Parenting: Preconception
Tammy Quinn and Beth Heller know from personal experience that
infertility impacts every aspect of a couple's lives. It's stressful,
painful, depressing and discouraging. Marriages break up. Family ties are
strained. Some people lose their jobs or suffer terrible financial setbacks.
Until recently, infertility treatments focused on the patient's pelvis, not on their psyche. All of this is about to change.
One important sign that the focus of infertility treatments is shifting is the recent partnership between the Fertility Centers of Illinois and Pulling Down the Moon, a holistic center dedicated to redefining the meaning of fertility. Pulling Down the Moon was founded by Quinn and Heller and based upon their individual experiences with infertility treatments.
Pulling Down the Moon
Heller of Chicago, Ill., was in the hospital when interviewed for this
article; she had just given birth to her first child, Jackson, conceived
with the help of Clomid. All births are special, but Jackson's birth
followed a harrowing journey down the path of infertility that included one
miscarriage and the devastating stillbirth of her previous child at 38
weeks.
Her friend and company co-founder, Quinn of Wilmette, Ill., had been through her own infertility ordeal. The end result was the birth of her twins six years ago, but she still remembers the emotional anguish she and her husband endured.
"While I was going through infertility treatments I just got to the point where I felt that I could not see one more specialist or get one more injection, and yet you want that result," says Quinn. "It becomes a vicious cycle. Having gone through the process [of infertility] I felt there was a lack of dealing with the emotional component."
Both women are registered yoga teachers, and Heller was still actively involved in infertility treatments when the team began Pulling Down the Moon. They marketed their idea to infertility centers and endocrinologists, and the result was a partnership with Illinois Fertility Centers.
"As far as we know there hasn't been another physicians' group that has partnered with a company to provide alternative modalities, so this partnership is unique and unusual," says Heller.
The Mind/Body Connection
Quinn and Heller note that their therapeutic yoga model is based upon the
work of Alice Domar, director of the Mind/Body Center
for Women's Health at Boston IVF and the author of Conquering Infertility: Dr. Alice Domar's Mind/Body Guide to Enhancing
Fertility and Coping With Infertility (Viking Press, 2002).
She began her research into the emotional impact of infertility 18 years ago
when she was working at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston.
Ten years ago, she published the first study on the issue. The study indicated that women suffering from infertility had the same level of anxiety and depression as women with cancer, AIDS and heart disease. This led to the development of programs to help ease the emotional impact of infertility on couples.
"I have done a lot of research which shows that women who go through the mind/body program not only have a decrease in psychological symptoms but a higher incidence of pregnancy," says Domar. "I'm a psychologist, so I'm looking for psychological improvement – and I've found that improvement."
Domar discovered that with alternative therapies designed to address the emotional aspects of infertility, depression, hostility and anxiety levels drop into a normal range. Even more significant, studies show that 55 percent of mind/body patients get pregnant within six months compared with 20 percent of the control group.
In her seminars, Domar teaches cognitive behavioral therapy, which involves a variety of techniques to help patients relax. She also addresses lifestyle issues such as vigorous exercise, caffeine, cigarettes and other behaviors that may impact fertility. However, she is also an advocate of training the physicians and support staff who deal with infertile couples to understand the emotional issues.
"I actually talk to them about why infertile patients are so anxious and about the impact infertility has on their lives," says Domar. "It's important that they understand that when they sit across from someone with infertility issues, you are looking at someone who is impacted by this in every corner of her life. The physician needs to recognize the signs of extreme anxiety; if they ask the same question over and over, it's because they're too anxious to hear the answers. That needs to be addressed."
Integrating Emotional Support
Dr. Meike Uhler, of the Fertility Centers of Illinois, says they have always
tried to be sensitive to the emotions of their patients, and that has been
made somewhat easier by the fact that infertility is the sole focus of their
center.
"Everyone from our receptionist to the people who draw blood to the
doctors are all trying to achieve the same goal," says Dr. Uhler. "Some of
our staff even have experienced infertility in their own lives. We're always
looking for different ways to expand our patient services, and we thought
making a connection with Pulling Down the Moon could provide even a higher
level of care to our patients." Dr. Uhler says that she is very interested
in seeing the results of this partnership and if it has any noticeable
effect on fertility.
At Boston IVF, Dr. Domar's clinics stress a variety of relaxation techniques, while Pulling Down the Moon focuses on yoga and aromatherapy. Both programs have a shared goal: not necessarily to help couples achieve pregnancy, but to help them deal with and accept whatever comes their way.
"We have been really dedicated to opening a center for holistic fertility and want it to be a sanctuary for anyone who is dealing with issues of infertility," says Heller. "Infertility is a horrible experience, as we both know, but it's also the time in our lives when we learned the most about ourselves. Whatever tools and techniques that we teach them through holistic modalities related to dealing with infertility are things they can carry over to the rest of their lives."
