From Publishers Weekly
Lewis, a licensed acupuncturist and herbalist, believes infertile couples should turn to Chinese medicine as an alternative to what she considers painful, invasive and time-consuming Western treatments. She first explains, "Traditional Chinese medicine holds that a woman's body must be gently nourished and encouraged to bear fruit.... I have found that most hormonal imbalances (which contribute to 40 percent of documented cases of infertility, yet are considered untreatable by conventional Western medicine) respond to Eastern methods of treatment." In Lewis's experience, women who have undergone three to six months of the dietary changes, herbs and acupuncture treatments become pregnant with no further effort. Lewis intersperses her somewhat technical examination of the program with anecdotes about her patients, weaving in discussions on diet, herbal supplements, acupuncture, older women and problems related to infertility. Lewis writes well and simplifies many complex concepts, such as the theory that there are four vital substances in the body (Yin, Yang, Qi and Blood), and that they're likely to be suffering from imbalance caused by energy excess, deficiency or stagnation. However, she trusts that her view is the solution for all infertile couples. Readers with infertility issues may well benefit by adopting some of Lewis's strategies, but they would also be wise to discuss her approach with their doctors before abandoning their current treatments. 41 line drawings. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Dr. Randine Lewis offers you a natural way to support your efforts to get pregnant. In The Infertility Cure, Dr. Lewis outlines her simple guidelines involving diet, herbs, and acupressure so that you can make use of her experience and expertise to create a nurturing, welcoming environment for a healthy baby. The Infertility Cure opens the door to new ideas about treating infertility that will dramatically increase your odds of getting pregnant -- the natural way. Aggressive infertility treatments used widely in the United States have about a 20 percent success rate. A recent study shows that when traditional Chinese medicine is combined with in vitro fertilization, the odds of conception and healthy pregnancy increase by 50 percent. Dr. Randine Lewis's The Infertility Cure is the first book to offer an alternative for treating infertility that incorporates traditional Chinese medicine -- a simple regimen of acupressure, diet, and Chinese herbs that can dramatically increase your chances of getting pregnant.

At her Houston clinic, Dr. Lewis has had an astonishing 75 percent success rate in helping women become pregnant using traditional Chinese medicine. With The Infertility Cure, Lewis helps women understand infertility and outlines effective, natural ways to conceive. Based on techniques and remedies drawn from Eastern medicine, Lewis's program shows you how to improve your overall health and well-being, strengthen the organs and systems vital to reproduction, heal specific conditions that may affect your fertility, and even support Western-based reproductive technologies such as in vitro fertilization and hormone therapy. The first step is an extensive health questionnaire that determines each woman's individual diagnostic category. Next, a combination of diet, acupressure, and Chinese herbs brings the body back into balance and creates a welcoming physical and emotional environment for a healthy pregnancy. All of Dr. Lewis's recommendations are techniques that a woman can easily do herself or with the help of a partner.

Dr. Lewis turned to traditional Chinese medicine for her own fertility problems after a battery of invasive methods to conceive proved unsuccessful -- she not only got pregnant easily but left medical school and spent the next two years immersed in the study of Eastern medicine, working at China's premier hospital for reproductive health and treating hundreds of women struggling with infertility. Drawing on Dr. Lewis's passion and expertise, The Infertility Cure offers a safe and proven approach that will give women hope as well as what they desire most -- a healthy baby.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Lewis, a licensed acupuncturist and herbalist, believes infertile couples should turn to Chinese medicine as an alternative to what she considers painful, invasive and time-consuming Western treatments. She first explains, "Traditional Chinese medicine holds that a woman's body must be gently nourished and encouraged to bear fruit.... I have found that most hormonal imbalances (which contribute to 40 percent of documented cases of infertility, yet are considered untreatable by conventional Western medicine) respond to Eastern methods of treatment." In Lewis's experience, women who have undergone three to six months of the dietary changes, herbs and acupuncture treatments become pregnant with no further effort. Lewis intersperses her somewhat technical examination of the program with anecdotes about her patients, weaving in discussions on diet, herbal supplements, acupuncture, older women and problems related to infertility. Lewis writes well and simplifies many complex concepts, such as the theory that there are four vital substances in the body (Yin, Yang, Qi and Blood), and that they're likely to be suffering from imbalance caused by energy excess, deficiency or stagnation. However, she trusts that her view is the solution for all infertile couples. Readers with infertility issues may well benefit by adopting some of Lewis's strategies, but they would also be wise to discuss her approach with their doctors before abandoning their current treatments. 41 line drawings. Agent, Carol Susan Roth. (Jan. 6) Forecast: Lewis's unique program could attract an alternative audience, aided by ads in Health and national radio and television interviews. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

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