PCOS Magazine

About a month ago, I was approached by the fine folks at Fairhaven Health to take a look at their products. The interesting thing is that they focus on fertility. For me personally, that’s not a huge need. HOWEVER, for many women with polycystic ovarian syndrome, issues of fertility and conception are a huge part of their lives. So I decided to give Fairhaven the benefit of the doubt and take a look at their products and let you know what I thought.

Fairhaven Health specializes in natural fertility, pregnancy and nursing products. They offer a combination of both OTC pharmaceutical supplements and non-pharmaceutical fertility and conception aids for women. They feature a number of reviews on their site from women whose doctors suggested the use of their products during the pre-natal periods.

For the sake of my review, I asked to see products of the non-pharmaceutical sort.

Pregnancy Wheel and Ovulation Calendar

For those of you women who like to take a natural approach to conception, they’ve got some really great products to choose from. For instance, I’m a rather analytical type. I like to be able to know exactly when something’s happening, or at least to be able to predict it. For those of us with PCOS, also knowing when ovulation *could* occur is a good thing. Fairhaven has produced a Pregnancy Wheel and Ovulation Calendar that spoke right to my analytical side. It allows you to adjust the wheel to your cycle length, to pinpoint when you are menstruating, when you might ovulate, and then helps you track the different phases of pregnancy. In taking a good, strong look at this wheel, I noticed it also pointed out when amniocentesis, ultrasounds, and glucose screens should be done during the pregnancy cycle. Hey, Fairhaven, can you produce one of these for my LIFE? On the back of the wheel are numerous preconception calendar tips. A great little resource!

Next up, what especially caught my interest was their yoga DVD. I used to be an intermediate yoga practitioner; it’s something that I want (and SHOULD) get back into, so anything that deals with yoga catches my interest. Their yoga DVD is entitled “Bend, Breathe, and Conceive: Fertility Yoga,” and it was produced with Anna Davis, Ph.D., RYT. Its focus is on what’s called gentle flow yoga, with guided meditation, for all levels of yoga practitioners. As a yoga practitioner, I knew about how yoga helps release toxins from the body (this is why I used to always take a big bottle of water to every yoga session I went to…so immediately following I could gulp  like it was going out of style. If I didn’t, I’d feel horrible until this stuff was flushed out). On the back of the DVD are a few great little

Bend, Breathe and Conceive DVD

kernels of information about the connections between stress and fertility. They’re a little hard to read due to the background color, but good information. The one that caught my eye, and even made me think about how stress affects my body, was “learn how daily anxieties and ‘fertility frustration’ can trigger the release of stress hormones that disrupt the health functioning of the reproductive system.” QUICK — where’s my yoga mat?

I also took a sniff (yes, a sniff) at their Fertile Flame Fertility Candle. While I’m not typically one to get really excited about aromatherapy, I have been known

Fertile Flame Fertility Candle

to seek the benefits of anything peppermint to perk me up, apples and cinnamon during the colder months to soothe me, so on and so forth. Fairhaven’s Fertile Flame is said to combine fertility-enhancing scents with the ritual of lighting candles to improve emotional and mental well-being. As frazzled as we can become from our crazy lives, something that helps you center is always welcome. The candle is a combination of three scents — chamomile, jasmine, and ylang ylang. It’s potent, but soothing, made of soy wax, in its own container. Don’t be concerned if your candle arrives and there are a few small chips of wax on the top of it. This will happen in transport. You haven’t lost much.

Fairhaven Health has a plethora of natural products that I’d be willing to try if I were in the process of trying to conceive. The company, its website, everything about it, isn’t pushy, but offers you the fullest opportunity to be present and an active part of the conception process. Their combination of both non-pharmaceutical conception aids (like specially made basal thermometers) and pregnancy and post-pregnancy items (like Dreambelly Stretch Mark Cream, Pregnancy Deoderant, and Nursing Time Tea) as well as their supplements (like Pregnancy Plus Omega-3) is refreshing. I invite you to take a look. Most of their prices seem fairly reasonable, they offer a supplement ingredient list under the “Physicians” tab of their website, and provide information about the medical advisors that work with the company in the production of their products. Nothing about this company sent up any red flags for me. They’ve put it all out there to prove to their current and potential customers that they’re here to meet your needs.

I just received my copy of “The Quest for a Child,” by psychologist Hana Konecna. Normally, this isn’t a book I’d pick up. It focuses very much so on the path from infertility to fertility and pregnancy…BUT, I have to admit, just on the first-blush page turning I’ve done since I ripped into its packaging – well, I’ve even found some insight. I definitely plan to write a more thorough review of the book later this week, for both this blog and PCOS Today, but I’m compelled to throw a few thoughts out into the vapor right now.

Obvious within just the first few chapters, this book provides a very comprehensive, and more importantly, very personal perspective on the mental, emotional and physical issues of infertility. Ms. Konecna takes both the psychological approach while regularly inserting bits and pieces of folklore about children, childlessness, and the such. “The Quest for a Child” also reads rather sequentially. Meaning, “the quest” is presented in an almost chronological format, from the beginning of a journey into infertility, through the outcomes of either pregnancy or childlessness, adding credibility throughout from both the female and male perspectives. And not only is the professional perspective presented, but tons of short but compelling commentary from those who gone through the infertility experience is provided (in statement and case study forms).

I think both couples facing the issues of infertility, as well as the professionals who work with those couples, will benefit greatly from this book. Those with PCOS, especially, understand how neglected the emotional side of infertility and hormonal disorder continue to be. Konecna’s “The Quest” breaks this barrier and, I hope, will start some very frank consideration by medical and similar professionals about the entire mind-body-spirit focus there should be on infertility (IMHO). Those who are dealing with infertility — well, I think these readers will discover a bit of anonymous support through this book; a feeling as-if “I’m not alone.”

Overall, the comprehensiveness of the book makes it a solid read. I believe there could be more breadth and depth to the author’s discussions about the CHOICE of childlessness. Then again, that may be just because that’s where my mind has been lately (see my earlier post about my choice not to seek pregnancy). All-in-all, I think Anshan Publishers UK has hit the proverbial home run on their publishing of this tome, and I see Konecna’s book being relevant for decades to come.

PCOS Today has been working with Anshan Publishers UK to let both women in the United States with PCOS/PCOD, as well as medical professionals working with PCOS/PCOD patients about their newest offerings. In Fall 2007, Anshan released “Polycystic Ovary Syndrome,” a new clinical textbook specifically on the disorder, edited by Dr. Gautam Allahbadia. This month, Anshan is release “The Quest for a Child,” written by Hana Konecna, a professional on the Faculty of Health and Social Studies, University of South Bohemia, Czech Republic. “Quest” hits on numerous topics related to infertility (including PCOS), while Dr. Allahbadia’s text focuses specifically on all aspects of PCOS. Hana Konecna’s book is entertaining, providing case studies and connections to folklore about infertility from around the world.

In the next few weeks, PCOS Today will feature both a review of “The Quest for a Child” as well as an interview with Ms. Konecna. Keep checking back!