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MY APPROACH
Understanding the whole fertility picture
Fertility rarely comes down to one piece of information. Your cycle, reproductive history, general health, previous investigations, your partner's fertility and any treatment or condition you have can all form part of the picture.
But there is another part of the experience too: how fertility is affecting you, the decisions you're making, the beliefs and fears that may have developed along the way, and the ways you've learned to cope with uncertainty.
My approach brings these different parts together. I look carefully at what may be happening physically, while also paying attention to the person experiencing it.
Two parts of the same picture
When fertility becomes difficult, it is understandable for much of the attention to go towards the physical side: cycles, hormones, scans, test results, sperm, IVF protocols and what might be happening biologically.
Those things matter, and they form an important part of how I assess your fertility picture.
But fertility doesn't happen separately from the person going through it. Months or years of trying, uncertainty, loss, difficult treatment or conflicting advice can change how you think, feel and respond. Decisions can become harder. Fear can begin to shape choices.
You may find yourself trying to control things that once required very little thought.
I don't assume that everyone struggling with fertility needs emotional or therapeutic work. But when that part of the picture is affecting you, I don't think it should be ignored either.
Physical fertility health and the experience of living through fertility difficulties are different parts of the picture, but I believe they are best understood together.
Look broadly. Think selectively.
Looking at the whole picture doesn't mean investigating everything or assuming that every possible factor needs treatment.
I want to understand what has already been investigated, what the results may mean in context, what hasn't been looked at and whether there are areas that deserve a closer look.
Sometimes that means making better sense of information you already have.
Sometimes something in your history or results raises a question that hasn't been considered before.
And sometimes there is no reason to investigate an area further.
The same applies to the emotional side. I don't assume that every fear needs analysing, every belief needs changing or every difficult fertility experience needs trauma work.
The aim is to understand enough to know where our attention may actually be useful.
From assessment to a plan
What we do next depends on what we find.
Acupuncture may form an important part of your care. Depending on your circumstances, we may also discuss questions to take back to your fertility clinic or GP, areas that could warrant further investigation, or referral to another professional where something falls outside my scope.
And when the emotional side of fertility is affecting how you're coping, making decisions or experiencing treatment, we can work with that too. My background in psychology, Cognitive Hypnotherapy, NLP and trauma-informed therapeutic approaches gives me a range of ways of working, rather than assuming the same approach will suit everyone.
The point isn't to use everything I know.
It's to work out what is relevant to you.
Where do we start?
The first step is to book an initial consultation.
This gives us time to go through your fertility history, what has happened so far, what you already know and what you're unsure about. We can look at any relevant results or previous treatment, talk about where you are now, and begin to work out what may deserve a closer look.
You don't need to arrive knowing what the next step should be. That's what the first appointment is for.
Erika Fodor Therapies provides complementary and supportive care for women and couples trying to conceive, including those preparing for or undergoing IVF treatment. We do not provide IVF or assisted reproductive technologies. Acupuncture is provided as complementary care alongside, rather than as a replacement for, appropriate medical care.
Testimonials represent individual experiences and are not guarantees of outcome.