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Spring 2007 Newsletter
From the Director
Choosing to make a baby is an action of the
heart. Facing fertility struggles is a test of the heart. Being
a parent is a constant experience of heart opening and surrender.
Sometimes when we are on the journey of bringing children into
our lives we can get tight and constricted as we try to do everything
we can to make it happen. The out of control feelings of not having
our heart’s greatest wish fulfilled can stimulate the urge
to overcome such a possible truth. Fertility challenges are some
of the greatest challenges a person, a couple can ever face. The
challenge can easily bring us to a place of questioning everything
in life – including the meaning of life itself.
This is a place that
is not easily understood by those who have never experienced such
challenges. It can be a completely consuming and lonely journey.
This year I have not
confronted fertility challenges, but I have experienced serious
health challenges, including heart trouble. This has led me to
return to my heart and to bring into focus what my heart holds
most dear. Life is what we bring to it and how we experience what
we are given to work with. It is a humbling lesson to learn and
yet a crucial one for happiness.
If you are on the journey
of bringing children – or the joy you feel they will represent
– into your life, stay the course. What I mean by that is
– stay true to your heart’s desire. When you get side-tracked
into the obsessive parts of the journey, pull back into yourself
again and renew the source that is driving you. Renew your partnership
if you have one. Do what is not instinctual and yet vital –
keep the well full. Children are one of life’s greatest
joys, but they are not the only one. Do not give away the life
you are living now – tempting though it is – to the
challenges of getting pregnant. Live your life simultaneously.
Bring close to you the things that currently bring you love, joy,
and a sense of inner peace and satisfaction.
Let the journey guide
you, but do not give up yourself along the way. When you notice
you have done so, go back and find yourself before moving on.
Remember, children will not make you or complete you – that
is for you to do. Children will change you, but love and joy are
available every day. When we live from this place, it become less
important where we end up. Some of us are blessed with ease of
conception, pregnancy, and birth. Some of us are not. Some of
us will be parents. Some of us will not. Be true to yourself.
Take care of your heart.
~ Stephanie
Classes & Support Groups
Coming up in April, May, June...
Support Groups:
· Queer/Trans/Intersex Prospective Parents
· Single Prospective Moms
· Butch Moms and Lesbian Dads
· LGBT Parent and Baby Group
· Support Group for Parents of Gender Variant Children
For a full listing & dates, click
here >
Classes:
· So You Want to Make a Baby... Getting Pregnant 101
· Childbirth Classes for LGBT Families
For a full listing & dates, click here
>
How does MAIA Fertility Tea actually work?
As many of you know, nutrition and herbal healing
are a significant pillar of MAIA’s fertility enhancement.
Our Fertility Tea is equal parts red raspberry, nettles, and red
clover, a synergistic blend of nutritive herbs that are specific
to the reproductive system. We like to make things fun by adding
flavored stevias and goji berries to our blends at home.
A little bit of history: MAIA Fertility Tea
originated as a pregnancy tea. People who drank the tea regularly
throughout pregnancy had remarkably little blood loss during birth,
a true attest to the quality and function of these herbs! Gradually
we began to realize that this blend is also perfect for fertility
and the preconception period. With regular use, it became evident
that the tea was regulating cycles, increasing fertile mucus,
and alleviating menstrual cramps. For women who are in the later
years of their fertile lifespan, the hormonal regulation offered
by these herbs is essential. We have also used the tea successfully
in transmen who are coming off testosterone and encouraging menstrual
cycles to resume and regulate in preparation for pregnancy.
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Red raspberry leaves (Rubus
idaeus) are an excellent uterine tonic, serving to strengthen
and tone the muscles and endometrial lining of the uterus,
as well as other reproductive organs. They contain a substance
called fragrine, which has a special affinity for the muscles
of the pelvic area. Of special note are the rich concentration
of vitamin C, vitamins A and E, and easily assimilated forms
of calcium and iron. Raspberry leaves are especially known
for B vitamins, which may help with nausea in first trimester
of pregnancy.
