Herbal Medicines versus Fertility Drugs

by Ruth Sharkey

Recently there has been a lot of media hype over the dangers of herbal medicines, in particular the way they are used to help couples with infertility problems.

Naturally, those who use herbs understand the way they work and therefore also know that when they are correctly prepared and formulated there are no dangers, and any side effects like rashes or nausea are immediately alleviated by discontinuing or simply lessening the dose. Since the dawn of time mankind has used plants for food, shelter, heating, hunting, and healing each other. Any student of nature knows that there are thousands of plants that have specific value. Medicinal herbalists concentrate mainly on those plants that have healing properties.

The ancient healers were trained by the wise man or woman of the village, who in turn learnt their healing skills by traditional methods passed down to them by previous generations. Today, herbal students have to study and pass many exams to become proficient in their art. They must learn all the ancient skills, as well as the active constituents in the herbs. These include all the vitamins, minerals, alkaloids, and drug properties, how these work and how to balance a formula to keep it safe.

When scientifically analysed, herbs show traces of specific alkaloids and minerals etc., which, if extracted and used individually in large doses, would produce side effects - as we have seen occur in the drug industry when the drug properties have been extracted from herbs. If these are left in the plant and blended as they are to stimulate the body to heal itself, the same substances are not only perfectly safe, but have proven their value for many thousands of years as wonderful healing agents.

In all my years as a herbalist I can honestly say I have never seen or heard of ONE baby that has been born with one solitary birth defect caused by a qualified herbalist who prepared the herbals individually, whether for conception or just to help them gain full health and thereby improve their chances of conception. So anyone who is taking herbs to increase their chances of fertility need have no fears if the formula is prepared by a recognised qualified herbalist.

By comparison, I would like to add that since the favourable media coverage of my work was shown on Channel 9 I have received hundreds of phone calls, letters, faxes, and had many personal and mail consultations from all over Australia, and many other countries as well, which has put me in the unenviable situation of being given many anecdotal accounts and results from couples who have tried the medical drugs commonly used for infertility.

If these stories are true, and I see no reason why couples would make up false medical histories when seeking help, then the drugs are an expensive dismal failure. The pain that these girls speak of is unacceptable. They say their periods are completely changed, the cycle becomes erratic, and the miscarriage rate is terribly high. Breast tenderness is often mentioned, along with mood and personality changes that almost wreck the marriage . A lot of girls mention weight gain, and a complete lack of sexual interest, which is naturally not conducive to conception.

I haven't included the surgical mishaps that some experience, or the cases of overstimulation that seem to also be quite common. As these are medical errors, brought about by the individual surgeon, they are therefore not directly caused by the drug. As such they are a separate problem.

Some couples have had one child with the drugs but are frightened of having another because of the side effects, which in many cases they are still trying to cope with. My concern is that there doesn't appear to be any research being done into the long-term effects of the drugs. When I ask the parents if anyone has asked them if there have been recurrent problems since birth, or any other questions about the fact that the child was conceived on fertility drugs, without hesitation they answer, 'no never'. It seems to me that no one seems to think it is relevant.

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