Clinic Blog

I was treating a patient last week preparing for her first IVF cycle when she asked me, “How do people get through this?” This particular patient, who I will call Emma, suffered a devastating miscarriage earlier this year and was plagued with so much guilt about not being able to provide her 5 year old son with a sibling.

Up to 50% of couples diagnosed with unexplained infertility, poor embryo development and miscarriages may actually now be explainable with some new testing being offered. Even better, there are some natural and non-invasive approaches to reverse the issues too.

The days are getting shorter, and darker. It’s time to get your vitamin D levels checked!

Vitamin D is often referenced for its role in bone health, and immune health. However, Vitamin D also has a major role in reproductive health and fertility. It is often missed during a standard fertility workup. Given the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency here, in the pacific northwest, Vitamin D levels should be checked in everyone. 

Miscarriage and pregnancy loss is unfortunately an extremely common occurrence during one’s fertility journey. In fact, 20% of all confirmed pregnancies end in miscarriage, 80% of those occurring in the first 12 weeks. Everyone processes loss differently and requires different lengths of time and tools for healing.

There’s a lot of talk in the Zeitgeist about immunity these days, and since gut health is such a big part of that, it may be time for a short review! There are many aspects to gut health, but I’m going to focus on my top 3.

I was named the Canadian UN World Wellness Weekend Ambassador for Integrative Wellness for the second year and I had the opportunity to participate in the World Wellness Weekend on September 19th, 2020. 
 

Our hormonal system, or “endocrine system” is a complex communication network between our brain and various organs. When it comes to the menstrual cycle, we often focus on hormones such as FSH, LH, estrogen, and progesterone. While these are definitely important factors for our balanced menstrual cycle, they are not the only hormonal factors at play. Today I want to talk about nutrition and how it relates to reproductive hormone balance.

I don't know about you, but when I am stressed, I bake....and then I eat the baking...and then I feel bad about the baking I ate...which causes more stress...which makes me want to bake some more. Sound familiar?

Since September is PCOS awareness month, I thought I would combine a success story with some information about one of my favourite supplements for people struggling with PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome).

In my last post, I introduced the microbiome - what it is, it’s benefits, risk factors, and signs of an imbalanced microbiota. Check it out here. Today I want to talk about 3 things you can do at home to optimize your microbiome balance.

3 Daily Tips to Optimize your Gut Microbiome: