Wonderfully Made

Fertility & Infertility

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Amy Wellard, Cherie Lon Fernandez

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Series Code: WM

Program Code: WM000438


00:36 My name is Amy Wellard
00:37 I'm from the "Wildwood Lifestyle Center" in Georgia
00:40 and with me today is Dr. Cherie Lon Fernandez
00:42 Welcome Dr. Cherie Lon... Thank you
00:44 Today, we're going to be talking about a very, very sensitive
00:48 topic - fertility and infertility
00:52 Now, Dr. Cherie Lon, this is a very pertinent subject
00:55 for myself actually.
00:57 My husband and I, we tried to conceive for
00:59 several years - I think it was about 4 years
01:01 before the Lord blessed my womb, so-to-speak,
01:04 opened my womb, as the Bible says,
01:06 and blessed us with a lovely and healthy son
01:09 which I'm very thankful for.
01:10 But I can really relate to the struggle that so many women
01:14 are going through in fertility,
01:16 and not being able to conceive,
01:18 and all the struggles, emotional struggles that go with that.
01:21 So tell us, how does a woman know technically
01:25 whether she's fertile or not?
01:27 When it comes to that time, she wants to have a baby
01:29 ...how does she know if her body is going to be able to do it?
01:31 First, if you were going to go back to the previous...
01:37 if your cycles are regular, most likely, you will.
01:42 If you have a regular cycle and there are not so many
01:46 problems associated with it,
01:52 you're most likely going to have a baby,
01:54 BUT if you've been married for a year,
01:57 and you have had uncontrolled sexual intercourse,
02:05 and you've not had a baby,
02:07 you probably are infertile...
02:10 And/or if you are married and above 35 years old,
02:14 and have not had controlled sexual intercourse
02:21 for 6 months, you fall under the category of
02:24 people who are infertile.
02:27 And of course, infertility increases as we get older.
02:31 I think 35 is the point where things start becoming
02:33 a little more difficult. Yes
02:35 So typically a woman that cannot conceive...
02:41 the problem is considered hers generally.
02:44 We tend to think of the woman as being the problem,
02:46 but it could just as well be the man, is that right?
02:48 That's true... the statistics will say that
02:53 when a couple comes in for infertility workup,
02:57 you know, they have been having it one year
02:59 and they don't have a baby,
03:01 and we try and see where the problem is.
03:04 You know, I had a patient who came into my clinic one day,
03:07 and she was with several other doctors
03:10 from year after year after year - 7 years in fact...
03:14 She was going to different doctors hoping that she
03:18 could get pregnant and she came to me
03:20 and I said, "Well, where's your husband"
03:24 I tried to do follow-up on her,
03:26 but I couldn't get her pregnant for 6 months!
03:30 And I said, "Probably let's just check your husband first"
03:33 It turned out that it was her husband!
03:37 So thirteen percent, I mean one-third of infertility cases,
03:42 you can say the woman has the problem...
03:45 One-third of cases you could say the man has the problem...
03:50 And the other third is BOTH of them have problems.
03:55 So actually, the man could be
03:57 just as much the problem as the woman? Yes
03:59 Well that's news to me.
04:00 So if the man is really having some fertility issues,
04:03 what could be the cause?
04:05 Okay, there are 2 causes really, but it's just intertwined.
04:11 One is probably the man cannot produce the sperm.
04:19 There must be problems in his testicles
04:23 that sperm is not being produced.
04:25 Examples of this is - how can you get your testicles
04:31 not to produce sperm?
04:32 When you are in an environment that always hot,
04:37 you know - your body's temperature is always high,
04:42 and sperm is not produced.
04:45 When a person takes illicit drugs,
04:48 it ruins the testicles from producing sperm.
04:53 When the person wears tight Jockeys,
04:58 and it makes the hugging on the body,
05:03 increasing the temperature of the testicles,
05:07 the sperm is not made and there are so many other circumstances
05:14 ...Not even eating well and infections of the testicles
05:20 can cause the testicles not to produce sperm.
05:25 And are there any other physiological reason
05:29 from inside the man, for example - varicose veins?
05:32 Oh yes, yes, yes -
05:34 He may be able to produce the sperm.