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Nettles (Urtica dioica) strengthen and
nourish the uterus and body. It also tones the blood, especially
by providing large amounts of readily absorbed iron and
vitamin C. They also help increase the transportation of
waste products from the blood and improve the functioning
of the kidneys. Vitamins A, D, K, potassium, phosphorous,
and sulphur are also abundant in nettles.
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Red Clover (Trifoliium pratense) is known
for its ability to balance hormones. It is a rich source of
calcium, magnesium, and trace minerals and supports various
hormone-producing glands. Red clover also relaxes the nervous
system, and nourishes the whole reproductive system. |
Making Fertility Tea:
Always try to purchase or harvest organic herbs.
Put a small handful of the herbs in a one-quart glass jar. Fill
it with boiling water and cover with a lid or saucer. Let it steep
for a minimum of four hours; overnight is preferable. Strain the
leaves out and store the tea in the refrigerator, where it will
stay fresh for three to four days. Drink one to four cups daily,
throughout the entire cycle and continuing through pregnancy and
breastfeeding. It can be enjoyed cold, room temperature, or gently
warmed on the stove. Avoid microwaving. For those of you who enjoy
sweetness with your tea, try adding several drops of stevia to
your brew. Stevia is an herbal tincture that has no calories or
carbohydrates. It has a very concentrated sweetness, so start
out with a few drops, taste, and add more if needed. SweetLeaf
brand liquid stevia makes some fantastic naturally flavored stevias.
Our favorite flavor to add to our fertility tea at MAIA is apricot.
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Goji berries, also known as
wolfberries, are one of the most nutritious fruits on the
planet, with 18 different amino acids, including all 8 essential
amino acids. They contain 21 trace minerals, including zinc,
iron, copper, calcium, germanium, selenium, and phosphorous.
Goji berries also boast vitamins B1, B2, B6, C, and E. Goji
berries fortify the immune system, and have traditionally
been regarded as a longevity, strength-building, and potency
food of the highest order. They taste somewhat like a cross
between a cranberry and a cherry. Try adding a handful of
goji berries to your quart-jar of dried herbs when you brew
your tea! |
Another way to enjoy
goji berries is to make a simple trail mix. At MAIA, we encourage
our clients to keep their blood sugar levels steady by eating
every few hours, and trail mix is an easy snack to keep handy
as it travels well. Use any or all of the following with goji
berries: pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds, walnuts, raisins,
dried blueberries, shredded coconut, dried pineapple, dried apple
. . . the possibilities are many! Remember to buy organic whenever
possible.
Trace Minerals Really Get Your Motor Runnin’
Trace minerals are not merely nutrients—they
are actually conductors and generators of electrical impulses
within the body. Because of the way that minerals interact with
one another and with the body itself, minerals are literally the
“powerful” link between the food you eat and your
body’s ability to work the way it is meant to.
In the body, minerals
take the form of charged particles, or “ions.” Ions
have positive or negative electrical signatures that interact
with one another to create proper fluid balance within the body,
to move nutrients to the areas where they are needed most, and
to enable the functioning of the entire nervous system. Mineral
intake can affect the digestion and assimilation of nutrients
from all of the foods we eat.
In terms of fertility,
proper mineral balance is necessary for sperm and egg health,
pH of body fluids, hormonal secretion, enzyme function, and DNA
synthesis. During pregnancy, minerals are directly responsible
for blood pressure regulation, blood clotting factors, effective
uterine contractions in labor, transportation of oxygen to the
growing baby, blood sugar regulation, and proper formation of
all of the baby’s bodily systems.
Life in the modern world
is hard on the human body, and the more years you have lived the
more damage has been done Our foods are highly processed and our
crops are grown in overtaxed soil that is saturated with mineral-binding
fertilizers. Simply put, the nutritional value on our modern plates
is not what it once was. Add to this the regular dose of toxic
heavy metals we take in due to environmental pollution, and you
have a recipe for body degeneration. When the body has access
to adequate balanced mineral intake, all body systems can function
to their peak ability.
