Is Your Mind Fertility-Friendly? , livre ebook

Troubador Publishing Ltd - Jackie Brown

Découvre YouScribe en t'inscrivant gratuitement

Je m'inscris

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

79 pages

English

Vous pourrez modifier la taille du texte de cet ouvrage

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

A propos
Informations
Extrait

Description

Fertility problems are one of the fastest growing areas of medicine, with failure to conceive causing immense pain and suffering for those looking to get pregnant. Due to increased media hype, many women are entering their thirties terrified that they will struggle to get pregnant. For many women, anxiety about fertility and their ticking body clock starts long before they get pregnant. Is Your Mind Fertility-Friendly? aims to help busy women become aware of the impact stress and negative emotions can have on the body, including the detrimental effects they can have on your fertility. Fertility expert Jackie Brown provides women with the essential information they need to overcome their stress and create the perfect environment to increase fertility. Although many women do not feel particularly stressed, emotions such as worry, anxiety, fear and anger can still evoke the stress response that can interfere with fertility. This book will educate and offer self-help techniques to enable women to take back control of their fertility. Inspired by books such as The Secret by Rhonda Byrne and Conquering Infertility by Dr. Alice Domar, this book is an essential read for those looking to understand fertility.

Sujets

Pregnancy

Informations

Publié par	Troubador Publishing Ltd
Date de parution	28 octobre 2015
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781785893940
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0250€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

Jackie Brown MSc, MCSP, DHP.
As well as being a qualified hypnotherapist, Jackie Brown has over 35 years’ experience as a physiotherapist and 25 years’ experience as an acupuncture practitioner. Jackie has dedicated the past ten years of her career to helping couples suffering with fertility issues. She has given several talks to local hospitals and at acupuncture and physiotherapy conferences on treating fertility problems and was delighted to speak at the Infertility Network UK meeting in Cardiff in 2014. Jackie has clinics in CRGW and in Cardiff.
Is Your Mind Fertility Friendly?
Don’t let your emotions hijack your fertility!
Jackie Brown
Copyright © 2015 Jackie Brown
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
The contents of this book are for information only and are not intended to be a substitute for taking medical advice from a qualified doctor or health practitioner. The author and publisher cannot be held responsible for any adverse reactions arising directly or indirectly from the suggestions made in this material. All of the patients mentioned in the book are actual patients from the author’s clinical practice. All names have been removed to maintain patient confidentiality and the quotes are used with permission as given to the author.
Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers.
Matador
9 Priory Business Park,
Wistow Road, Kibworth Beauchamp,
Leicestershire. LE8 0RX
Tel: 0116 279 2299
Email: books@troubador.co.uk
Web: www.troubador.co.uk/matador
Twitter: @matadorbooks
ISBN 978 1785893 940
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Matador is an imprint of Troubador Publishing Ltd
In memory of my parents, Mary and Brian Williams
For Marcus, Chris, Lauren, Helen and Richard
For my patients past and present – you are all an inspiration
Contents
Introduction
Chapter One: Relax and It Will Happen.
Chapter Two: Don’t let Your Emotions Hijack Your Fertility
Chapter Three: The Origin of Emotions
Chapter Four: Stress-Related Diseases
Chapter Five: Take Control
Chapter Six: Self-Help Techniques
Chapter Seven: Complementary Therapies
Chapter Eight: Summing it all up
Acknowledgements
Bibliography
Introduction
If you are reading this book it is likely that you (or someone very close to you) are starting to think about having a baby. Some of you may already be experiencing some fertility issues and may be finding it difficult to become pregnant. You may have tried everything there is – Clomid, IUI and even one or more cycles of IVF or ICSI.
Or for others among you, perhaps you have only recently started to try for a baby and would like to prepare yourself in every possible way for the journey ahead. Perhaps some of you already have a child and can’t understand why you aren’t getting pregnant as quickly the second time around. Whichever stage you’re at it seems as though everyone around you is pregnant.
This book is designed to help you with the emotional aspects of trying for a baby; to help you understand the emotions that accompany fertility treatment, should you need it, and to help you gain confidence in yourself and in your body. It is designed to help you regain control, particularly if you have been trying for some time; to help you improve your general health physically and emotionally, and to help you really prepare for that much-wanted pregnancy and healthy baby. So many of my patients prepare for the financial and social adjustments that accompany a pregnancy but they forget to prepare their mind and body for the challenges ahead in order to give themselves the best possible chance of conceiving and going on to have a healthy pregnancy.
The aim of this book is to help stop the downward spiral of emotions that affects so many women when they are trying for a baby. When you don’t become pregnant month after month the despair and hopelessness and frustration can consume every part of you and eat into every aspect of your life. Becoming aware of this and actually taking note of the way you’re feeling and the way you’re thinking is actually half the battle. By learning to take a day at a time and focusing on each and every moment, you will stop your mind running away from you like an express train. Practising mindfulness, meditation and some of the other techniques described in this book, may help to stop you falling into that trap of despair. Frustration, anger, anxiety and impatience are all negative emotions that will only compound the problem; being able to let go and learning to recognise your feelings, and having the strength and ability to change them, will change the way you see and deal with your problems. Doing this is empowering and you then feel that you are in control. It is a practical approach, but it will help you get through this period of your life positively and optimistically.
Most women grow up believing they will have a baby when they decide the time is right for them, and those words ‘when the time is right’ are actually quite important! It then becomes quite a shock when things don’t happen the way you’ve planned them. That is why I believe it is important to understand your emotions before they impact on your fertility, and that’s why I chose to write this book.
I believe that prevention is better than cure, and I hope that by following the recommendations I have set out you will achieve your dream of becoming a mum. Eating the right foods, doing a moderate amount of exercise and practising the relaxation techniques will all contribute to helping you achieve your goal. Thinking positively and practising imagery and visualisation techniques will also encourage new neuronal pathways to form in your brain (neurogenesis). Lighten up, laugh and have fun, and don’t put your life on hold – so many women postpone holidays and decline wedding invitations ‘just in case’ they’re pregnant. Life goes on and you’re more likely to conceive when you’re least thinking about it. Control your inner voice and stop the worrying and ruminating by practising mindfulness techniques which allow you to focus on the present moment. Be thankful and think about all the people and things around you that you’re grateful for – appreciate what you already have in your life instead of fretting about the things you don’t have. And above all, have a belief in yourself and your body and know that one day very soon, yes, you will become a mum.
All of the case studies in this book are genuine patients that I have seen over the years. Nearly all have had acupuncture or hypnotherapy or a combination of both as well as being encouraged to practise some self-help techniques on their own. I hope that this book will encourage you to use the self-help techniques, and that you will be able to address your emotional issues on your own without having to go to the expense of acupuncture, hypnotherapy or other complementary therapies. However they are there and widely available should you need to use them, and of course are excellent in helping you with stress relief.
I hope you find this book uplifting, and that it gives you the reassurance you need and helps you to understand why managing your emotions is crucial to fertility; but above all I hope it helps you to overcome your fertility health issues.
The first step is to understand why some people have fertility issues, what the terms fertility, infertility or subfertility really mean, and what it does to your body and your mind as you embark on fertility treatment. Knowledge is power and the knowledge and information you gain from reading this book will give you a much greater understanding of any hidden issues that may be impeding your chances of having a baby.
Chapter One