05:38 Let's say the testicles are fine they're working fine
05:40 producing their stuff from day-to-day;
05:43 however, if the passageway of the sperm to go out
05:48 is clogged, such as they may have varicosities,
05:52 you know - varicosities that are choking
05:56 the passageway of the sperm - sperm cannot go out.
05:59 Or if he had infections in the past that would scar
06:06 the epididymis, you call that,
06:07 it's like the one that matures the sperm on top of your testes.
06:11 It's the structure before it goes into your passageway.
06:16 It can be scarred and there's no more passage.
06:19 So you have the sperm, but there's no passage,
06:22 so you don't get the sperm.
06:24 And is it possible the sperm could be mutated in some way
06:29 so that even though it arrives in the right place,
06:31 it just doesn't have the materials to make it happen.
06:35 There are, if you would look under the microscope,
06:37 and when you're doing a sperm count,
06:39 you'd see a lot of normal cells in a normal person,
06:42 but there are times when there are double-headed sperm,
06:46 and funny-looking dumbbell sperm...
06:49 And the number of that if it's increased,
06:52 if you have slow-moving, sluggish little things,
06:56 and funny-looking stuff, they can't fertilize.
07:00 Okay, so let's go back to the woman.
07:02 Let's get back to us.
07:04 What is it about us or our eggs that could
07:07 be causing us to have such a difficult time
07:09 in conceiving a baby?
07:10 Oh okay, there are 4 MAJOR causes
07:15 why women can't produce a baby...
07:19 One is like if you'd say...
07:21 the testicles cannot produce sperm;
07:24 the ovaries, on the other hand, cannot produce the eggs.
07:28 There are infectious diseases,
07:31 I mean autoimmune problems
07:33 that can cause your ovaries to scar
07:36 and/or you're having polycystic ovarian syndrome,
07:39 anovulatory cycles, hormonal imbalances
07:42 that your ovaries just don't produce the egg.
07:46 So then you will not be fertile, you don't have the egg.
07:53 So anything that can cause the ovary not to produce the egg is
07:59 one major reason why a woman can't get pregnant.
08:04 Now, when we were looking, my husband and I
08:08 we were trying to conceive,
08:09 obviously we felt that the Lord had promised us a child,
08:13 but we also felt we needed to play our part in making sure
08:17 that we had everything right and that was,
08:19 to be honest, that was when I really started to understand
08:22 some of these things that I didn't understand
08:24 when I first got married that I wish I had understood...
08:26 And one of them was in the signs that a woman has
08:29 when she's approaching ovulation.
08:31 There are certain signs that we can know,
08:33 and for those of you at home,
08:35 you can know this even if you're not even married.
08:37 You can know when you're ovulating by these body signs.
08:41 Could you tell us about those? Okay...
08:43 This ovary, when it releases the egg, you call it ovulation.
08:49 When you would have an idea more or less that you ovulated,
08:54 your ovary that supposed to give out an egg,
08:57 has released its egg,
08:59 and you are now the first cause of infertility -
09:03 you are fertile because you produced an egg.
09:07 When you produce an egg and it went out,
09:10 you call that "ovulation,"
09:12 there is a change in hormones in the body,
09:16 and especially you would have an increase in fluid.
09:21 You know, you regularly - I was told by my teacher
09:24 when I was still younger...
09:26 I wonder why they taught us in elementary...
09:29 But you would KNOW that you were ovulating
09:32 because there would be this STRETCHING OUT
09:36 of the cervical discharge.
09:38 You know, we have a discharge from day-to-day...
09:42 Maybe it would be a good habit for a lady or a woman
09:46 to look to see the discharge.
09:48 And when the discharge goes like this... like mucous,
09:53 you know, the discharge is mucousy.
09:55 If it is cheesy-like, you know,
09:57 and/or rubbery - you would say,
10:03 the sperm can't go through, it can't get to the egg...
10:06 But when it goes like this, then that means you've ovulated.
10:10 Okay, because it's stretchy...
10:12 Yeah, and if your hormones are just par.
10:15 Oh, so everything is ripe. Yes, in other words.
10:18 Ripe and ready!
