There is no time more exciting than when a couple decides to grow their family and start trying to conceive. However, this exciting journey quickly turns to heartbreak for the almost 10 million women in the US alone who are struggling with infertility. Infertility is a journey that no one wants or expects to take- often filled with quiet heartbreak, unanswered questions, and a longing that is hard to put into words. This weight is one that most women and families carry themselves, as infertility can feel isolating and invisible. It can be made even more confusing when lab tests show little to no reason to explain your fertility struggles. If you are currently struggling with infertility, this space was created for you — to offer comfort, education, and a reminder that hope still lives here. Whether you’re just beginning to explore your options or have been navigating this road for years, this article is for you.
The CDC estimates that approximately 13.4% (9.7 million) of US women are currently experiencing infertility. While heartbreaking, this time is also full of doctors appointments, specialist visits, drug therapy and procedures. It is often not only expensive, but confusing, with no explanations or answers to be found. The good news is that if you are dealing with infertility- there are answers, hope and help to be found at Lighthouse Family Chiropractic.
The Nervous System Connection
There is one thing that most, if not all, health care providers are missing when it comes to fertility: the role of the nervous system. We know what you’re thinking- my brain doesn’t make a baby! But we are here to prove it to you. To understand the unique connection between fertility and the nervous system, first I am going to explain the autonomic nervous system.
The autonomic nervous system can be best simplified to mean our “automatic” nervous system- it controls all of the functions in our body that we don’t have to think about: breathing, digestion, heart rate, emotional regulation, and most notable for this article, our hormonal system. This part of our nervous system has two sides to it, sympathetic “fight or flight” and parasympathetic “rest and digest.” The biggest thing to take away from this is that you cannot be in both fight or flight and rest and digest at the same time, and it is crucial to have a proper balance between the two.
The truth is that most people are living stuck in fight or flight. When this happens, your body is in protection mode. But what does this have to do with fertility? The reality is, everything! Your body and nervous system must feel safe in order to conceive. To explain the connection between the nervous system and hormonal system, I am going to share a story.
One day you are on a hike in the woods, when out of nowhere, a bear starts chasing you. As soon as you see the bear, your nervous system immediately perceives it as a threat and activates your sympathetic, fight-or-flight response. In order to activate the systems your body needs to survive, your brain sends signals to your hormonal system. Your brain, specifically your hypothalamus, tells another part of your brain, your pituitary gland, to tell your adrenal glands to produce stress hormones, cortisol and adrenaline. This is called your HPA (hypothalamus- pituitary gland- adrenals) axis. After escaping the bear, you are sitting at home watching TV. Your nervous system perceives this as safety and activates your parasympathetic, rest and digest, side of your nervous system. Since you are no longer in danger, your body doesn’t need cortisol and adrenaline. In response, your hypothalamus tells your pituitary gland to instead tell your reproductive organs to produce estrogen and progesterone. This is called your HPG (hypothalamus- pituitary gland- gonads) axis.
Just like you can’t be in fight or flight and rest and digest at the same time, your hormonal system cannot have the HPA and HPG axis going at the same time. These two hormonal axes working in harmony are crucial for fertility. But what happens when you are stuck in fight or flight? That means that your hormonal system is stuck in the cycle of pumping out cortisol and adrenaline, as opposed to estrogen and progesterone, which are the hormones that are crucial for fertility. But is there a way to test and know whether you’re in fight or flight and therefore the HPA axis? There sure is!
At Lighthouse Family Chiropractic, we utilize the CLA INSiGHT scans to give us that inside look at how your nervous system is functioning. The most important scan for fertility is our Heart Rate Variability (HRV) scan. This scan tells us exactly what side of your nervous system you are living in, as well as how charged your body battery is. After just three minutes, we will be able to tell whether your hormonal system is working the way it should. And the best part? Through neurologically focused chiropractic adjustments, we are able to restore balance to your nervous system and get you out of fight or flight and into rest and digest, allowing optimal body conditions for fertility.
If you or a loved one is experiencing infertility, please know that we are here for you and you have options. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We would love to be your partner in this journey.