Did you happen to see this Time article last year on increased miscarriage rates associated with the use of antidepressant drugs?  I was struck not by the findings or the data around the drugs – after all, most pharmacologic agents are discouraged during pregnancy – but I was struck by a comment specifically referring to the data collection and the elevated rates of miscarriage in women suffering from depression:

“…the study was an observational one that looked retrospectively at data already collected, which means that it's possible that some part of the miscarriage risk picked up by Bérard can be ascribed to depression itself rather than the drugs used to treat it. Indeed, the authors acknowledge that some past research has shown that women who are depressed during pregnancy are at increased risk of spontaneous abortion.”

What leaped off the page to me was the straightforward fact that depressed women have an elevated miscarriage risk.  The article did not dive into depression itself, which is obviously a multi-layered, complex human health risk. 

What my own mind immediately jumped to however, is something I see repeatedly in my practice as a fertility specialist—that women suppressing their fears or ambivalence around having children often have the longest and most difficult time achieving pregnancy.  It’s almost like their efforts are on one track and their spirit/emotion is on another, and perhaps, her body is confused.

I can’t count how many times I’ve seen a woman be courageous enough to admit and wrestle with her fears around parenting, or around her body changing, only to fall pregnant once she gets that honest and lets herself off the hook for being ….for being, well, human!

With children, and even in pregnancy, almost everything about life changes. Why wouldn’t this cause self-doubt? Don’t we humans often “want things both ways?”  It’s normal!  A woman can deeply want a child and be terrified she won’t know what to do, or be bad at parenting, or afraid she’ll resent not having control of her time anymore. This is only the beginning of a very long list of mental crimes she can convict herself of.

Many women facing fertility struggles have somehow drunk the KoolAid that you have to stay positive and be doubt-free in order to conceive. My experience as a fertility specialist is just the opposite.  When women open their hearts to ALL of who they are and ALL of their feelings, somehow the body relaxes into a higher state of fertility.  After all, she is birthing—herself!  Life begets life.  Somehow, when she permits herself all of herself, things start to change.  Always for the better.

Depression is painful and complex, and the treatment of it is often complicated as well. I do not pretend otherwise. This article is not about that.  I simply share with you all a moment of mental leapfrog I had while reading the article in Time, and my experience helping women bring forth their children. 

And it represents a wish for all on the fertility journey -- for the abundance and peace that comes from making room for ALL of who you are.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1992988,00.html#ixzz0rzCYHgFm

Elizabeth Carpenter, MS, L.Ac., CEFP, Founder and Director of Oriens

I’m Dutch, German and Irish— so how could I not be a potato freak?  I like them roasted and scalloped, baked, mashed and stuffed, au gratin, steamed, grated, parboiled, plain and in any sauce served.  And of course, as chips and fries.

My dad likes to joke that if I’m ever autopsied, they’ll find chips.

Segue to my professional life in women’s health….gynecology and reproductive health, fertility, body image, eating issues and women’s identity concerns, aging. 

I once had a dream that I was lying on a gurney outside an operating room in a hospital with hundreds of IV’s leading out of my arm transporting my blood into the OR where women were giving birth and having miraculous recoveries.  This doctor comes out of the OR and says, “I need a sample of your blood. I want to know what’s in it that’s making all these women well.”  So he comes back with his report and shows it to me and tells me my bloodwork is perfect except for one thing:  I’m high in potatoes.

My husband loves this dream. He says it’s my conscience playing with me when I’m overboard on the chips.  He says I hold my chip bag like its gold bullion, protecting it lest anyone try to wrest it from me.

So what if chips and fries have evil hydrogenated oils, which are not only carcinogens but contribute to neurodegeneration—both of which relate to arachidonic acid metabolism and tumor initiation.  Once you know anything about fried food, it’s kind of hard to choose it on the menu.  And Did I mention artery clogging?

I’m good with the fries. It’s the chips that undo me.  Even if you can dismiss the hidden health risks from your mind in a chip-fever, there’s still what I call the “butt-enhancing” effect.   Potatoes are in the same category as pasta and bread:  in the mouth, straight to the thighs.

So as my incredible assistant – Liz—and I were trying to assuage our guilt around this afternoon’s butt-enhancing, cancer risking, artery clogging, brain degenerating snack, she turned to me and said, “We’ll just have to take the karmic view, it might be killing us now, but we’ll live again.”

Belly laughs between us.

At Oriens we layer the 80/20 rule with the Pleasure Principle when it comes to food.  80 percent of the time you make choices that build your health and a super solid foundation that can’t be rocked by anything you do with that other 20 percent.  The Pleasure Principle states that food and eating should be enjoyable…pleasure is a nutrient.  So when Kathryn Flynn builds the Oriens Weight Optimization programs or her Hormone Balance meal plans, or develops any kind of Nutrition protocol for our clients, she’s always making sure you will LOVE your food.

For me, potatoes are here to stay…and are a staple on my 20% list.  Yum!

Elizabeth Carpenter, MS, L.Ac., CEFP, Founder and Director of Oriens

PS:  Although I am a big advocate of 80/20 – remember what the 80 really means. Attend to your nutrition, and exercise, and choose a lifestyle that reduces stress and  entertains all the feelings and identity shifts around this issue and this time of one’s life.  (At Oriens, we always feature the Big 4 of self care: Nutrition, Acupuncture, MAM, and Spiritual Counseling.) And LOVE the 20 – it’s a vital part of THIS amazing life!

About Elizabeth Carpenter:  I maintain an ongoing dialogue with collaborators, mentors and role models in my commitment to women’s health and women’s issues. Specialties: Patient Evaluation & Program Planning, Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine, Bowen Therapy, Natural Facelift Alternatives