Oh, what a power is motherhood, possessing a potent spell.
All women alike fight fiercely for a child.
(Euripides, Iphigenia in Aulis , c. 405 BC) ( 1 )
Relax and It Will Just Happen!
‘Relax and it will just happen!’ How many times have you heard this from well-meaning family and friends? All you want to do is shoot them! Because in reality you are not stressed and you don’t feel stressed. You are angry that people even think you might be stressed. Yes, you may be very busy, juggling work with the myriad of other things in your life, but you don’t feel stressed or out of control.
You may however be experiencing some other emotions such as frustration, worry, fear, anger, anxiety, grief, jealousy, envy, disbelief, or you may even feel resentful towards another person.
You may also have some other health issues such as IBS or migraine, or perhaps you frequently catch colds. Maybe your menstrual cycle is irregular or inconsistent, or perhaps your periods are very painful with heavy blood loss or clotting. What you probably don’t realise is that a normal and regular cycle is essential to conceiving, and that your emotions can actually create havoc with your hormones, interfere with your cycle and hijack your fertility without you even realising it!
What is Infertility?
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has defined infertility as a disease of the reproductive system, and by the inability to achieve a clinical pregnancy after one year or more of regular unprotected intercourse. 2
Infertility is one of the fastest growing areas of medicine, alongside obesity, diabetes and depression. Is this testimony to 21 st century living? It is estimated that a total of five million babies have been bo