10:20 Okay, so that's the time if you're wanting to conceive,
10:23 that is the time to say...
10:26 "Husband, it's time to come home"
10:29 Yes, that's the time.
10:31 And it's amazing how a little piece of information like that
10:34 can make a HUGE difference
10:35 because many of us women, when we're in high school,
10:39 we really think the only time we can conceive
10:41 is pretty much any time.
10:43 In other words, if you had any relationship with somebody,
10:45 you could get pregnant at any time in your cycle.
10:48 No, there is a specific time.
10:50 And that's a very short window of timing.
10:52 Could you tell us about that window?
10:53 Okay, the egg, when it's extruded or ovulated out
11:00 of the ovaries, has a 24-hour lifespan.
11:05 It can probably go a little bit more,
11:07 but if you would REALLY want to get pregnant,
11:12 there is a golden opportunity
11:15 to have the optimum fertilization,
11:18 and the optimum fertilized egg.
11:20 And although they say the egg lives for 24 hours,
11:24 I'd rather be very conservative
11:27 and say - the first 12 hours, after ovulation,
11:30 is the best time for conception.
11:33 The first 12 hours after ovulation...
11:37 So as soon as you get that sign,
11:39 you know you've got about 12 hours where there is a
11:42 maximal opportunity.
11:44 Actually, if the husband is close by,
11:46 it's not really a problem because our hormones
11:50 will make us more amorous.
11:53 You will just not believe it, but you will go to your
11:56 husband and be more tender...
11:58 You'd be more... you know whatever I'm getting at.
12:02 Okay! You'd be more... you'd just be nice to hour husband.
12:07 You don't know, you would not be nice to your husband
12:08 on any other time, but this time you would be.
12:12 The body is pushing you to do it.
12:15 The body is telling you... okay
12:17 So, are there any other signs?
12:20 Okay, for what? For ovulation.
12:25 When people are wanting to conceive,
12:27 very often, they will chart their body temperature...
12:30 the basal body temperature. Okay
12:32 It's a little bit of an inconvenient thing to do,
12:35 you have to do it first thing in the morning,
12:36 but how effective is it at locating ovulation?
12:40 It is really one of the important things you have to do,
12:44 because when you extrude the egg or the process of ovulation
12:49 comes, even before, progesterone
12:53 will be released slowly by your ovaries...
12:57 And when this happens, it shifts your temperature
13:00 higher by about 0.5 centigrade or maybe almost a Fahrenheit
13:08 or maybe half a Fahrenheit but half, you know.
13:12 So if you had 97.6... the average was 97.6,
13:20 every morning before you get up, before anything else,
13:25 even before drinking water or even before talking,
13:29 because when you talk wind gets into your mouth
13:31 and it cools your tongue down or whatever.
13:33 Before ANYTHING ELSE, put that thermometer in your mouth,
13:36 and take your temperature.
13:38 No drinking water.
13:40 First thing and then you plot it.
13:42 Then you take your average.
13:46 It's 97.8, let's say, or 98.
13:49 If it goes up to 98.5 and it stays there,
13:53 more or less you have ovulated.
13:56 If it stays there up to the end of the cycle,
13:58 that means you have ovulated because hormones are going up,
14:04 your progesterone is going up.
14:06 You won't have progesterone unless you ovulated.
14:09 So that combined with the cervical mucus
14:12 is a very good double confirmation
14:18 that you're ovulating.
14:19 So do that so that you don't have work so much time.
14:23 And now, as we mentioned earlier,
14:25 women that are 35 and over will perhaps not ovulate
14:29 as frequently as younger women...
14:31 But I want to say as a word of encouragement now
14:34 that there are many women over 35 that have
14:37 very healthy babies... I was one of them.
14:39 I'm very thankful. Yourself - you were one of them.
14:41 And so you don't need to give up hope.
14:44 It's very possible.
14:45 Even though the chances of conception actually
14:48 are cut by 50% every year, is that right? Yes
14:51 With each increasing year after 35,
14:53 but I found out recently that there were over
14:55 100,000 live births to women between 42 and 44
14:59 in the U.S. in 2006.
15:01 It's because they have a lot of ways to make it work.
