Nat Kringoudis Natural Fertility Awareness Week Interview

Nat Kringoudis Natural Fertility Awareness Week Interview

Natural Fertility Awareness Week, which commenced this week, has healthcare professionals encouraging both men and women to open the conversation about infertility, and shine a light on the one-in-six Australians faced with the issue.

The incidence of infertility increases with age and one in three women over the age of 35 are facing infertility. Currently, once all natural methods have been exhausted, there are limited options for couples struggling to conceive, with the next step often becoming invasive, expensive and time consuming medical procedures.. These inoffice procedures are often costly both financially and emotionally.

The week, which honours two Melbourne-based doctors who developed a method of natural fertility regulation, is also calling Australian women to review their natural fertility options prior to exploring costly and invasive fertility procedures.

Dr Nat Kringoudis, a Natural Fertility Specialist and Dr of Chinese Medicine, takes a holistic approach to fertility. 'Depending on the individual circumstances, I almost always recommend my patients firstly try to get pregnant naturally. If they aren't succeeding we need to review exactly why they aren't succeeding."

'Often, it can be that women aren't in touch with their ovulation cycles, and are therefore trying at the wrong times, they may be stressed, have a poor diet, or a number of physiological issues may be preventing them from conceiving," she continued.

However, there are products available that bridge the gap for those who have struggled to get pregnant naturally and who would like to try another option prior to invasive in-clinic procedures like intrauterine insemination (IUI) and in-vitro fertilisation (IVF).

The Stork® was release last month as a cost effective; at-home conception device that has comparable success rates to IUI and is available to purchase online. The device utilises the well-established technique of cervical cap insemination to optimise the chances of conception by placing the sperm at the woman's cervix.

The Stork® is ideal for;
People who are trying to become pregnant.
Men diagnosed with low sperm count or motility issues.
Women diagnosed with an unfavourable vaginal environment (i.e. pH imbalance).
Couples trying to become pregnant without intercourse.
Healthy couples who desire to control timing.
Couples who are not ready to take the next step in reproductive treatment such as IUI or IVF.
Couples who seek out private options for trying to conceive or at-home insemination options.

Approximately 40% of infertility issues lie with the male, 40% with the female, 10% with both partners and 10% are unknown, making The Stork a highly relevant option to, not only a number of female related issues but almost all issues faced by males. Natural Fertility Awareness Week aims to draw awareness to infertility as well as minimising the taboo nature of the subject in order to allow Australian's to talk about it and have access to all possible options that are out there.

The Stork works by collecting semen in a cervical cap, that is located at the bottom of a condom-like sheath. The applicator then delivers the cervical cap, containing the semen, to the entrance of the cervix. The cervical cap is left next to the cervix for four to six hours and then removed using a tampon like pull chord. The cervical cap keeps the semen as close to the cervix as possible, to allow sperm to swim up to the egg. Normal daily activities can be carried out whilst the cervical cap is in place. It is recommended that The Stork be used just before and/or during ovulation.

The Stork® is available online at storkconceptionaid.com.au.

Interview with Nat Kringoudis

Question: What is Natural Fertility Awareness Week?

Nat Kringoudis: NFAW allows the public to get together and shift their attention and awareness to fertility especially around the triumphs and trials that couples experience. It's a wonderful step in creating support for those who need it as well as general awareness.


Question: What do you hope to achieve with Natural Fertility Awareness Week?

Nat Kringoudis: Natural Fertility Awareness Week is the opportunity to come together and acknowledge the gift of fertility. Given that 1 in 6 couples are experiencing fertility issues, it can be a sensitive topic and something not commonly spoken about. The week is dedicated to sharing fertility information.


Question: Why is it important that Australian get in touch with their bodies and try natural options to increase their fertility and overall health?

Nat Kringoudis: Building the backbone of your health is important no matter what - be it for fertility or health in general. Our bodies are extremely intricate and clever and will deliver clues via signs and symptoms as to where issues lie. Natural fertility or not, we need to be in the best possible position for conception to occur. What's more, at the time of trying to conceive, couples generally want to step up their health, to put their best foot forward. It's a perfect opportunity to understand ourselves more and to hopefully set our bodies up for pregnancy and beyond.


Question: What can females do to increase their fertility?

