Kirsty Hawthorn works as a Holistic Therapist at YOU Massage Therapy, and also a midwife and Infant Massage Instructor. Kirsty has dedicated her career to helping women from pre-conception with fertility boosting treatments, to pregnancy massage, birth and beyond.
Holistic Treatments for Infertility: Part 1
by Kirsty Hawthorn, Midwife and Therapist
The statistics show that as high as one in six couples find it hard to conceive but there is very little written about in relationship to complimentary therapies. Evidence shows that a range of complimentary therapies from massage to acupuncture and energy healing can boost fertility and aid the often stressful journey which accompanies infertility. Complimentary therapies are not a fix for infertility, instead they encourage the body to return to a homeostasis and therefore aid conception.
Here I tell you why I am fascinated by women, how I can help you and how we can help one another to develop a good self care routine, which is so important when trying to conceive…
Wonder Women
Women are fascinating, awe inspiring and a wonderful support for each other – no more so than I see at the time of wanting to conceive and the journey subsequently to 
motherhood. However, in our modern day world we often self-impose the belief that as women, we need to be wonder women. I’m not convinced as a midwife that feminism actually got us that far- we are often over stressed, juggling too many balls and out of touch with the essence of self-care; all of which are deeply motherly techniques that need to be cultivated. When working with women in my fertility clinic I stress the importance of relaxation and a daily practice of self-care, this is number one. For the majority of women, this includes learning the art of saying no. Therefore, in a treatment session I start with gaining a picture of how life is for you, where slowing down can come in and a priority focus on relaxation and nutrition as a solid base for conception. (Book in with Kirsty Online now)
I see women who are on their last journey of IVF who give up and then they get pregnant! I see women into their 40’s conceiving, women with endometriosis (if you suffer with endometriosis, take a read of our blog on how Holistic Treatments help Endometriosis) and polycystic ovaries – easing the discomfort and relaxing into the process that comes with invasive procedures (which clinically may be very appropriate). Complimentary therapies are just that- fantastic in compliment to medicine and generally non-invasive.
Self Care is so important
When we practice self-care, we initiate the first step towards releasing the relaxing hormones responsible for facilitating conception, we kind of jiggle the ‘mother’ of all hormones, oxytocin- up. Produced in men and women it’s basically the pleasure hormone (check out how to boost Oxytocin it here). It certainly doesn’t help when flooded with stress and anxiety. Opposite of the flight or fight stress response, this amazing hormone and neurotransmitter brings our body, mind and spiritual body back into alignment- once we let it. (Click the links to check out our previous blog posts) Massage, acupuncture, yoga, homeopathy, reflexology, aromatherapy– a walk in the woods, listening to your favourite music, looking into the eyes of someone you love- all of these (plus a good orgasm) create a flood of oxytocin. This is where complimentary therapies excel. Cocooned and safe, your body relaxes and the magic happens.
Check out this helpful list of self-care tips to get you started.
Next week, I will be going into more detail on the treatments I have prescribed and how and why they are effective for boosting fertility holistically….
Book with a fertility specialist therapist today, call us on 02380 639747