15:03 Ways to make it work.
15:05 And so today, we're not going to be so much talking about
15:07 the conventional ways of increasing fertility.
15:09 But just tell me a little bit about other factors
15:14 that can really be compounding the situation
15:18 ...if some of our viewers are having a hard time
15:20 to conceive after a year.
15:22 For example, I had a polycystic ovarian syndrome, endometriosis
15:26 ...these things, if the woman is having issues
15:28 with these things, this could be impacting
15:30 her chances? Okay, yes
15:32 Let's deal first with, just very short, on endometriosis.
15:36 Endometriosis is the lining of the uterus
15:39 OUTSIDE of the lining of the uterus.
15:41 It may be embedded in the fallopian tubes
15:43 and/or in the pelvic cavity.
15:45 And if it were around the area of the fallopian tubes
15:49 ...when that happens the fallopian tubes scar.
15:54 Okay, they scarify and when they scarify,
15:58 you block the passage.
16:01 So sperm can't get to the egg.
16:03 So that's another factor why you can't get pregnant.
16:07 You have an egg but the egg is never fertilized
16:10 because the sperm can't get through your
16:14 scarred fallopian tubes because of your endometriosis.
16:16 And so that's another reason why you can't.
16:23 One of the main causes of endometriosis is
16:26 having painful menses, cramping pain causing
16:29 blood instead of going out this way,
16:31 goes through the fallopian tubes and implants
16:33 this endometrium outside causing
16:38 scarification of your fallopian tubes.
16:41 And just a note on that...
16:43 If you are having any of these symptoms,
16:45 we do encourage you to see your healthcare provider
16:47 or your physician and just get some clarification there
16:50 so that if that's impacting your desire to have a baby,
16:54 that really, your healthcare provider can help you with that.
16:57 Well, so what can we do about polycystic ovarian syndrome
17:03 impacting conception?
17:06 Well, polycystic ovarian syndrome manifests as
17:13 infertility - usually it is associated with an
17:17 overweight lady... can't get pregnant
17:21 and not having menses regularly.
17:24 Sometimes it's only once in a year. Oh really?
17:27 Yeah, it is a diagnosis clenched by an ultrasound
17:34 when they see the ovaries with several cysts.
17:37 They're not really cysts, they are just eggs that
17:39 have grown so big and waiting to ovulate
17:42 but have not been given a chance because of
17:44 hormonal imbalance.
17:45 The luteinizing hormone not being there
17:48 and causing the causing the release of the egg.
17:50 So all these mature or full-grown ready to burst out
17:55 are not bursting out so you don't have an egg.
17:58 And many times, polycystic ovarian syndrome,
18:00 more often than not, is a lifestyle problem.
18:04 usually associated with poor lifestyle and overweight women.
18:08 And it's on the increase along with
18:10 metabolic syndrome, diabetes... right.
18:13 So let's look on the positive side then.
18:15 Let's look at the natural remedies that we can use
18:18 to increase our fertility.
18:19 I read actually recently that evening primrose oil
18:22 can increase the amount of the cervical mucus
18:25 so that you can pinpoint more effectively
18:27 when you're ovulating which I thought was wonderful.
18:30 That's something you can just take as a supplement
18:31 with your meals. Yes
18:33 Is there anything else that we can do that will
18:35 really improve ovulation and improve the
18:38 effectiveness of the sperm getting there.
18:40 We really cannot overemphasize how important
18:43 the natural remedies are.
18:47 That's why we would want really a person who is even thinking of
18:51 getting pregnant...
18:53 You can't work on your fertility,
18:55 I think it should be in your heart...
18:58 being a woman and maybe a
19:00 young woman not yet even married.
19:02 It should already be in your heart that if you
19:05 really want a baby, you should take
19:08 of yourself at least 3 to 6 months in advance...
19:13 before you ever get married.
19:15 Because lifestyles, you know, when your body
19:18 has been "zonked" it takes time to repair.
19:24 But you can be sure that if you do take care of your body,
19:28 you get your menses regular,
19:32 your hormones will come regularly,
19:34 any inflammation can be fixed,
19:39 you're exercising, drinking water,
19:43 sleeping early, being in the sunshine
19:45 getting your vitamin D,
19:47 and ALL these... especially trusting in God
19:50 you cannot... that is very important,
19:54 and being temperate in all things...
