called ABORM (The Acupuncture and TCM Board of Reproductive Medicine) whose members have been tested on both conventional Western medicine and IVF medicine, as well as Chinese medicine. 

These practitioners have the understanding and language to describe what’s happening when a patient receives a diagnosis such as PCOS, diminished ovarian reserve, or low AMH levels. They have the tools to help, whether through a nutrition plan, the right supplements (which vary by individual), or the right acupuncture protocols.

Not everyone can get to an acupuncturist easily, so Dr. Susan designed acupoint treatment protocols that can be done at home. These use both infrared and a TEAS unit (Transcutaneous Electrical Acupoint Stimulation) so that patients can get acupuncture without needles up to six days a week, improving circulation to their ovaries and uterus.

Understanding Chinese Medicine

Chinese medicine isn’t just about acupuncture – there’s so much more to it. It looks at the whole body and all of the environmental exposures a person has. 

Chinese medicine uses what they call the five elements as points to examine different systems in the body. They have what she describes as a “funny language” because it’s such an ancient medicine. The five elements relate to different organ systems in our body. 

For instance, if a person is stressed and therefore having difficulty either manufacturing hormones within their body or clearing hormones, this would be attributed to liver Chi stagnation, which falls within the wood element. The wood element loves to create and procreate, and when it is suppressed, depressed, or oppressed, it can’t do that very well and becomes stuck and stagnant.

Practitioners look for ways to help, which might include Chi Gong exercises or even a dance party in the living room to shake off excess energy. Dietary instructions can help “soften the liver” so it’s not so congested and can do a better job. They also work on the emotional component, which is what Dr. Susan particularly loves about the five element model – it’s inclusive of emotions, whereas many other medicines are either mind-body or physical-physiological. 

A person with liver Chi stagnation might experience PMS. She may be the person who gets road rage when she encounters one too many red lights because, again, she wants to express herself. By highlighting these places of imbalance and then showing what it takes to restore balance, practitioners help patients move toward the positive. 

They want to make sure they’re not just diagnosing the negative but saying, “This is where you will get to – if you clear this liver Chi stagnation and open up that wood element, you will become more creative and more procreative.”

The beauty of this approach is that it recognizes the interconnectedness of our physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects. Rather than treating isolated symptoms, Chinese medicine seeks to restore harmony throughout the entire system, which can have far-reaching effects on overall well-being, including fertility.

The Five Elements in Chinese Medicine 

Chinese medicine is an ancient practice, and humans back in time were figuring out the human body before they could do MRIs or blood testing. They discovered how we are integrated beings – mind, body, and spirit – and Chinese medicine honors and integrates all of that. The terminology of the five elements helps Chinese medicine doctors understand these connections.

The elements are based on nature, allowing us to connect with our humanness and our relationship to nature, and then see where we’re out of balance. It’s all about balancing the systems. We are one with nature, and ancient practitioners were keen observers. They didn’t need the reductionist method of an MRI; they could see in someone’s color and “shin” (spirit), the color, texture, and size of their tongue, the complexity of their pulse, and of course, listen to their history.

All of these organ systems, all of these elements, support and generate the Chi (energy) of each other. When the liver system (wood element) is flowing smoothly, it supports the generation of the fire system, which relates to our sense of ease, peace, and lack of anxiety.

If someone’s fire element is out of balance, they might be manic, have restless sleep, or sleep disturbances. Emotionally, they might deflect by saying, “Everything’s fine, tell me about you,” not wanting to ground and sit with discomfort. When back in balance, they’re a joy – the person who lights up the room.

The earth element is grounded, and when out of balance, a person can develop “phlegm accumulation,” which might manifest as cysts, polycystic ovarian syndrome, or digestive complaints. This person does well with warming spices like cinnamon, cardamom, and clove. 

Emotionally, when out of balance, they become someone who’s constantly searching for information, unable to let their mind settle. When in balance, they are pensive and thoughtful, offering pearls of wisdom.

The air element relates to grief. When out of balance, a person might collapse at the first sign of menstrual blood, with their lungs actually seeming to collapse inward. The air element governs the lung and large intestine, where we take in nutrients and then exhale and excrete. Treatment focuses on giving them a “sweep” with acrid herbs and spices, and encouraging proper fluid balance.

Finally, the water element governs the kidney organ system, which controls growth, reproduction, and aging – and therefore our hormones. This element is almost always implicated when there’s a reproductive imbalance.

How the Five Elements Support Fertility

Dr. Susan referenced a book by 103-year-old medical doctor Gladys McGarey called “A Life Well Lived.” 

