Our approach to fertility...
With a medical profession that still classes women who have their first baby after the age of 30 as ‘elderly’ primagravida, Elizabeth believed there to be a widespread fear that if you were over 35 and female that time really was running out. Elizabeth chose to introduce her own approach to challenge some traditional medical thinking around fertility, and argued that psychological and emotional factors, rather than age, had much more influence on a woman's chances of conceiving.
Elizabeth’s approach is flexible and totally different to the existing mechanistic outlook on fertility, pregnancy and childbirth. It is based on the latest scientific discoveries on mind and body connection from the area of molecular emotions. It postulates that mind manifests itself in the body and the reproductive system is no exception. Emotional and psychological issues, the circumstances of our lives affect our bodies and manifest themselves in physical symptoms even if we are not consciously aware of it. Through a tiny part of the brain known as hypothalamus the emotions are linked with the functioning of the pituitary gland and the production of hormones vital to reproduction.
In an interview with the Sunday Times newspaper, Elizabeth Muir explains her own approach to fertility:
‘For many career women, the concept of motherhood often conflicts with their professional life, although a lot of this ambivalence is subjective, which is why hypnotherapy is so effective. Also, the more successful women are professionally, the worse they feel when they cannot get pregnant quickly.
So I have created an approach that introduces hypnotherapy as a safe and powerful tool for helping women increase their chances of fertility.
Hypnotherapy works on the premise that there are two states of consciousness - the conscious and the subconscious - which may be at odds with each other. In many cases, the subconscious can alter the body's biochemistry and while a woman might consciously want a baby, her subconscious may be stopping her from getting pregnant.’
Despite having no scientific evidence to support her theories, Elizabeth even believes that, if women have a psychological block towards having a baby, the body will manifest this resistance in conditions such as endometriosis or polycystic ovaries, both of which reduce fertility.
‘Most of the women I see have psychosomatic infertility related to conflicts or unresolved issues about having a baby. A combination of counselling and hypnotherapy can remove these problems.
Hypnosis also affects the area of the brain known as the hypothalamus. This is the neural centre at the base of the brain, which is linked to the pituitary gland and which controls the flow of hormones. The hypothalamus is highly sensitive to stress and acts as a bridge between the emotional and the physical, turning emotional messages into physical responses that then affect hormone levels.
I firmly believe that women in our society suppress their natural fertility. They worry about not having enough money or a big enough house, or that having a baby will spoil their career. Most of these anxieties are imaginary, but they need to be reconciled in order to have a baby.’
How our approach can help
The approach offers: (i) a fertility programme and (ii) a pregnancy and childbirth programme.
FertilityThe fertility programme derives its origins from an initial research project conducted in a West London hospital several years ago, when women who had previously experienced years of infertility were undergoing IVF procedures combined with the use of hypnotherapeutic interventions. The results were very promising in terms of live births.
Following the project, the Fertility Enhancement Therapy Group was established which created the foundation for Elizabeth Muir’s Clinic. The Clinic continues in developing the treatment further. The work is carried out in liaison with other practitioners, constantly improving the present rate of success of 45 per cent. This figure is based on live births which resulted from conceptions which took place within ten sessions of the programme or within one year since completion of the programme.
According to the programme, psychosomatic infertility, very often referred to as ‘medically unexplained infertility’ is assumed to be a natural contraceptive which activates itself when conception or motherhood present a threat to a woman’s survival. It is assumed that it is caused by specific factors which produce unconscious fears and emotions which impair the reproductive ability.
Apart from primary causes of infertility there are secondary factors such as depression, low self esteem, and a sense of failure experienced by women with a history of unsuccessful infertility treatments, women with recurrent miscarriages and also those who already have one child but find it difficult to conceive the second one. Those secondary factors contribute negatively to the existing situation.
Pregnancy and Childbirth
It is a wish of every expectant mother to take good care of her baby preferably from the moment of its conception or even before. Those good intentions are very often overshadowed by fears about (i) losing the pregnancy very pronounced in those women who have previously experienced recurrent miscarriages, (ii) giving birth, stemming from a general belief that birth is a painful and traumatic process, (iii) about coping with a new baby, etc.
The pregnancy programme together with childbirth training, provides assistance with those and any other emotional or psychological issues related to pregnancy and childbirth. It also provides nutritional guidance and help to the expectant mother. The purpose of both is to create a healthy, happy and comfortable environment that enhances mother’s and baby’s health.
Why our approach is successfulThe programme is individually designed and tailored to the requirements of the client according to her set of circumstances.
The programme embraces both body and mind. It represents a unique combination of psychological interventions together with clinical hypnotherapy. It focuses specifically on the issues related to infertility, pregnancy and childbirth. It is not a psychotherapy treatment but rather is designed to address primary and secondary causes of infertility.
The hypnotherapeutic interventions included in this programme have been previously researched and are designed to access and resolve those issues which are related to conception and motherhood. Those issues may stem from experiences in the past, present or even future. Examples include fear, sense of guilt, ambiguity towards motherhood, ambiguity towards life partner, fear of childbirth.
Hypnosis is a natural and powerful therapeutic tool which allows the intervention to take place on physical and mental level. During the state of hypnosis, biochemical changes take place in the body, for instance the production of endorphins (morphine-like substances which are naturally produced by the body increases) creating a state of comfort.
The programme is also designed to counteract side effects of ‘infertility experience’ such as the emotional and mental devastation, obsession with constant checking of ovulation and on constant preoccupation with the baby issue which takes over life in general.