by fertility expert Mary Melling.

Traditionally in China, perspective parents would spend a year getting to their optimal health before becoming pregnant. This is a known concern in Chinese medicine that if both parents are in fantastic health both mentally and physically then they are more likely to give birth to a strong healthy baby.

And this is why:

The growing and maturating of the sperm and ovum (which combine to form an embryo – your potential baby) takes a period of 120 days. Everything that you and your partner ingest, inhale or are exposed to in that 120 days will influence the health of your eggs and sperm for better or worse, and the ultimate quality of the genetic building blocks you pass onto your child. This is why it’s crucial to follow a good preconception plan for a minimum of 4 months before conception. A baby is a 50-50 product of his or her parents — therefore optimizing the quality of eggs and sperm is of paramount importance.

In Chinese medicine we hear about the “jing”. It is hard to find a word in English that can explain this word completely but it is to do with our inherent energy – the quality of our genetic building blocks. Everyone at birth is born with their own personal levels of “jing”, which has been passed onto them via the health of their parents. This is part of their vitality but it also is a stored energy in the body…almost like our adrenal reserves. Throughout life the “jing” will remain relatively intact as long as we are not overdoing anything. If we overwork, overexercise, have too much stress, poor nutrition, too much partying etc. then our jing supply will begin to be used up. In fact, old age and some of its signs such as greying or thinning of hair, loss of hearing, wrinkling skin are all part of our reserve of jing being used up. Of course this is a natural occurrence as we grow older but imagine the good start a baby will get if it’s parents are in fantastic health and feeling completely energised in themselves, if they have an abundance of “jing”!

The other important thing to note is that the parents’ jing energy will be passed onto the baby in the form of their general health but also in the form of the baby’s stored “jing” reserves. So, parents can potentially set their children up for a long, healthy life as they pass on good jing to their children.

For this reason we love it at Paddington Clinic if we can see both potential parents before there is a pregnancy. This means we can make sure each party is in their optimal health. We do often see women who have gynaecological troubles that need to be worked on, or men who have poor sperm. Of course we do our utmost to help resolve these issues before we encourage any attempt at getting pregnant.

However, even if there are no known health problems with either potential parent, it is still important that both parties are checked to see if there is any weaknesses that can be improved. This could be clearing heavy metals from the body or detoxing generally. It may be strengthening the immune system, or any digestive weaknesses. It may also be a matter of helping with a bit of weight loss or encouraging some healthy eating habits. It is a matter of preparing for a healthy pregnancy and so eating well, sleeping well, exercising, keeping stress levels as low as possible and generally enjoying life are all also vitally important.

Although we do correct a multitude of reasons couples are not conceiving, we also feel it is imperative both potential parents are checked with the idea of getting them into fantastic health ready for a wonderful pregnancy and the healthiest baby possible, as the end result.

Over the years we have assisted in many healthy pregnancies but one couple stick in my mind because they did EVERYTHING asked of them. They came to prepare for a healthy pregnancy before they even tried to conceive. I suggested he got his sperm checked and it was sub standard. I told them to wait for at least 3 months and do everything needed to get both of their health as optimal as possible. They did everything, his sperm was re-checked and was now fantastic! They had the go ahead to try and get pregnant. The first month she was sick and after a phone call with me I suggested she wait until the following month as we wanted the baby to inherit all her wellness. They waited and the next moth she conceived!! All that good work was worth it. They now have a beautiful healthy baby girl.

Of course it is not as straight forward as this for everyone but the preparation is crucial so the baby can inherit healthy “jing” and grow into a healthy adult.