Dr. McGarey uses her own language for what Chinese medicine calls Chi, referring to it as “Juice,” but it’s the same concept. Dr. McGarey says that life needs to be lived – it’s an imperative. When anything is stuck and a bit out of balance, we look for the place where we can move, the very first thing we can change.

If it’s nutrition that needs addressing, we change that first. If it’s our expression, and we need counseling or therapy or to talk to a friend, then that’s what we do first. It can be hard to take on everything at once, but once we start with one change, we often want to take on the next because we really do want to move, live, and progress. It becomes an impetus to say, “Oh yes, I can do that next step.”

Our bodies respond intentionally; they can heal and want to heal. When we give them the tools to heal, they respond. Things open up – circulation improves, cortisol levels lower, byproducts of reactive oxidative species decrease, and inflammatory markers decrease. When inflammatory markers are high in our body, they’re also high in our follicles – the follicular fluid will show elevated C-reactive proteins and elevated insulin.

We are not separate beings. For all the wonder of conventional medicine and how it’s been able to discretely address specific issues – like stimulating follicles – we’ve missed the mark. We’ve been so enamored with technology that we’ve missed the understanding that this is a whole person, and we need to address the whole person or help the whole person help themselves.

We are seeing a shift even in conventional medicine, especially within the IVF community. There’s a growing perspective that acknowledges the importance of treating underlying conditions. For instance, there’s recognition that someone with PCOS doesn’t just need follicle stimulation and embryo transfer – this is a person who needs help with metabolic syndrome patterns to avoid future complications like gestational diabetes or cardiac events. 

There’s an increasing awareness of the need to look at these symptoms and diagnoses and consider how to help the whole person for the rest of their life.

This holistic approach to fertility recognizes that reproductive health is not isolated from overall health. By addressing the root causes of imbalances and supporting the body’s natural healing processes, we can enhance fertility in ways that also improve long-term health and well-being.

The “Your Fertile Health Program”

Dr. Susan’s “Your Fertile Health Program” is a four-week program repeated over three months because folliculogenesis – the arc of time it takes for an egg to go from its primordial pool to ovulation – is about 100 to 120 days. A woman can become pregnant at any time, even in the first month, but the second month has an exponential effect on the next ovulatory cycle.

The primary goal in creating this program was not to create another dependency but to provide protocols and recommendations that a person can implement on their own. Many people can’t easily attend the recommended two acupuncture treatment sessions per week due to time and cost constraints.

With the program, patients can use infrared and TEAS units in the comfort of their own home. There are videos demonstrating exactly how to use them, Chi Gong videos for the five phases of the four weeks of the menstrual cycle, and mind-body guided meditations that use binaural beats to help shift the mindset from stress and fear to understanding and engaging with what’s happening in each phase of the menstrual cycle. This gives women agency over their own life experience. There are also nutritional guides and other resources.

Whole health is fertile health – you cannot separate the two. The program helps women feel empowered rather than out of control, which is common during fertility struggles when there’s so much uncertainty about timing and outcomes.

The program has been successful for many different people – those who had unsuccessful IVF and then succeeded after the program, those who were told they needed donor eggs but then conceived naturally, and those who were waiting for their IVF cycle to begin but became pregnant naturally before starting. 

While there’s no guarantee of pregnancy or a baby, Dr. Susan can guarantee that following the program will improve overall health and therefore fertility, beyond baby, beyond postpartum, and well into perimenopause and beyond.

The Mindset for Healing and Fertility

To maximize success, we almost have to enter into the fertility journey with the mindset of showing up with the intention to improve health and fertility while being committed to having a pregnancy. Yet, if we’re too attached to outcomes, it works against us.

Dr. Susan’s mantra is “engage 100% and surrender 100%” because life wants to live. We can’t just check all the boxes and expect a baby – that’s not how life works. That approach might work for getting credentials, degrees, or jobs, but pregnancy, having a baby, and even end of life have an element where life will live itself. Our job is to help it live most helpfully and with our best intentions so that our purpose for this life is better fulfilled.

How Humans Heal is by engaging with individual life and purpose, and the need that the world has for what each person came to do. Yes, there might be a moment in time where nothing is wanted more than to get pregnant and have a healthy baby, but at the same time, it’s important to live all of life and be in right relationship with all life experiences to the best of one’s ability.

Healing requires vulnerability – a willingness to look inside and identify imbalances rather than avoiding or dismissing what our bodies are telling us. Chinese medicine is about being vulnerable enough to recognize where our bodies need attention so we can make different decisions to support optimal functioning.

