What is Women's Health?
Women's health care is a major portion of my work at Earth Wise Natural Medicine. I help women of all ages improve their experience of their reproductive life from menarche to menopause.

Which conditions can I help you with?
Natural and Traditional therapies and medicines of various kinds are effective in the management of many female reproductive health conditions including:

All aspects of a woman's energy, body, mind, diet and lifestyle have an impact on her reproductive health.

According to the individual woman's condition and circumstances a range of therapies can be utilised to aid in the management of her health.

Childhood and adolescence are important times when underlying health habits and trends are established. Common childhood and adolescent complaints including: 3

Children respond well to naturopathic management. Detailed dietary and lifestyle  examination and recommendations, often combined with herbal medicines, nutrient supplements, homoeopathy and flower essences, provide safe and effective treatment.  
 
Adolescence Health
Adolescence is a time of rapid and continual physical, mental and emotional change.

 

At this time of changing physiology and psychology the established habits of childhood seem to become irrelevant and illness, fatigue and the effects of emotional tension may begin to show.   At Earth Wise I commonly treat health issues of:

Detailed lifestyle and dietary examination and recommendations combined with herbal medicines, nutrient supplements, homoeopathy and flower essences provide safe and effective treatment.
 
Teen Skin Complaints
Many a teenager is plagued with skin complaints such as acne and pimples affecting both skin health and self-esteem.  Hormones used to be solely blamed for these conditions, however dietary choices, hydration and lack of exercise can also play a significant role.

 

Most skin conditions respond favourably to natural medicine and these naturopathic treatments will often improve the teen's general health and well-being.

 

The diet is appraised to determine excesses and deficiencies.  Herbal remedies (including teas), flower essences and nutrient supplements are also considered.  

 

 

Fertility, Pregnancy & Child-birth
Preconception Care
My clinic receives many enquiries from prospective parents who are interested in naturopathic fertility assistance.  The couple may present with a diagnosed condition or unexplained fertility issues.  My aim at Earth Wise is to provide a period of preparation for conception, usually of three months duration.

 

This equates to the average time for the development of fresh sperm or ova, the building blocks of new life.  An individual naturopathic programme will be devised for specific fertility issues and natural medicines prescribed. 

In addition, many couples may be undertaking medical fertility treatment, such as IVF, and are surprised to know that I can work in conjunction with these medical processes.  I have a good knowledge of IVF procedures and understand what can and can't be safely utilised during the various phases of treatment.

Not all parents attending Earth Wise have fertility issues.  Many parents are very concerned about improving the chances of having a healthy child, and ensuring their child can enjoy good health into adulthood.  Preconception care allows you to improve the odds of conceiving a healthy child, experiencing a healthy pregnancy and delivering in a natural manner with nil or minimal medical intervention.

Natural Fertility clients are advised to restrict or eliminate specific foods, drugs and environmental elements from their lives for the period of preconception care and through the pregnancy.  I aim to reduce as many risk factors as possible that have the potential to damage a developing egg, sperm or vulnerable embryo.  Many people find that breaking bad habits in the interests of conceiving a healthy child is motivation enough to last a lifetime.

 

What is Natural Fertility Treatment and Preconception care?
Briefly, after extensive naturopathic consultation, an individualised program is designed for the prospective parents that may include fertility charting, laboratory testing, conception timing techniques, dietary and lifestyle modification and natural medicines. Please read on below for a fuller explanation.

Improve semen parameters Balance reproductive hormones Tonify uterine tissue Treat disorders of ovulation

Improve cervical mucus production Assist parents during IVF processes Improve conception rates in older mothers Assist high risk pregnancies

What is fertility charting?
Earth Wise Natural Medicine utilises the Natural Fertility Kit.  It provides comprehensive educational materials, including basal body thermometer and lunar peak calculations - allowing the practitioner to observe menstrual patterns and any anomalies; and allows the client to  become more familiar with their personal biological rhythms. 
    

Many people are familiar with the Billings Method, which utilises cervical mucus observation and basal body temperature recording. 

Lunar peak calculations, which provide a personal calendar of times of potential spontaneous ovulation, is especially important when using fertility charting for contraception.  It is possible that the lunar peak calculation is the reason behind the higher successful contraception rate than that recorded by Billings.

The Natural Fertility Kit provides blank charts that allow the client to easily record the lunar peak and changes in cervical mucus, basal body temperature and other symptoms throughout the cycle that provide a picture of reproductive health.

