Holistic fertility help online

A new online community puts women trying to get pregnant in touch with complementary health-care professionals, including massage therapists, who may be able to help. The Anji Connection (www.anjiconnection.com), launched in May, is designed as a guide for women nationwide to tap into a burgeoning natural-health movement for fertility and pregnancy issues.

The site’s founder, Jennifer Bloome, an occupational therapist and health-and-wellness counselor, says that complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) works for women trying to conceive because it takes a more holistic approach to infertility than most Western medical models. Techniques such as acupuncture and Maya abdominal massage have been successful in helping women who thought they were unable to conceive, she adds.

“They [Western physicians] are taking your body as is and asking it to do more—create more eggs or more sperm so you can get pregnant. [CAM practitioners] say that because you are unable to conceive there is an imbalance in your body, and they work to bring the body back into balance,” Bloome explains.

The Web site is based on the philosophy of Bloome’s parent company, Anji, Inc., located outside of Minneapolis, Minnesota, which focuses on reducing stress as a main goal to increasing fertility and reducing potential problems throughout pregnancy.

Bloome and a team of health-care advisors are selecting acupuncturists, massage therapists and naturopaths who specialize in women’s health care from around the country to create the site’s referral database. The site will also include articles about holistic therapies for fertility and pregnancy, and plans are in the works for interactive features that will allow visitors to ask questions and get support services.

“Our goal is to connect women with a sense of assistance and support, particularly in accessing their internal reserves for peace and tranquility, which is helpful no matter what the situation,” Bloome says. “The process of quieting the mind and balancing the body helps to create a better environment for success.”

— Kelle Walsh