Vulnerability is perhaps the most profound courage one can ever master or express. Dr. Susan bows to the courage of the women and people who come to her practice, who are on their knees saying, “I want this desperately and can you help?” Her answer is always yes, and she acknowledges them for the courage it takes to say, “I can’t do this alone.” Life is not meant to be done alone.

The “Best Prep for Pregnancy” Summit

I’m glad that Dr. Susan created the “Best Prep for Pregnancy – Naturally or through IVF or Egg Freezing” Summit because it’s an opportunity for women and couples to come and learn more from her and others about how to support their fertility. I asked her to tell us more about it because I’m excited to share it with everyone listening.

There seems to be a dichotomy in social media, where IVF is portrayed as bad and natural conception as good, or natural conception is portrayed as scary because you might miss your window. In reality, the majority of professionals in this field are “arms linked on behalf of the patient” getting the right care, whether that’s nutrition, hydration, circulation, good IVF coaching, education about conditions like endometriosis, or men’s health support.

The summit brings together reproductive urologists, men’s health longevity doctors, and many other experts. Dr. Susan is humbled by the lineup of speakers, whom she considers “some of her biggest stars.” She’s seen that they are delivering absolute pearls of wisdom that attendees can take action on immediately and make changes based on. The summit also allows participants to meet professionals they might want to work with afterward, saying, “Oh, you’re my person. I really need or want to work with you.”

Research has shown that an infertility diagnosis or navigating infertility has a stress level equivalent to receiving a cancer diagnosis. Much of this stress comes from isolation and lack of advocacy for people struggling with fertility. Bringing everyone together breaks the chain and the burden of someone feeling imprisoned in their own silo, and it breaks the shame around fertility challenges.

The summit represents a coming together of diverse expertise and perspectives, all focused on supporting individuals and couples on their fertility journey. By breaking down silos between different approaches and providing a platform for shared knowledge, it offers hope and practical tools for those navigating the often complex and emotionally challenging path to parenthood.

Conclusion: A Vision for the Future

Dr. Susan sees her work as her legacy project at this point. When her time on this planet is done, she would love to see infertility reversed. She wants people to understand that they can do a whole lot to improve their health, their fertile health, their babies’ health, and their progeny, and they can do this in community because these babies will grow up to be another generation of community.

I’m so glad we got to have this conversation with Dr. Susan, and I thank her so much for being here today and for all the work that she does. As Dr. Susan said, see what’s next on your path and your journey. Just know that you’re not alone – we’re here to support you.

The Best Prep for Pregnancy Summit is going to be online and available so you can really take in all of this information. Sign up for the summit here:

If you want to learn more about how Dr. Susan can help you make sure to visit her website here. You can also find her on Instagram @dr.susan.fox and Facebook @Prep for IVF & Pregnancy with Dr. Susan Fox

As a Naturopathic Doctor, Midwife, midwife and women’s health expert, I have also been helping women with fertility, pregnancy and to prevent a miscarriage for over 25 years. I am available to provide one-on-one support, I offer consultations via Zoom or phone from anywhere in the world. 

You don’t have to figure it out on your own. My team and I are here to help guide you step by step on your fertility journey. As discussed in the episode, my approach is to look at you as a whole person – mind, body and spirit – and to identify imbalances that we can address which can then allow your body to be more able to conceive a pregnancy. 

I have developed a miscarriage prevention protocol which allows me to address MTHFR and methylation issues, as well as progesterone, and other common causes of miscarriage, and to then support women through early pregnancy. 

If you’re struggling with fertility and/or have had a miscarriage and want help to prevent another one, I welcome you to reach out through my website doctordoni.com. 

You can schedule to become a new patient so we can talk through what you’re experiencing and help you know your next steps. Please know that if you’re struggling and frustrated and hoping there’s another way, there is, and I’m happy to share that with you and help you find that path to transform your health and your future.

If you’re struggling with HPV or an abnormal pap smear, and you’re wondering if this will affect your fertility or pregnancy, I am here to help you. I offer online group programs specifically for high-risk HPV, and I work with patients one-on-one to help them figure out exactly what’s happening in their bodies. We can make a very strategic plan and guide you every step of the way. 

You can visit my website at clearhpvnow.com to see testimonials – video after video and story after story of women who have cleared HPV – and start to believe that this is possible for you too.

Thank you all for listening in today to How Humans Heal. Make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss the next episode. I look forward to seeing you all again very soon.

We’re here to help you!

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