Nat Kringoudis: There are many steps that both men and women can introduce to increase fertility. For both, increasing fats and protein at every meal is an easy step in the right direction since hormones are made of fats and proteins. Without these essential building blocks, our hormones aren't supported fully. For women, understanding her menstrual cycle and ironing out any known creases can help take them into pregnancy. For example period pain may be amplified with the wrong diet and lifestyle. Removing inflammatory foods from the diet may be enough to treat the symptoms. It's also important that women understand their menstrual cycle to know their fertile times. This may be very different from what their app or tracking device is telling them since ovulation can change from month to month. Also for women alcohol can be a factor that affects oestrogen, so keeping alcohol to low consumption is recommended.

Question: And, what can men do?

Nat Kringoudis: Much of what women can do is similar for men, but specifically stress is a large factor that can influence sperm quality. Simply recognising where stress lies can be enough to get mindful to create a better approach to stress. Ensuring that men stand regularly is also important in sperm health (too much time sitting down can mean things really -heat up' down there and affect sperm quality. This also extends to activities like bike riding which also compromise sperm health from friction. Especially when there are known issues with sperm quality, products like the stork can be extremely useful in getting the sperm to the egg more easily. Around 40% of fertility issues lie in male sperm health.


Question: Can you talk about some of the holistic approaches to infertility?

Nat Kringoudis: There are many things you can do from a holistic perspective. Diet and lifestyle is key in creating happy hormones and increasing fertility. I encourage patients to use the pre-conception time to get as healthy as possible, nourish their bodies with great nutrients, get plenty of sleep, downtime, sunshine and learn how to manage stress better. Understanding your menstrual cycle is also important - so many people get it wrong so enlisting somebody to help you is also a great idea. The main aim is to support your body to your own optimal condition no matter what - that's always going to increase your chances of conception. Also using tools like apps, trackers and devices like the stork can great increase your chances of conception


Question: Which of these do you recommend first to your patients?

Nat Kringoudis: I like to start simply always. I ask patients to choose 3 things they believe are achievable in moving towards diet and lifestyle changes. I try and encourage them to add in fat & protein or perhaps remove gluten if there is a known hurdle like endometriosis. To help manage stress I like to have them set themselves a goal or mantra they can use in the tough times to keep them on track with where they want to take their health (rather than the contrary which only keeps us in old patterns). So for example, 'I choose ease" is a common affirmation I set for patients who live in a busy stressed state.


Question: How important is our diet when trying to conceive?

Nat Kringoudis: Diet is crucial - if you don't fuel your body well you can't expect it to preform. Food is medicine - if we feed ourselves with nutrients we are providing ourselves with the vitamins and minerals our bodies need to thrive.


Question: What should we be eating to increase fertility?
Nat Kringoudis: We've covered fats and proteins - things like meats, eggs, nuts and seeds, then of course we need to tick off good quality micronutrients - vitamins and minerals etc. Foods high in antioxidants like olives and bright coloured vegetables are great to help clean up the body from damages from our lifestyle too. Applying the 80/20 rule for me is important for my patients. This also means less processed foods and more whole foods in general.


Question: What is The Stork?

Nat Kringoudis: The Stork uses cervical cap insemination, a well established and effective technique used by healthcare professionals, combined with innovative technology to help thousands of patients conceive naturally and in the comfort and privacy of their own home. The Stork, which boasts a 20% success rate, is a cost-effective, non-prescription product that is ideal for;

People who are trying to become pregnant.
Men diagnosed with low sperm count or motility issues.
Women diagnosed with an unfavourable vaginal environment (i.e. pH imbalance).
Couples trying to become pregnant without intercourse.
Healthy couples who desire to control timing.
Couples who are not ready to take the next step in reproductive treatment such as IUI or IVF.
Couples who seek out private options for trying to conceive or at-home insemination options.

The Stork is listed on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG) as a medical device. It is available online at www.storkconceptionaid.com.au for $129.95*.


Question: Why would you recommend your patients use the Stork?

Nat Kringoudis: Conception tools like The Stork are useful to help couples especially with known challenges around sperm or women with a compromised cervix where it lessens the distance between sperm and egg. By doing this, we can increase the chances of conception with ease. I'm all for things we can implement at home to take us to where we want to go - that is to conceive in the case of fertility.


Interview by Brooke Hunter