Preconception Program

Have you:

  • Decided you would like to start trying for a baby in the near future and are wondering how best to prepare your body for a healthy pregnancy?
  • Thought it would be great to understand your cycle on a deeper level to become more in tune with when you ovulate and when the best time is to conceive?
  • Wondered what supplements to take that will be beneficial for conception and provide important nutrients to your future growing baby?

Then This Is The Right Program For You!   

The preconception period is often a 3-6 month window that allows us to assess and optimize the health of both partners, implement some important foundational diet and lifestyle changes and start some beneficial nutrient therapies.  Depending on the individuals, this time may also include a gentle cleansing program to purify the body of the toxins that are unfortunately ubiquitous in our air, water and food supplies.  There is no better time than before you are ready to start trying to take the important steps to work on living the cleanest life you can and becoming your most vibrant self - your kids will thank you for it! <3

 

Fertility Support Program

There are many ways that natural medicine can help prepare they key ingredients - the egg, the sperm and a women’s body - to optimize the chances of having a healthy pregnancy and healthy baby.  In the conventional medical model I see a lot of fast tracking to Assistive Reproductive Technology (ART) and I believe by evaluating and supporting someone through an individualized and holistic Fertility Support Program, in many cases, we can either minimize the need for ART or hopefully increase the chances of success with ART when it is needed.

This program is right for you if you answer 'yes' to one or more of the questions below:

Have you:

  • Been trying to conceive and been unsuccessful? The age and length of time to watch for is typically under 35 years of age and trying unsuccessfully for 1 year or over the age of 35 and trying unsuccessfully for 6 months, however tools to optimize fertility can be learned and implemented at any time.
  • Been experiencing irregular menstrual cycles, short or long cycle lengths or spotting?
  • Been diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), Endometriosis or Hypothyroidism?
  • Been diagnosed with “unexplained infertility” and want more answers?
  • Experienced one or more miscarriages and want more support?
  • Thought about IUI or IVF or are working with an Assisted Reproductive Fertility Clinic and want to optimize your results?
  • Been told you have a Decreased Ovarian Reserve?
  • Wondered about Male Infertility Factor (low sperm count, poor mobility and morphology) and want a more in-depth work-up and suggestions on how to improve these numbers?
  • Been looking for an integrative and holistic approach to optimizing your fertility?

What The First Visit Looks Like:

At least one hour will be spent with Dr. Briana to establish a Full Fertility Evaluation - this will combine a detailed medical intake, any indicated physical examinations and Laboratory testing recommendations. My goal is to help specify your infertility type if it is not yet known so we can personalize your treatment specifically for you and address the root cause of why you are having difficulty conceiving. 

Dr. Briana uses a therapeutic order that prioritizes, lifestyle and dietary measures in combination with high quality nutrient therapy, herbs, homeopathy and bio-identical hormones as they pertain to each individual case. We are preparing your body to grow and sustain a life for the next 9 months and just like a garden, we need to prepare the soil (remove impurities), provide clean air and water and optimal nutrients, time the planting of the seed, and nourish it's growth with loving care. Throughout our work up we will be implementing fertility optimizing treatments (and important preconception care measures) so that you are ready for assistive reproductive techniques if that need arises.

What Treatment  Looks Like:

What Follow-up Care Looks LIke:

It is important to anticipate working together for a minimum of 3-6 months. When we support the hormonal cycle, it is realistic to see a greater amount of improvement around the 3 month mark, as our brain, ovaries and adrenals have many feedback systems that need time to encorporate the treatment plan and settle in to a new rhythm.  As well, because each individual is unique, different supportive measures may need to be added or tweaked depending on how your system responds. For any egg or sperm quality focused treatments, it is important that these be implemented for 3-4 months as this is the time it takes for the egg and sperm to mature, develop and incorporate the healthy changes we have made into the egg and sperm DNA (which are the building blocks for your future little Love).

Fertility Specific Testing Available:

For Her

Conventional Blood Work to evaluate and rule out potential underlying thyroid conditions, anemia, vitamin D deficiency, genetic factors such as MTHFR, factor V Leiden, Factor II, anti-phospholipid antibodies, auto-immune conditions, inflammation and more.

Nutrient Testing to rule out nutrient deficiencies potentially contributing to decreased egg quality.

Anti-oxidant testing to give a greater insight in to potential factors contributing to poor egg quality.

Food Allergy Testing to rule out food allergies

Heavy metal testing

Hormonal imbalances (serum and/or salivary) to rule out hormonal imbalances such as estrogen dominance, progesterone deficiency and luteal phase defects, PCOS, and HPA Axis dysfunction.

AMH testing

For Him

Basic blood work; Heavy metal testing; nutrient testing;  food allergy testing, and more.

Anti-oxidant testing: There is a growing amount of research showing that oxidative stress can be a primary cause of male infertility (shown to alter membrane fluidity, permeability and imparts sperm’s functional competence)

Did you know that Sperm count has been declining for decades?

Almost all men today would have been considered infertile 2 generations ago! 

  • In 1940 the average sperm count was 113 million/mL 
  • In 1969 the average sperm count was 66 million/mL 

Today, 20 million/mL is considered normal, although >48 million/mL has the best pregnancy outcomes! 

When needed, Dr. Briana offers patients an at-home semen analysis option: @ Home Detailed Semen Analysis offers a detailed Kruger Morphology Semen Analysis that can be done within the comfort of your own home. 

Did you know that even with normal sperm parameters on semen analysis the DNA of sperm can still show fragmentation?

This is why we offer a Sperm DNA Fragmentation test.  It is believed that sperm DNA fragmentation levels are on the rise due to the increased reproductive toxicants in our environment.

Sperm DNA fragmentation is the physical breaking of one or both DNA strands in sperm chromosomes, "Dr. Evenson explains. "If this occurs within a gene needed for embryo growth and is not repaired, the consequence may be the death of the embryo."