19:56 these give you a very, very big chance.
20:00 How can you ask the Lord to bless when you are
20:03 not following His requirements?
20:06 It HAS to be that you follow the requirements
20:08 before you ask Him.
20:10 He is gracious - He gives us many times even if we don't,
20:13 but then if you're asking, wouldn't it be nice
20:15 for you to just follow the instructions?
20:18 I think that's a beautiful point you just made.
20:21 It's important that we trust God with this issue,
20:24 and that He really knows what's best for us.
20:27 If having a child is the best thing or if He has a
20:29 different plan, it's still going to be the best plan.
20:32 And I think both of us had children that was
20:35 kind of a surprise to us, because we were both
20:37 naturally not the kind of women that really
20:39 prayed to have children.
20:41 The funny thing is when you had your husband,
20:44 and you were impressed that you wanted a child,
20:47 then the Lord gave you a child. Right
20:50 My husband and I - it's a different thing.
20:52 I married my husband on the premise that
20:55 we were not going to have kids.
20:56 Is that right? Yeah! And he agreed? Yes!
20:59 And we were working on it really hard.
21:04 Really, really hard, but we can't usurp the will of the Lord
21:08 He has His ways of working in our lives,
21:12 and if it's His will... I didn't want a baby
21:16 The Lord GAVE me a baby!
21:19 I can tell you - if you want to talk to me
21:22 seriously about this, it will take a long time
21:24 I'll tell you ALL my guts!
21:25 But anyway, the Lord gave me a baby.
21:29 He just gave me a baby... Oh, I was surprised,
21:32 but I was glad.
21:34 After now, I'm really glad the Lord gave me a son.
21:38 Of course, and myself also.
21:40 And God's plans for us may not be our plans for ourselves.
21:44 But we have the promise in Romans 8:28,
21:47 "That all things work together for good
21:49 to them that love the Lord"
21:50 And so we can always claim that promise.
21:52 And I think it's interesting that many times
21:55 when we relax about this issue,
21:56 if we can talk about that... relaxing about it
21:59 It's a topic that when you want a baby,
22:01 it's so hard to relax about it.
22:03 Every time you see somebody with a baby,
22:06 it fires off those emotions, but when we can learn to relax,
22:12 it's often then that the Lord brings that blessing
22:14 because your whole body is relaxed
22:16 and the hormones are becoming into balance.
22:19 When you finally accept that the Lord has a will for you,
22:22 and, even if you don't know the will of the Lord,
22:24 it might just come... Oh! I have to tell you
22:26 this story - A friend of mine, azoospermic - zero sperm...
22:32 Oh, he had a big issue in his past... really bad
22:38 that he had zero sperm.
22:41 BUT, he was married for 12 years with zero sperm.
22:45 You won't believe, after 12 years,
22:48 he was working for the Lord as a Bible...
22:50 and he became a pastor... Bible worker was working hard
22:54 as a Bible worker, then he became a pastor.
22:57 In the 12th year of his married life, azoospermic,
23:02 the Lord gave HIM a child. Three!
23:07 Three children! Yes
23:09 But I really thought he would never have it
23:12 because I thought his thing was done.
23:14 But the Lord... He does not only open the womb,
23:18 He opens these things!
23:20 Oh, that's too beautiful.
23:22 You never know what the Lord is going to give you.
23:23 He's in control... Yes, He is in control.
23:26 And submit with all your heart.
23:28 The Lord really knows what we need.
23:30 He's so good to us and He also gives us the
23:33 information for us to take care of ourselves. Yes
23:35 And I want to pick up on a point you made earlier
23:37 about nutrition.
23:39 We hear a lot about folic acid deficiency.
23:42 and neural tube defects in infants...
23:44 Please tell us WHEN should we start folic acid supplement
23:48 if we need to do it, how do we know?
23:50 Okay I think, even before - it's very important to have a
23:54 normal folic acid already before you get into this
23:58 fertility - infertility business
24:00 because you don't want to be
24:02 taking it when you're already there.
