2018-04-07, 10*14 AMIntegrative fertility care can help maximize chance of a healthy baby | Georgia Straight Vancouver's News & Entertainment Weekly

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Integrative fertility care can help maximize chance of ahealthy babyposted on May 8th, 2017 at 10:10 AM

In vitro fertilization has enabled Merewyn Hines to experience the joys of motherhood.

(This article is sponsored by Acubalance Wellness Centre and Olive Fertility Centre.)

Metro Vancouver resident Merewyn Hines knew at a fairly young age that she wanted tobe a mom. And she wasn’t necessarily going to wait until she had a partner.

“When I turned 25, I actually made the decision that if I wasn’t in a committedrelationship by the time I hit 35, I would do it on my own,” she said.

Although Hines was in a relationship on her 30th birthday it wasn’t going in the rightdirection. But she didn’t give up on the dream of motherhood and started putting moneyaside into a baby fund.

In addition, she began researching the experiences of single mothers, as well as

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2018-04-07, 10*14 AMIntegrative fertility care can help maximize chance of a healthy baby | Georgia Straight Vancouver's News & Entertainment Weekly

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reproductive technologies.

“When I was 34, I decided I was ready,” Hines said. “That’s whenI first made an appointment to go and see the fertility doctor.”

She said that Dr. Beth Taylor at Olive Fertility Centre wasresponsible for her overall care, but over the course of becomingpregnant, she was treated by other fertility doctors at the clinic,including Dr. Jason Hitkari and Dr. Al Yuzpe.

“Two-and-a-half years ago—after receiving in vitro fertilization atOlive and going on a fertility diet and undergoing fertilityacupuncture at Acubalance Wellness Centre—Hines gave birth toher daughter.

It came after Hines had gone through two miscarriages.

“Every time I would go in for yet another checkup, I wouldwonder if something is going to go wrong,” Hines recalled. “Thenwhen it didn’t, there was just that surprise and shock. But as thepregnancy progressed, that kind of faded because you’re fartherthan you’ve ever been in the process. So that bolsters you.”

Dr. Beth Taylor (le") was responsible for Merewyn Hines's overall care at Olive FertilityCentre.

Infertility can lead to grief

Infertility is far more common than many people might think, with nearly one in sixcouples going through this, according to Hitkari.

Yuzpe coauthored a 2012 study in the peer-reviewed journal Human Reproduction, which

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2018-04-07, 10*14 AMIntegrative fertility care can help maximize chance of a healthy baby | Georgia Straight Vancouver's News & Entertainment Weekly

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reported that infertility was on the rise in Canada, even among young couples.

Yuzpe and his colleagues estimated that about 16 percent of heterosexual couples inwhich the woman was between 18 and 44 experience infertility. That was nearly doublethe rate reported in 1992.

“What a lot of our patients are struggling with is the emotional strain of not gettingpregnant,” Hitkari said. “It can be really devastating and demoralizing for people. Studieshave shown that the grief with infertility is equivalent to death—a close death in thefamily. So they really, really struggle.”

There will be several events in Metro Vancouver (see bottom of this article) to educate thepublic about possible solutions during Infertility Awareness Week, which takes placefrom Sunda (May 7) to next Sunday (May 14).

Olive Fertility Centre is a medical facility and laboratory. Hitkari is proud of how it workscollaboratively with Acubalance Wellness Centre, a natural fertility clinic, to supportindividuals and couples in a multitude of ways as they’re trying to conceive.

Statistics on Olive’s website indicate that this approach is working.

In 2015 the national average for achieving a clinical pregnancy was 29 percent for thosebetween 38 and 40 years old with a fresh embryo transfer using a woman’s own eggs. AtOlive, the rate was 72 percent from January to June of 2016 for women in this agebracket.

Hitkari said that Olive plays a role in bringing about 100 to 150 pregnancies per month,whether that’s through IVF, artificial insemination, or other methods. He added thatsometimes, inexpensive pills will be enough to get a woman ovulating; on other occasions,surgery might be necessary.

