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Fertility After Forty
By: Susun
S. Weed
The most fertile years of a woman's life are those
between 18 and 28. Even into the mid-thirties, it is usually fairly easy
to conceive and carry a pregnancy to term. During these years the
hormones that control ovulation, enhance conception, and ensure a
healthy pregnancy are usually made easily and in generous quantities.
And detrimental life-style choices have not had decades of repetition to
create chronic problems. The previous section deals with disturbances to
that pattern; and the section following deals with herbal ways to
decrease or control the teeming fertility of the twenties and early
thirties.
But more and more women are waiting until their late thirties, early
forties, even late forties, to have children. Is this too late? Are
these destined to have high-risk pregnancies? Will these children have
more birth defects?
The answer to these questions - and others like them - is "no!" for wise
women who enlist the help of green allies to increase fertility, ensure
conception, prevent birth defects, and promote a healthy pregnancy and
an easy delivery.
INCREASING FERTILITY; ENSURING CONCEPTION
Increase your chances of conception by meditating. Cultivating a calm
attitude, not surprisingly, enhances fertility. Even taking a quiet five
minutes alone just for you, free of all responsibilities, can bring big
results if done frequently enough.
Use lunaception to time your ovulation so you have the best odds of
conceiving. It's fine to have sex in the weeks before ovulation,
especially if the sex is focused on the woman and her orgasm, but do
save your best efforts for those three nights when your "moon" is full
and bright and ready to frolic.
Orgasm on the part of the male is necessary for fertilization. The
woman's orgasm does increase the possibility of conception. Women who
experience orgasm after their partner (up to 40 minutes after his
ejaculation) have the very best chance of becoming pregnant.
Red clover is the single best remedy for women over forty who want to
conceive but can't - even if there are medical reasons for not
conceiving such as blocked tubes, diabetes, ovarian cysts, internal
scarring, or endometriosis. There are many heart-warming success stories
I could share about red clover! But suffice to say, drinking 2-4 cups of
the infusion of the dried blossoms (neither tincture nor tea nor pills
will work for this application) seems to do wonders for fertility, no
matter what your age.
PREVENTING BIRTH DEFECTS
Boosting your nutritional status makes birth defects less of a worry.
Women who drink 2-4 cups of stinging nettle infusion daily and eat
cooked leafy greens as well as lettuce salads are getting the abundant
folic acid, calcium, magnesium, and other minerals needed to create a
healthy baby. (Tinctures, pills, and teas contain little or none of
these important nutrients.)
Vitamin E is an especially critical nutrient for fertility after forty
and freedom from birth defects. Freshly-ground wheat flour, cold-pressed
oils, and nut butters are all good sources of vitamin E, as are stinging
nettle infusion and most cooked seaweed, such as kelp. The man's vitamin
E level has as much, if not more, bearing on freedom from birth defects
as does the woman's vitamin E level.
Avoid heat, both of you. Hot tubs, even prolonged soaking in a hot bath,
can cause temporary (up to several months) sterility in some men. In
women, it can endanger the early embryo and trigger a miscarriage or
birth defects.
Avoid drugs, both of you, including alcohol, tobacco, coffee, as well as
over-the-counter drugs and prescription drugs (except those you
absolutely need). Your liver needs to be strong and so do your kidneys,
so you can conceive and gestate a child. Instead of alcohol, which
damages the liver, drink herbal infusions or alcohol-free wine or beer.
Instead of tobacco, which may contribute to birth defects and low birth
weight, try smoking a little dried peppermint, or, better yet, go for a
walk. Instead of coffee, which challenges the kidneys, you may wish to
drink green tea or black tea, or try coffee substitutes, especially the
one made with dandelion roots. Instead of drugs to ease everyday aches
and pains, use the gentle herbal remedies in this book instead.
EMOTIONAL ISSUES
Ambivalence about pregnancy and parenthood is normal and natural. But
the older a woman gets, the more complicated her emotions about it may
be. Add to her emotional soup pot strong opinions from family and
friends, confusing information spread by the popular media, and
fear-inducing pronouncements from "helpful" medical professionals, and
that pot will be in danger of boiling over. Herewith then, some wise
woman hints for keeping your cool in the midst of overt and covert
confusion.
Contrary to current opinion, having children in your forties is ordinary
and common worldwide. The Bible mentions several women having children
in their fifties. What is unusual and unique to our time is having a
first child in one's forties. Our mother’s, mother’s, mothers were
having their fifth or eighth or tenth child when they were in their
forties, not their first. If people tell you it just isn't done, close
your eyes and call upon the spirit of your great-great-great-great
grandmother, then smile and tell them it seems utterly ordinary to you.
Feeling tense and distressed about choosing or refusing motherhood?
Motherwort tincture is my favorite calmative. A dose of 10-20 drops
helps clear your mind, eases your tension, and assists you in discerning
the best path to follow.