24:03 Take it before - before, there's a lot of folic acid
24:07 in all the vegetables and all the beans and the greens
24:11 So you're eating properly and if you would want to,
24:15 you could even take a supplement
24:19 to get your folic acid up to normal.
24:22 Okay good, and what about other herbal agents
24:25 that we could use to increase fertility?
24:27 Okay, one that I can say with real certainty is back home
24:32 when I used to be practicing of taking care of a lot of
24:37 infertility patients...
24:39 We don't have a lot of the herbs you have here
24:42 in the States - you have a plethora of all the herbs,
24:44 but I had one of the best ones; it's dong quai...
24:49 Oh, we have that here also. Yeah, you do have that here.
24:53 And that was the only one I had...
24:55 Aside from the lifestyle, I was really strict with the
24:57 lifestyle - followed these instructions to the T
25:00 ...And on top of that, I'd give dong quai.
25:03 Now, dong quai helps regulate the menstrual cycle...
25:07 Even for the man, it also helps his hormones
25:10 so that he is able to make the right, the optimum,
25:14 the best sperm and the best egg for both of them.
25:17 Oh, so you're saying the man takes the dong quai
25:19 as well as the lady. As well - yes
25:20 If the man has problems, he could take the dong quai as well
25:23 And do you have some experiences where you can testify
25:26 that that really helped them. Yes, a lot of times...
25:28 A lot of times - many patients because I was the only one
25:32 who was going into natural remedies around...
25:36 I mean, the other doctors wouldn't do it.
25:38 They would just go straight to the drugs.
25:41 Well I usually started first with the natural remedies,
25:45 and then if I couldn't work on these natural remedies,
25:48 I'd go to the last resort which were the drugs.
25:50 But many, if not more then they would get
25:53 pregnant here instead of there!
25:55 Now there are some who don't believe in natural remedies!
25:59 So then they go straight to... It's funny!
26:01 But these ones on the natural get pregnant
26:05 faster than the ones here.
26:07 I just don't know but that's what I found out.
26:11 And you know, Dr. Cherie Lon,
26:12 for some people, the issue isn't just having a baby,
26:15 but it's really wanting a girl or really wanting a baby boy,
26:20 and if you're at home and the gender selection is
26:23 really an issue for you, we'd just like to
26:26 just touch on this just briefly that there are ways
26:28 physiologically that you can increase your chances of
26:30 getting the gender that you actually want.
26:32 Can you tell us about that?
26:34 In my practice, this is 100%...
26:37 If when you ovulate, you have your sexual contact
26:42 on that day and not 3 days before, at least 3 days before,
26:46 you will get a boy.
26:48 So if I'm ovulating today, I didn't have sexual contact
26:51 within 3 days of my ovulation, I get a boy.
26:54 IF I have contact around 3 days prior to my ovulation,
26:59 I get a girl and I don't have contact on ovulation.
27:03 Contact before ovulation gives you a girl.
27:06 Contact ON ovulation gives you a boy.
27:08 There is this theology behind it
27:10 and I believe it's true because I've seen it over and over again
27:15 Well that's very exciting to know that.
27:16 Of course it relies on the fact that you have a regular
27:19 28-day cycle or that you ovulate when you know
27:23 you're going to ovulate so you can pinpoint that. Yes
27:25 But even if you don't prayer can cover it
27:29 and we know that Jesus will give us the gender
27:31 that He knows is best for us. Exactly!
27:33 And so we can just give Him thanks for the decision
27:36 that He is going to make. Boy or a girl
27:37 ...is out of our control ultimately... That's true.
27:40 Dr. Cherie Lon, thank you so much for joining us
27:43 on the program today. You're welcome, my pleasure.
27:44 And we trust that you have been blessed
27:46 with this information today, and I've learned something.
27:49 And, I hope it going to be of help to you -
27:51 ladies and to your husbands...
27:53 And as you go on this journey of seeing God's will
27:57 for you and whether to expand your family or even just to have
28:00 your first child, put it into His hands, trust Him.
28:04 He knows what you need and He has promised to provide it.
28:07 God bless you.


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Revised 2014-12-17