“Our physicians are really experienced,” Hitkari noted, “and our laboratory staff are reallyexperienced, with PhDs in this, and so that’s what contributes to very good success rates.”

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2018-04-07, 10*14 AMIntegrative fertility care can help maximize chance of a healthy baby | Georgia Straight Vancouver's News & Entertainment Weekly

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Dr. Lorne Brown relies on traditional Chinese medicine to help couples conceive.

Healthy blood flow promotes fertility

Acubalance Wellness Centre was founded by Dr. Lorne Brown, a doctor of traditionalChinese medicine, Fellow of the American Board of Oriental Reproductive Medicine and aformer chartered accountant (CPA).

A passionate advocate of supporting the body’s innate ability to heal itself, Browncombines a love for the science of human physiology with a deep respect for what’s beenlearned through thousands of years of traditional medical practices in China.

He’s keenly interested in the research into acupuncture for fertility and how it can beused to increase blood flow to the reproductive system, reduce the effects of stress,regulate hormones, induce ovulation and increase IVF success.

And Brown is fascinated by early studies showing how low-level light therapy & cold laser

2018-04-07, 10*14 AMIntegrative fertility care can help maximize chance of a healthy baby | Georgia Straight Vancouver's News & Entertainment Weekly

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(LLLT) can optimize fertility by increasing the production of one of those nucleotides,ademosine triphosphate (ATP), which may help rejuvenate the energy in older eggs. LLLT can also regulate inflammation and enhances blood flow which are key factors forover health and fertility. Acubalance offers cold laser for fertility, PCOS andendometriosis.

He’s such a strong proponent of acupuncture in promoting fertility because it’s beendemonstrated to boost blood flow to the reproductive system.

“He brings his back ground as an auditor,” Brown revealed in an interview. “I like to do afertility audit on men and women to identify the underlying cause to their infertility”. Our role at Acubalance is to help man’s sperm and women’s egg reach their peak fertilitypotential, whether trying to conceive naturally or with IVF

Acubalance is an integrative clinic that incorporates acupuncture, Chinese medicine,naturopathy, and functional medicine to accomplish these objectives. Acubalancepioneered acupuncture on-site at the IVF clinics in Vancouver and currently providesboth traditional and laser acupuncture on-site only at the Olive Fertility Centre on IVFtransfer day.

Hines said that during her first IVF cycle at Olive, she started going to Acubalance, whereshe was put on a fertility diet based on the landmark Harvard Nurses’ Health Study.

It discourages the use of trans fats and promotes the consumption of slow carbs, wholemilk, iron from plants, unsaturated vegetable oils, and getting plenty of iron from plants. The Acubalance Fertility Diet is available online at www.acubalance.ca/.

Hines was also treated by an Acubalance acupuncturist, who noticed that her anxietylevels were “outside the range of normal”. As a result, Hines went to an anxiety clinicwhere this was addressed.

Watch this video to learn more about Acubalance Wellness Centre.

Scientific breakthroughs boost chance of conception

Meanwhile, Olive Fertility Centre’s Hitkari said there have been tremendous advanceswith IVF treatments since he entered this field more than a decade ago.

2018-04-07, 10*14 AMIntegrative fertility care can help maximize chance of a healthy baby | Georgia Straight Vancouver's News & Entertainment Weekly

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For instance, it’s become far more common to freeze eggs to preserve a woman’s fertility.

In addition, there’s now comprehensive chromosome testing. This makes it possible toconduct biopsies on embryos to assess whether there are damaged chromosomes.

“In the past, we didn’t know,” Hitkari said. “We just looked at the embryos and tried theprettiest ones first and the not-so-pretty ones next.”

So who’s best suited to undergo IVF treatments?

According to Hitkari, the reasons are varied. It can be helpful for women with blockedfallopian tubes and pelvic scarring and when the man has abnormal or not-at-gradesperm.

“The younger the person is, the better it works,” he stated. “For those over 43 years old,the success rates are generally pretty low.