Bach flower remedies excel as helpers when you are feeling emotionally
overwhelmed. Try:
* Aspen when you feel anxious, apprehensive, or afraid of the unknown.
* Mimulus when you are dwelling on a specific fear.
* Elm when you feel overwhelmed or inadequate.
* Red Chestnut when you are afraid for or worried about your baby to
be.
* Rock Rose when you are trembling, shaking, or weeping from anxiety or
fear.
Regular gentle massage or Reiki treatments not only help you calm your
distress, they also guide you in creating a strong center that's
resistant to being pushed around by other people's opinions. Massage
and/or Reiki also help prepare your mind/body for a healthy pregnancy
and a safe birth.
SPECIAL ALLIES FOR PREGNANT WOMEN OVER FORTY
The single most important herb for pregnant women over forty is comfrey
(Symphytum uplandica hybrids). The leaves of the mature plant contain an
abundance of constituents beneficial to mother and babe, including
generous amounts of minerals, alantoin, proteins, and many vitamins. The
minerals in comfrey help ensure healthy nervous system growth; the
fetus’s developing brain uses the proteins. And the alantoin helps the
mother's tissues become stretchy and elastic.
Aging can lead to increased stiffness and brittleness in bones and
muscles, making pregnancy more arduous and painful, labor slower and
more difficult, and injury more likely during birth. The hormones of
pregnancy, which help soften and relax the pelvic tissues, may not be
produced in adequate amounts. Comfrey comes to the rescue! Comfrey
creates flexible and strong tissues throughout the body especially mucus
surfaces (including intestines, uterus, bladder and vagina), the bones,
the ligaments and tendons, and the skin.
Regular use of the leaf infusion, at least a quart a week, promotes a
safe delivery by:
* strengthening uterine muscles and preparing them to work easily and
well
* strengthening perineal tissues so they become resistant to tearing
* strengthening uterine ligaments so the uterus does not prolapse
* strengthening the bladder and increasing resistance to bacterial
infection
* strengthening the vagina and helping to promote an environment
hostile to infection
* providing easily assimilated minerals to prevent eclampsia and other
complications
* helping the bones of the pelvis flex and open during birth
* increasing iron in the blood and thus forestalling post-partum
hemorrhage.
I harvest the flowering stalks when they are fully formed; and I am
careful to use the cultivated garden comfrey, which grows very tall and
has purplish, pinkish, bluish flowers. I avoid wild comfrey, which stays
rather small even when flowering, and has cream-colored, white, or
yellowish flowers.
Some people feel that comfrey is not safe to use during pregnancy. Some
people feel comfrey is not safe to use internally at all. I disagree.
The roots of comfrey do contain compounds that are best avoided during
pregnancy (as do all parts of the wild plant). In fact, I rarely use
comfrey root because of the possibility of liver congestion, and I
strongly caution those who have had hepatitis, chemotherapy, or alcohol
problems to strictly avoid comfrey root. Yet even these people can
benefit from use of comfrey leaf infusions.
Another important herbal ally for women over forty who desire a child is
chaste tree (Vitex agnus-castii). It has been used in Africa and parts
of Europe for several thousand years to discourage the male libido. In
women, the effects seem to be the opposite! It may also be a fertility
enhancer. Most importantly, chaste tree is a strengthening tonic for the
pituitary gland, the master control gland for the endocrine system.
Daily use of the tincture of the berries (1 dropperful/1 ml 2-3 times
daily) had been shown to increase progesterone - the hormone of
pregnancy - and luteinizing hormone - which promotes conception. Because
it can lower prolactin levels, chaste tree is best discontinued during
the last trimester of pregnancy.
Dong quai (Angelica sinensis) is not recommended for women over forty.
In general, this herb promotes blood flow to the uterus and surrounding
tissues. This can promote the growth of fibroids and increase the risk
of post-partum hemorrhage. Ginger is a better warming tonic; motherwort
is better at relieving pain; and raspberry is better at preparing the
uterus for birth.
Bio:
Susun Weed, green witch and wise woman, is an
extraordinary teacher with a joyous spirit, a powerful presence, and an
encyclopaedic knowledge of herbs and health. She is the voice of the
Wise Woman Way, where common weeds, simple ceremony, and compassionate
listening support and nourish health/wholeness/holiness. She has opened
hearts to the magic and medicine of the green nations for three decades.
Ms. Weed's four herbal medicine books focus on women's health topics
including: menopause, childbearing, and breast health.
Visit her site www.susunweed.com
for information on her workshops, apprenticeships, correspondence
courses and more!
Browse the publishing site
www.ashtreepublishing.com to learn more about her alternative health
books.
Venture into the NEW Menopause site
www.menopause-metamorphosis.com to learn all about the Menopausal
Years the Wise Woman Way.
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