2018 has been a very busy year for me and it’s been a while since I wrote a blog article. So I thought I’d use a few spare minutes to let you know what I’ve been up to and give you an idea of what’s in store for 2019.

Over the course of the year, I have been doing the Diploma in Advanced Fertility Acupuncture with Naava Carman, founder of the Fertility Support Company. I’ve attended 5 intensive weekends on various fertility and pregnancy related topics including:

1. causes of infertility such as PCOS and endometriosis

2. reproductive immunology and recurrent miscarriage

3. supporting IVF, IUI and other Assisted Reproductive Techniques

4. treating complex diseases in pregnancy.

It was a wonderful course taught by an inspiring and very experienced, knowledgeable woman. The course included talks from experts in the field such as Dr Thum, specialist in Reproductive Immunology at the Lister Clinic.  It has greatly enhanced my knowledge of complex fertility issues and given me some valuable contacts. The course culminated in a 5,000 piece of coursework which focused on anonymously auditing my patient notes to identify women with indicators of reproductive immunological issues and evaluate commonalities and effectiveness of treatment approaches.  It was a lovely piece of work to audit how many women have come to see me and gone on to become pregnant and have babies. I’ll be writing more on this and the other topics in the

coming months.

I was delighted to receive my certification this morning from the Fertility Support Company and am proud to display the logo on my website to demonstrate the depth of additional CPD I have undertaken in this field. You can see it on the Welcome page and the Fertility Support page of my website.

In addition to that I have completed another major piece of work that was two years in the making with the lion’s share of the work from September 2017 to September 2018. It was a piece of research in fulfillment of an MSc in Acupuncture with the Northern College of Acupuncture. The research study was about treating Recurrent Miscarriage and utilised the Delphi method which is used to seek consensus between a group of experts. The aim was to produce a set of guidelines and to do so, I assembled a group of fertility acupuncturists with significant experience of working with women who had experienced two or more miscarriages. I asked them what in their view were the most important things to consider when diagnosing, treating and supporting women with this condition. I will write more on this in the New Year as there are a lot of interesting points I’d like to share.

My research has fitted very nicely with the Diploma in Advanced Fertility Acupuncture as there were many commonalities in diagnosis and treatment strategies between the topics covered in the diploma and issues that arose in the guidelines produced by my research. Although my CPD (Continuing Professional Development) in 2018 has focused largely on Fertility Support based topics, much of the subject matter has relevance and is transferable to other health conditions I regularly treat in my acupuncture clinics.

For example, a pervasive theme that crops up throughout working with fertility patients and most other patients is that of “self-care”.  This is a topic that I can identify with particularly after this very busy year. Self-care is a very broad term and means different things for different people depending on their circumstances and the state of their health. It is also something that can be adapted to suit your lifestyle. This will the be the subject of another blog article I am preparing for the new year, where I will reflect further on my experiences of juggling my own acupuncture business, studying and family life and will provide you with tips to look after yourself in your own busy life. However, I wanted to give you just a quick few points on self-care to help you over the festive season…

1. Find a little quiet time for yourself each day where you get to do just what you want guilt-free and without judgment;

2. Get enough sleep – aim for 8-9 hours a night;

3. Aim to get a bit of fresh air everyday, even in inclement weather – just remember to wrap up well;

4. Eat seasonally, naturally and healthily – that means eating warm food cooked from scratch with real foods that include lots of vegetables;

5. Drink plenty fluids (and I’m not talking about alcohol!) – you may prefer warmer drinks in this cold weather;

6. Enjoy time with friends and family, but keep the drinking moderate and have a drink of water for every glass of alcohol you have.

You can read more on ways to keep yourself healthy in the winter and supporting your immune system in earlier blogs I have written:

1. Getting healthy in 2018

2. Prenatal health and nutrition

3. Why do we get more colds in winter, and how can we prevent them (naturally!)

4. Eat well to keep well in Winter – Bone Broth and Chicken, Kale and Leek Soup Recipes

Although 2018 has been a very busy year, I have thoroughly enjoyed it and am proud of my achievements. I’m looking forward to what 2019 will bring – which will include a few new developments for my clinics… Have a very happy, healthy festive season filled with warmth, laughter and love.

Acupuncturist, Jill Storstein is member of the British Acupuncture Council and  working at Albany Street Clinic, 36a Albany Street, Edinburgh EH1 3QH and Offizone, Kenmore Street, Aberfeldy PH15 2BL. To make an appointment go to the Contacts page or call: 07772 501810

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