Acubalance’s Brown readily acknowledged that the likelihood of pregnancy is related to awoman’s chronological age as well as her biological age. He also pointed out that humansare affected by chemicals and toxins from our environment that act as endocrine-disruptors that can negatively impact our health and fertility.

“These endocrine disrupting chemicals lead to low-grade, systemic inflammation in thebody,” Brown stated. “And this inflammation leads to accelerated biological aging,resulting in degenerative diseases and premature fertility decline.”

This phenomenon has been coined ‘inflammaging’.

According to Brown, because systemic inflammation is linked to accelerated biologicalaging, the objective should be "to reduce it through an anti-inflammatory diet, mind-bodystress reduction techniques, acupuncture, cold laser, and nutraceuticals" to support thebody in eliminating these chemicals.

Acubalance offers regular educational events on using diet, lifestyle and stress reductionto improve health and fertility. During these presentations it also shares its approach onusing traditional and laser acupuncture (LLLT) to help you reach your peak fertilitypotential.

2018-04-07, 10*14 AMIntegrative fertility care can help maximize chance of a healthy baby | Georgia Straight Vancouver's News & Entertainment Weekly

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Watch this video to learn what to expect at your first appointment at Olive Fertility Centre.

Health plans di!er by province

Under the Medical Services Plan, a person will have costs covered for consultation with afertility doctor and for tests that are ordered by the physician. MSP also provides a $23subsidy for each of up to 10 annual visits to an acupuncturist or other holisticpractitioners.

Hitkari pointed out that in Ontario, residents are covered under the medical plan for oneIVF cycle. And in some other provinces, tax credits are available for those who receive IVFtreatments.

“The minute it’s covered, the utilization goes way up,” he said. “People are just not doingit because they can’t afford it.”

Hitkari would like to see more provincial government support to treat infertility, notingthat the United Nations has recognized that people have a right to pursue a family.

“My advice for women who are single and approaching or over the age of 35 is to see theirdoctor about getting an assessment of their ovarian reserve—or what their fertilitypotential is,” he said. “They can make informed decisions about whether to pursuepregnancy sooner with their partner or with donor sperm—or whether they should thinkabout preserving their fertility [by freezing eggs]."

For Merewyn Hines, motherhood has turned out to be largely what she expected it to be.

“I knew there were going to be challenges, but I also knew there would be greatmoments.” she said.

She also revealed that a friend recently asked if she could imagine what life would be likehad she given up on the dream of having a child.

“I honestly can’t,” Hines said. “As complicated as life can get when you’re a single parentwith a young child, I can’t imagine being without her. I wouldn’t want my life withouther.”

During Infertility Awareness Week, there are three free events. On Monday(May 8), reproductive endocrinologist Dr. Niamh Tallon will speak from 6:30to 8:30 p.m. at the Whistler Tea House (112–4368 Main Street, Whistler). OnWednesday (May 10), reproductive endocrinologist Dr. Beth Taylor andfertility acupuncturist Dr. Lorne Brown will speak from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at

2018-04-07, 10*14 AMIntegrative fertility care can help maximize chance of a healthy baby | Georgia Straight Vancouver's News & Entertainment Weekly

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AncestorsTo Apr 20 at Dr. Sun Yat-Sen

Olive Fertility Centre (400–East Tower, 555 West 12th Avenue, Vancouver).On Thursday (May 11), reproductive endocrinologist Dr. Jason Hitkari andnaturopathic physician Dr. Kali MacIsaac will speak from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.at Surrey City Centre Library (10350 University Drive, Surrey). Space islimited. Call 604-678-8600 to reserve a spot. For more information,visit acubalance.ca or olivefertility.com.

Like Acubalance on Facebook and follow on Twitter. Use the hashtag: #fertilitymatters

This article is sponsored by Acubalance Wellness Centre and Olive Fertility Centre.

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2018-04-07, 10*14 AMIntegrative fertility care can help maximize chance of a healthy baby | Georgia Straight Vancouver's News & Entertainment Weekly

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