Infertility affects more couples than ever. 1 out of 6 couples today experience difficulty falling pregnant. What was once seen as a woman’s problem is now known to affect men equally. But what are the causes of infertility and what can be done to address them naturally?

But isn’t there IVF to fall back on?

When we take a closer look at IVF it is far less safe and less effective than we are often led to believe. As well as being invasive and prohibitively expensive for many, IVF treatments carry a substantial health risk to both the mother and baby.

More and more doctors are learning about nutritional and environmental medicine. If you speak to one they’ll often tell you that addressing underlying factors rather than using hormone replacement therapy (synthetic or bio-identical) is often a better way to achieve the perfect hormone balance for fertility with fewer side effects, sustained symptom relief and overall improved health.

Naturopaths are happy to see our colleagues starting to appreciate the benefits of the therapies we’ve been using for decades – dietary and lifestyle modifications, supplementation and herbal medicine where applicable, while addressing the whole person and not just one system or organ.

In this article we’ll look at natural ways to increase progesterone. Low progesterone is a primary cause of miscarriages. According to a study 753 infertile women participated in 62 percent had low progesterone, which was found to be the main cause of their infertility.

What does this mean?

Luteal phase is the post ovulatory phase characterized by increased progesterone production which is also called the secretory phase. During this phase corpus luteum (the left over of the burst follicle which released an egg during the ovulation) is producing progesterone, which is preparing the endometrium (the inside lining of the uterus/womb) for implantation, should the egg become fertilized. If there is not enough progesterone being produced to sustain implantation pregnancy is unlikely. This can also be attributed to abnormal thyroid function.