Conditions:
Female Infertility
Principal Proposed Treatments
•
· There are no well-established natural treatments for female infertility.
Other Proposed Treatments
•
Chasteberry, Multivitamins, Reducing Stress, Ashwagandha, Beta-Carotene, Calcium, Vitamin D
There are many possible causes of female infertility. Tubal disease and endometriosis (a condition in which uterine tissue begins to grow where it shouldn't) account for 50% of female infertility; failure of ovulation is the cause of about 30%; and cervical factors cause another 10%.
An immense industry has sprung up around correcting female infertility, using techniques that range from hormone therapy to in vitro (test tube) babies. Although these methods have their occasional stunning successes, there is considerable controversy about the high cost and low rate of effectiveness of fertility treatments in general. The good news is that apparently infertile women often eventually become pregnant with no medical intervention at all.
Proposed Treatments for Female Infertility
Chasteberry
Because of its effects on the hormone prolactin, the herb chasteberry has been tried as a fertility treatment.1 However, the only properly designed study of this potential use was too small to return conclusive results.2
For more information, including dosage and safety issues, see the full chasteberry article.
Multivitamins
According to one study, general supplementation with multivitamins may improve female fertility.3
Other Treatments
Stress may lead to infertility, and treatments for reducing stress might help increase fertility.4–8
Other treatments sometimes recommended include ashwagandha and beta-carotene, but there is as yet little real evidence that they work.
One cause of infertility in women is named polycystic ovary syndrome. According to a preliminary study, supplementation with vitamin D and calcium may be helpful for women with this condition.9
Caffeine avoidance has also been recommended for improving fertility, but it has not been shown effective at this time.10
View References
Last reviewed March 2002 by Medical Review Board
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