Hi Renstar,

I notice this thread is a bit old, hopefully you have had some success with your fertility treatment.

I am an Australian born and trained Acupuncturist and Chinese herbal medicine practitioner and I have found it interesting reading what your experience has been accessing TCM. Sometimes as practitioners we don't have the time and in the case of Chinese speaking practitioners the language or cultural skills to explain all the questions our clients have, which is a real pity.

So to answer a few of your concerns....

Yes properly prescribed Chinese herbs are perfectly safe to take with your Western medical fertility treatment and during pregnancy. they really are just bits of twigs and bark, more like food to the body than toxic chemicals.

There are some herbs which are contraindicated during pregnancy, but a trained practitioner will know these inside out and prescribe responsibly and appropriately. In Victoria (the only state in Australia to have a registration board) we have state registered practitioners, to check your practitioner is registered and therefore competent you can search on the CMRB website Welcome to the Chinese Medicine Registration Board of Victoria

Whether you need to know what they are even in English I'm unsure. You will not be able to understand their use as they are prescribed according to TCM philosophy, which took me 6 years of full time study to get the jist of. You are probably better advised to focus on lovingly making babies with your partner, a relative better use of your precious energy.

Also each case is diagnosed individually according to TCM, so some people will require changes according to their menstrual cycle and have 4 different formula in the month, while others will be just as adequately be treated with a full month of the same herbal formula. This may be confusing to consumers but the outcome will be the same...generally if the formula is the optimal one for you, your fertility will improve with treatment.

Cost of treatment varies between practitioners, usually about $75 per consultation and $30 per week of formula, so the cost is comparable. If you can afford it the money is very well spent because the herbs work like adding fertiliser to your inner garden (uterus) which will help to provide nourishment for a full term pregnancy.

I hope this information has been useful and encouraging for you. Good luck with your journey

Natural Woman