Blogging today – YinOva Acupuncturist and Herbalist Laurel Axen Carol. Laurel specializes in using Chinese medicine to treat female reproductive issues, a subject she currently teaches at graduate level.
Laurel says – Getting a diagnosis of a breech presentation is not fun. I have had two myself, one frank and one transverse, so I am no [...]
YinOva acupuncturist Laurel Axen Carroll blogs about acupuncture before labor.
I have had really great success treating pregnant women and helping them to go into labor “on-time”. These days not many doctors will allow their patients to carry past 41 weeks. Unfortunately, babies do not always know the time line which, leads to anxious moms [...]
This week’s blog is written by New York massage therapist Nicole Kruck. Nicole specializes in fertility massage as well as pre and postnatal massage. We often get asked questions about prenatal massage and decided to put some of these questions to Nicole. Below are her answers. You can book an appointment with Nicole online by clicking here.
This week I was interested to read a new study in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology which showed that ear acupuncture can significantly reduce low back and pelvic pain in pregnant women. You can read the full text of the study here. This is not the first research study to look at [...]
I recently wrote a blog entry that was all about influencing the sex of your baby. All that talk about X and Y chromosomes prompted one of my patients to ask me about Fragile X syndrome. She had just been diagnosed as a carrier for this disorder and wanted me to help her sort through [...]
I enjoyed this video by Alice Eve Jones performing an extract from her book, What I Thought I Knew. In it she describes how, after a long struggle with infertility, she was told she was in menopause, only to find out that she was pregnant. Recently Dr. David and I were consulted by a patient [...]
Todays blog is written by YinOva Acupuncturist Margaret Sikowitz.
I’m very excited today. It is my daughter’s 7th birthday so there is an air of festivity abounding AND I just learned that one of our overdue pregnant mothers-to-be just gave birth. However, the patient in question was a bit disappointed. First she missed the [...]
In our book Making Babies: A Proven 3-Month Program for Maximum Fertility Dr. David and I discuss the alarming fact that male sperm counts have halved since our grandfather’s generation. My patients are shocked when I tell them this and their next question is usually, “why?”. I always answer that it’s hard to lay the [...]
Are you sick of your pre-natal vitamins? One of our lovely YinOva “Moms-to-be” emailed me with this great suggestion. She has developed a taste for belly-bars from a company called Nutrabella. These tasty snacks are fortified with all the nutrients women need when they are trying to conceive or pregnant. When I looked at them [...]
One of my patients asked me this question recently after reading my blog entry about whether pregnant women should eat fish. I love fish – low in saturated fats and high in omega 3 fatty acids, it’s a great source of heart-healthy protein. I grew up on the coast and as a child was lucky [...]
“Everyone keeps telling me what I can’t eat”, moaned a newly pregnant YinOva patient, “but no one is telling me what to eat instead”. So Eileen, this blog’s for you (and for anyone else who wants some help making healthy food choices when pregnant).
Fear not! I know we’ve asked you to limit the coffee and [...]
Recently The New York Times ran an editorial piece about the safety of fish. The article prompted several of our YinOva patients to ask for our advice about eating fish, especially if you are pregnant or trying to get pregnant. As The New York Times article pointed out even different government departments disagree about how [...]
As many of you have pointed out to me morning sickness is a bit of a misnomer because in real life a wave of nausea or vomiting can strike pregnant women at any time of the day or night. Between 60% and 80% of pregnant women experience some nausea and vomiting although for most [...]
Last month I wrote about how acupuncture and moxibustion can help turn a breech baby and this week one of our lovely patients, Monika, used this method with great success. I like it when our YinOva patients write on this blog, so I asked if she would mind sharing her experience. Below you’ll find what [...]
Earlier this week the BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology (1.) released a report that found that acupuncture can help women suffering from pelvic girdle pain in pregnancy. This is not the first research study to look at this. In fact in 2005 I was interviewed by ABC news about the same topic. [...]
At The YinOva Center we have a reputation for being able to help to turn breech babies. So much so that many midwives and OB’s send their patients to us when they find out that the baby is breech. A breech baby is one whose head is upwards so that she is likely to come [...]
“Is it safe to exercise during pregnancy?”
I get this question a lot from new moms and the answer is that for most women it is perfectly safe as long as they keep a few common sense guidelines in mind. In fact not only is it safe but it’s a good idea to stay physically [...]
A recent study in The American Journal of Hypertension caught my eye.
It showed that if women increase their fiber intake in early pregnancy they can cut their chances of a serious pregnancy complication by two-thirds. Pre-ecplampsia, which is characterized by high blood pressure and excess protein in the urine, effects about 8% [...]
Susan was a long-term fertility patient who was overjoyed to find out that she was pregnant. “Should I still come and see you every week”, she asked me.
The answer is only if you want to. If you find acupuncture relaxing and useful feel free to visit us hear at the YinOva Center as much as [...]
Patient’s often ask me what the early signs of pregnancy are. It is useful to look out for them even though they can be a little confusing. Realistically, the only conclusive way of knowing that you are pregnant is a positive pregnancy test however the signs outlined below may give you a hint.
These are the [...]
1. Smoking
Most people know that it’s important to give up smoking when you are pregnant. If you don’t you run the risk of your baby having a lower birth weight, and learning disabilities. You also increase your risk of miscarriage. At The YinOva Center we recognize that cigarettes can be a hard habit to break [...]
When I was expecting my daughter I vividly remember bursting into tears in the middle of a supermarket. Partly this mild hysteria was due to my pregnancy hormones but I also felt overwhelmed by all the conflicting advice and seemingly dire warnings given to pregnant women about food. It seemed as if the advice [...]
In the USA it is estimated that 20% of couples are suffering from infertility at any given time. This number has increased steadily over the last 50 years, which has lead researchers to blame everything from increased maternal age to toxic overload. However 10% of all infertile couples will not be able to find [...]