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Guest post by Nikki Hurst RHN

Being pregnant is an amazing adventure, with an amazing ending. However, for those of you who are or might be experiencing morning sickness during those first three months, here are a few tips to help get your through this uncomfortable time.

Please note, while the term is coined “morning” sickness, it should really be described as “any part of the day or night” sickness. But have no fear!

 » Read more about: Going Head To Head with Morning Sickness  »

#TeacherLove! Beat the Back-to-School STRESS with a complimentary acupuncture treatment at Yinstill (Vancouver or Surrey locations)! That’s right, if you are a teacher, simply call 604.873.9355 or email office@yinstill.com to book. But that’s not all – on top of receiving a free acupuncture treatment, we are also offering a free Blood Typing with our Dr. Nora Shilo, AND 50% off Stress and Immune Boosting IV treatments (see complete IV menu here –

We are so lucky to have such a great doctor at Yinstill. As clinical manager Dr. Harris Fisher ensures that all practice operations run smoothly and that each one of our doctors is doing all they can to maintain our premium service to the women and couples we see. The proof is in the results, and the success that Yinstill has with so many couples is due largely in part to the contributions of Dr.

Stress is inevitable in our day to day lives. The sooner we accept this simple fact, the sooner we can begin to take the right steps in mitigating the effects of stress on our body and mind. The problem with treatments and activities that claim to “reduce stress” is that stress, like pain, is perceived. So it is not possible to reduce the actual stressor – only the perceived effect that it has on you.

The respected journal “Fertility and Sterility” published a significant study this month, relating to meat intake and how it is related to sperm quality and male fertility in conjunction with IVF. The study was focussed on couples undergoing infertility treatment with the use of assisted reproductive technology (ART), but I believe that these results are important for all men to consider as they move forward on their journey to grow/build their family. It turns out that there are some very simple ways to improve our sperm quality with some minor adjustments in dietary habits and the types of meat we are consuming.

“After two years of trying unsuccessfully to have a baby, I knew something was wrong. My periods had always been very irregular and I was frustrated because my family doctor would not refer me to a fertility specialist until we’d been trying for at least two years.

Finally, we were referred to the Pacific Centre for Reproductive Medicine (PCRM) and started on Clomid. After four cycles without success, I wanted to get more aggressive with our treatments since we are not getting any younger.

Chinese medicine can be difficult to decipher sometimes; the language and methods it uses only makes sense within the system itself and without any background knowledge it can be confusing and annoyingly esoteric. Imagine hearing these words from your Chinese medicine practitioner “Your kidneys are deficient” or “Your liver qi is stagnated” or “you are suffering from blood stasis and dampness in the lower jiao”. Huh? Should you run to the hospital for an MRI?

A recent research study was published that has discovered there are seasonal variations in the activity of our DNA. This may sound absolutely obvious to those that feel different during each season have always had a favourite season in which they feel their best. We now have the scientific evidence that backs this up. The research team reviewed annual gene expression patterns from ethnically and geographically diverse populations and compared data from both northern and southern hemispheres as well as groups at the ecuador and those closer to the poles.

Are you aware there are exercises which can help prepare your body for a quicker, easier childbirth? According to Janelle Durham, a childbirth educator and doula in Kirkland, WA, there are. And like so many experiences in life, the more prepared we are, the easier things will be.

During pregnancy there is a hormone called Relaxin being pumped through the body working to soften the cervix and relax pelvic ligaments for childbirth.

Advancements in infertility treatments have been evolving furiously over the past thirty years. Here at Yinstill we regularly support couples who are taking advantage of scientific developments including IVF (in vitro fertilization), IUI (intrauterine insemination), ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection) and other pharmaceutical options including Clomiphene and Letrozole.

One of the newest developments in the world of fertility comes out of Toronto, and it is called Augment(sm). Augment(sm) has been specifically developed to aid women who have previously gone through IVF multiple times failing to get pregnant,