Bay IVF Experts Launch One of First East-West Fertility Programs o...( 'Fertile Awakenings' program one o...),Health

'Fertile Awakenings' program one of a handful nationwide interlinking

traditional western and alternative fertility care

SAN RAMON, Calif., Sept. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- This month the Reproductive Science Center of the Bay Area, one of nation's oldest IVF practices, launches "Fertile Awakenings," one of the first programs to provide coordinated care by a team of traditional western fertility specialists and complementary and alternative medical practitioners.

Though the medical community is divided about complementary and alternative medical approaches to infertility, many patients have been using them successfully. However, it is rare for their care to be coordinated between all medical providers.

The program includes a panel of RSC physicians and the Fertile Awakenings team of alternative practitioners, who will review infertility treatment for patients on a case-by-case basis. When appropriate, they will recommend complementary treatment to be offered at RSC clinics as well as other locations, such as acupuncture at RSC's Orinda clinic, mindfulness training and stress reduction courses at RSC's San Ramon location, confidential phone coaching, and uterine massage and nutritional counseling at Harmony Acupuncture.

"It is becoming more common for infertility practices to offer a multidisciplinary approach, integrating western and eastern medicine, along with a Mind/Body program. There is some evidence that this combined approach may improve success for some couples," said Louis Weckstein, M.D., IVF and Medical Director of RSC.

"A collaborative program that addresses the stress as well as the medical aspects of infertility care raises the bar for fertility care," said Weckstein. "Helping to manage the brutal stress and emotional rollercoaster of infertility can go a long way in supporting medical treatment for infertility," he added.

More patients like Lidia Gutierrez, a 39-year-old San Ramon engineering consultan
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