Fertility Wisdom :: Health and Disease :: Women's Health Issues

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Fertility Wisdom
by author HÃ©lÃ¨ne Meurer

by Angela C. Wu, LAc, OMD, with Katherine Anttila and Betsy Brown (Rodale, 2006) 256 pages

Western science is buzzing with new research on the mind-body connection as a way to treat illness and bring people back to health. Recently Oprah Winfrey introduced her TV audience to the “new” science of acupuncture, disregarding the fact that many North Americans are already familiar with the treatments discussed.

Dr. Angela Wu, our book’s author, is a licensed acupuncturist and certified doctor of Oriental medicine with more than 30 years’ experience in China and North America. While unknown to many, Wu is responsible for helping countless couples overcome infertility with the aid of complementary medicine.

Wu’s popular San Francisco clinic uses acupuncture, herbology, and other Chinese healing arts to promote health with a special focus on fertility enhancement. Dubbed by the media as the “fertility goddess,” Wu’s success rate is testament to a lifetime of experience and deep understanding of how to partner ancient Chinese health care with modern Western expertise.

The scope of Wu’s Fertility Wisdom is broad enough to offer hope to those dealing with a range of fertility challenges, including the common diagnosis of unexplained infertility, childbearing during menopause, low sperm count, thin uterine lining, endometriosis, uterine fibroids, and more. Wu claims that when women follow her guidelines in conjunction with Western practices such as in vitro fertilization, they are more likely to experience a successful pregnancy.

Chinese health practitioners have long acknowledged the potential impact of stress on our body’s function. Today, Western science is only at the beginning of this learning curve. For this reason, Fertility Wisdom acknowledges the patient’s personal, internal body weather as principled in traditional Chinese medicine. Wu calmly guides her readers to a simple understanding of Eastern practices for creating harmony between body energy systems and blood. She offers highly practical suggestions, describing concepts with sensitivity and familiar language that makes them easy to put into practice.

A small but important section describes how couples concerned with fertility issues can cultivate successful partnerships with both Eastern practitioners and Western fertility experts. The resulting holistic perspective is a fully rounded complement to Western medicine that will give hope to all aspiring parents, whether they choose to engage the help of an alternative practitioner or not.

HÃ©lÃ¨ne Meurer is a writer and book reviewer who loves babies of all ages.

Source: alive #299, September 2007

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