There are married couples who cannot have babies without clear medical causes. Western doctors categorize such cases as causeless infertility, but Oriental medical science says they are due to an internal malfunction such as a lack of blood and severe mental stress.

The basis of Oriental infertility treatment is to diagnose the flow and circulation of chi (life force or vitality) and blood, and the condition of the five viscera and six entrails -- gall bladder, stomach, small and large intestine, the paunch, the bladder and the bowels. The infertility treatment begins with a medical exercise to correct any imbalance in the body.

For women, various tests are used to precisely diagnose the body condition and organ functions, such as an infrared ray test to measure body heat, a test to check reactions of the autonomic nervous system by using a minute electric current, live blood analysis and the O-Ring test. Western medical approaches are also tried. In the case of men, the semen test is basic. They should also have ultrasonography, hystero-salpingography and a hormone test. Infertile couples will be given treatments suitable for their conditions, including herbal medicine and acupuncture, physical and laser treatments. If there is something wrong with the reproductive system, Oriental medical treatments are tried first, and in-vitro fertilization treatment is considered the last resort.

In cases of Asherman's Syndrome, where the front and back walls of the uterus stick to one another and there is no room for a fetus, Oriental treatments are also useless. “Oriental treatments are aimed at enhancing the body’s ability to treat diseases by itself,” Conmaul Oriental Hospital gynecologist Choi Mi-kyung said. “Infertile couples are highly satisfied with Oriental infertility treatments, which cause relatively small physical side effects. It also allows the couples to feel proud of themselves since they can think they have succeeded at conceiving by themselves.”

(englishnews@chosun.com )