This includes the body’s
ability to care for itself, as trace minerals also have the ability
to bind to heavy metals and carry them out of the body All of
which is especially important for older women.
An ionic mineral supplement, in addition to an organic, whole
foods diet, can support the body in ridding itself of heavy metals
while ensuring proper mineral balance. Healthy human mineral ratios
mimic that of the earth’s oceans, which is why supplements
that are derived from ocean waters or oceanic deposits are most
useful for providing balanced mineral supplementation. One online
source is www.traceminerals.com.
Good food sources of
trace minerals are seaweed, especially kelp and dulse, Himalayan
salt, nutritional yeast, spirulina, and organically grown mushrooms,
whole grains, green leafy vegetables, eggs, almonds and goji berries
(see our Fertility Tea article in this newsletter for more ideas
about goji berries.)
MAIA Out and About
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See our article on Getting
Pregnant over 40 in Jane and Jane magazine's May 2007 issue.
www.janeandjane.net |
· Stephanie is organizing the first ever
conference for families of gender variant children, Gender Odyssey
Family, held in Seattle over Labor Day weekend.
http://www.transconference.org/family/fam_details.htm
· You can catch us at The Sperm
Bank of California on April 21 at noon for a resource group on
Preconception Planning.
http://www.thespermbankofca.org/resources/resourcegroups.html
From all of us at MAIA
Stephanie Brill, Director
Kristin Kali, LM CPM
Kristina Wingeier, Office Manager
MAIA is at a wonderful place in the moment.
We have welcomed Kristin Kali, LM CPM into our practice. Kristin
has worked with hundreds of families in the process of creating,
gestating, birthing, and parenting new babies. Both her professional
work, and her life experience as a lesbian mother in a large blended
family, make her a perfect addition to MAIA’s staff.
Kristin is delighted to be providing preconception
consultations and leading many of our support groups and classes.
She has especially enjoyed bringing her passion for the transformative
qualities of birth to our Childbirth Classes for LGBT Families.
Many of you may have recently spoken with one
of our current interns as we updated our client files. Allison
McCallum is a midwifery student at Ryerson University in Toronto.
Her intensive two week session at MAIA brought light and inspiration
to us, as well as lots of hard work and much to show for it. Thanks
Allison, we will miss you! Alex Holding is an aspiring midwife
and a recent graduate of Smith College. She has a passion for
trans advocacy and unlearning sexism within queer communities.
Welcome Alex!
Client interest has requested that we bring
back the amazing support groups and classes that MAIA has been
known for in the past. We are excited to be doing so. Classes
and support groups are a way of deepening the information and
support available to you through this unique time of life. Historically
our classes and support groups have formed long-term bonds and
community in the attendees. They are also a cost effective means
of getting access to the wealth of information we hold at MAIA
from having worked with so many families throughout this time
of life.
For those of you that are not aware, our chart
review process has really taken off. Since timing is an integral
part of the insemination journey, it can be extremely valuable
to have expert advice along the way. For three months following
each consult, we will review your fertility chart and respond
with timing and fertility enhancement advice that is specific
to you. If we haven’t seen you for a while, coming back
in for a half hour consult will renew your access to this helpful
service.
Many clients also utilize our paging service
for immediate insemination timing decisions. A short telephone
conversation can help you decipher your fertility signs and inseminate
in line with peak fertility. For many, a reassuring word during
a time of stressful decision-making is exactly what is needed
to proceed with confidence and calm into the heartspace of creating
family.
~ Stephanie, Kristin and Kristina
Archived Newsletters
Spring 2007
> June
2007 > August
2007 >
MAIA
Midwifery & Preconception Services :: 925-253-0685
info@maiamidwifery.com
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