 

The aim of the conception kit is not only to optimise your chances of conception, but also to guide you through the preconception care process, which should involve both parents.  This enables the body to prepare the best possible eggs and sperm, and therefore improve the chances of a successful pregnancy. 

In addition, timing techniques help indicate the optimum time for conception and aim to reduce the risk of miscarriage.  Studies show a 78-81% success rate in overcoming fertility problems when couples practice preconception health care as well as timing their conception attempts.

From the naturopath's point of view, knowing that the client has the NFM kit ensures an effective and uniform assessment of charts, and ensures the client has all the backup information that will be referred to by their naturopath. 

 

The Natural Fertility Kit contents include: 

The conception kit is in stock at Earth Wise Natural Medicine

What laboratory testing is performed?
In the interests of achieving optimal sperm and egg quality, it is necessary to carry out some simple laboratory tests that enable the practitioner to ascertain whether or not the parent has been exposed to certain environmental influences and toxins. 
Importantly, gut health is tested for the presence of e-coli; a basic dipstix analysis for major organ function; and a general heavy metal test is performed to establish whether heavy metal exposure is a risk factor for conception.  All these tests are performed in-house with urine samples provided by the clients.

If it is found that heavy metals may be of concern in the initial HM test, a more comprehensive Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis is performed and hair samples forwarded to an externally located laboratory.

This test provides a thorough biological overview of your personal mineral profile, including both toxic and beneficial nutrients.

I extend my naturopathic approach to assisting women during the three trimesters of pregnancy.  Appointments are scheduled for each trimester to discuss the progress of the pregnancy and any specific concerns or health issues. 

 

I tailor treatments to provide diet recommendations and crucial nutrients for the mother and baby during the three trimesters.  Individual symptoms or concerns are discussed and treated as the need occurs.
 
Morning Sickness

Morning sickness is the bane of the pregnant mother and can be especially severe during the first 16 weeks of pregnancy.  Naturopathic treatment has a tradition of effective and safe drug free treatment of Morning Sickness.
 
Preparation for Childbirth

During pregnancy and as the day of childbirth approaches I tailor treatments to provide those nutrients that are crucial for the baby and the mother during the three trimesters.  Individual symptoms or concerns are discussed and treated as the need occurs.

 

Natural and traditional therapies such as herbal medicine, homoeopathy and flower essences have a long history of supporting women as they prepare for childbirth.  Developing techniques such as Hypnobirthing, obstetric TENS machine, visualisation and Natural Birthing Kits are also very useful.

 

During the final trimester treatment is focused on supporting the mother and child to improve the experience of labour and birth.

Once the baby arrives, it is a time of high emotion and on-the-job training!  There is so much to learn, especially during the initial months and it is common for new mothers and their partners to feel exhausted and overwhelmed. 

 

It is therefore understandable that at this time our health is not the focus as meals are eaten when they can be slotted in with the baby, exercise is often forgotten and rest is not always an easy thing to come by. 

 

Post-natal care aims to address your immediate needs and concerns and to provide you with achievable strategies and suggestions to be able to handle this high demand time.  

 

 

• Stress and anxiety
• Restoring sleep rhythms for new mums
• Post-natal depression
• Improving breast milk production
• Increasing energy. 

 

I can also treat breastfed newborns safely with some herbal teas administered via breastmilk, or treating them directly with gentle homoeopathics or Bach Flower remedies. 

 

 

• Colic and reflux
• Unusual bowel habits and smells
• Poor sleep / waking rhythms
• Skin rashes

 

I am a strong supporter of breastfeeding past six months of age, and aim to assist and support mothers who aspire to breastfeed long term.

 

For further support contact Australian Breastfeeding Association or become a member. 
 
www.breastfeeding.asn.au

 

Did you know that a healthy woman of reproductive age is only fertile for a few days each menstrual cycle?  As part of Earth Wise's natural fertility program, I teach women how to control their fertility by observing and interpreting the signs of fertility, and therefore taking measures to avoid pregnancy during those few days, and then being free to have unprotected intercourse during the other infertile times of that cycle.

 

Please note that unprotected intercourse should not be undertaken where there is risk of contracting or spreading a sexually transmitted disease.

 

This safe and effective contraceptive method can be used by women of all ages, whether or not they have a regular cycle.  It is drug-free, non-invasive and only requires a healthy curiosity about your own body and some initial discipline as you quickly learn how the three methods taught relate to your own natural rhythms.

 

Earth Wise provides no guarantee of contraception in individual cases.  When used correctly the success rate for natural fertility contraception ranges between 97 to 99.8%

The contraception kit is in stock at Earth Wise Natural Medicine.