A practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine for more than 30 years, Angela C. Wu, LAc, OMD, provides true client stories of successful pregnancies throughout her book Fertility Wisdom. Recipes, exercises, herbal recommendations and more are included in Wu’s program to help readers conceive. Her book is easy to read, non-judgmental, and does not talk over the reader’s head.
Wu grew up in China and endured a failed first marriage, a miscarriage, the loss of an infant and postpartum hemorrhaging. It wasn’t until her near-death experience after the birth of her youngest that she decided to study Traditional Chinese Medicine.
After her education Angela Wu opened her own practice in China and later immigrated to San Francisco, California where she opened a practice in 1978. Wu founded the Chinese Healing Studies Program at the San Francisco State University in 1980. Her work with Western medicine fertility experts has allowed Wu to bridge the gap between an ancient form of healing and modern medicine – an integration that is slowly being adopted by Acupuncturists in the United States.
Beginning the Journey
In part one of Fertility Wisdom Wu encourages the reader to take a fresh approach to conception by preparing the mind, body and spirit for a pregnancy much like preparing a garden. In this section of the book the reader will explore:
- Viewing the opposite sex’s strengths and working together as a couple using Yin and Yang philosophies.
- How to create harmony through the five elements: wood, fire, earth, metal and water.
- The way a Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner will diagnose conditions specific to the five elements and how it is significantly different from a Western medicine diagnosis.
- Questions to ask whether the reader and his/her partner are ready for a child and how to attract new life.
Balancing and Harmonizing
The second part of Fertility Wisdom is the step by step program that Wu has created. She begins with tips for sleeping, eating, exercising and many other aspects of day to day life. In the first few pages of part two Wu emphasizes activities to avoid when trying to conceive such as air travel, vigorous exercise and acupressure points found near the shoulders.
In chapter four the reader will explore Traditional Chinese Medicine’s approach to eating when trying to conceive or when pregnant. Seasonal diets, raw foods, the energies of various foods and what makes food fertility-friendly are explored in this chapter.
Chapter five is all about acupressure. Point locations and ways to apply pressure to them are given in detail to achieve balance when trying to conceive.
In chapter six Wu teaches her readers how to meditate using Taoist philosophies including the inner smile and the six healing sounds.
Qi Gong exercises are the focus of chapter seven where the reader will try such exercises as ovarian breathing, the bone marrow inner smile, and warm ups and cool downs. Illustrations give examples of positions to guide readers through the various exercises.
Chapters eight and nine introduce moxa, a type of herb used to bring heat to certain acupressure points, and Feng Shui, a way of direction qi, or energy, through one’s home through decorating and furniture placement, respectively.
Cultivating Partnerships
Part three of Fertility Wisdom is all about choosing the right practitioners to work with – both in Eastern and Western medicine practices. Chapter ten provides an overview of what to expect when going to a Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner. Ways to integrate Eastern medicine into a Western medicine program are discussed in chapter eleven including how to improve upon previous unsuccessful fertility interventions with Eastern medicine approaches.
Fertility Wisdom is available through Rodale publishers, ISBN 1-59486-137-4.
Further Reading:
Infertility And Traditional Chinese Medicine
The Influence Of Nutrition On Fertility
