I was referred by a friend to Siobhan Kehoe and though sceptical about acupuncture and herbs as a method of becoming pregnant – since I had already tried it, went on the basis of her qualification in midwifery and long history of working with pregnant women. I also had heard about a lot of successes as a result of acupuncture for women like me who had been trying with no luck and weren’t interested in IVF. However, I had been going to a Chinese acupuncturist for more than six months – who told me that my system was completely out of balance and that it needed a rest to build itself back up again. I went to her for six months twice a week without fail for acupuncture treatments, and I also took herbs on a daily basis but to no avail. For 5 months afterwards, I simply gave up and tried the approach of letting nature do its own thing. I was 36 years old at the time. My aim was to achieve a healthy pregnancy after my miscarriage.
I had suffered a miscarriage two years prior and had been trying for about 18 months to conceive. Though I had been taking my temperature and eating what I considered the right foods, Siobhan’s advice, acupuncture and herbal treatments moved me onto a level of health I hadn’t experienced in years. After just a couple of weeks of taking herbs, I felt a major boost in my energy levels and felt better and looked better than I had in a long time. I began to eat foods that were recommended for my ‘type’ which I learned from books Siobhan lent me. I was careful not to be too hopeful since I had been disappointed on several other occasions so I resolved to just getting my health back and feeling good – while also continuing with my day-counting and temperature for ovulation accuracy. Siobhan had advised me to get my progesterone levels checked with my GP, which came back normal. It seemed there was no conceivable reason as to why after 18 months of consistently trying around my ovulation date that I wasn’t getting pregnant.
Because I live in Dublin, I didn’t have the opportunity to do acupuncture more than once a month. However, I was very committed to taking the herbs every single day and twice a day for the majority of the herbs that were prescribed and at no point did I forget or lose sight of their importance. Siobhan had told me that she believed the herbs were 80-90 percent of the reason for her successes and because my oldest friend had become pregnant (within 3-4 months of attending Siobhan) after several years of trying – I decided I’d nothing to lose. After just four months I became pregnant – a joy that I put down entirely to Siobhan’s treatments and advice. I signed up for the domino scheme and elected to have my own 12 week scan for peace of mind. The sonographer confirmed that everything was normal and the baby was healthy.
My treatment: I was put on a general tonic in the beginning to boost my system in general, which was very run down – probably as a result of the trauma, shock and loss of the miscarriage. After the tonic, Siobhan moved me on to other herbs which were relevant to my individual ‘type’ – and the spleen deficiency I was experiencing. She had examined and determined this based on my initial consultation and later follow up in conversations we had over the course of the period that I had been seeing her. The herbs I was given were tweaked as we went on and as Siobhan learned more about how I was feeling and what I was experiencing – at one point for example, I began to experience night sweats in the evenings –another time I was feeling anxious, due in most part to work-related stress.
When I had a question I texted Siobhan and she often called me back – on her days off included – to walk me through what she considered was the best course of action. For example at week 19 of my pregnancy I texted her for advice on feeling fatigued when I woke in the mornings. Though I had been prescribed an iron supplement by my GP – after blood tests revealed I was deficient, it was not making a difference to my energy levels. Siobhan ordered a specific herbal blood tonic which I took and recommended other over-the-counter supplements which almost immediately began to make a difference.
I am now the mother of a happy healthy six month old baby and I owe it entirely to Siobhan’s work. If you feel pressured to go down the IVF route but are uncertain or reluctant please give Siobhan’s clinic a try. Her results speak volumes for her experience as a Midwife and success as a Chinese Herbalist, a tradition that has been tried and tested for thousands of years. She is professional, attentive, conscientious and interested only in the care of the client and the ultimate result. I called her during off hours, more times than I can remember and she never once neglected to come back to me with advice or reassurance. If you know you want to get pregnant and haven’t had any success so far, then you, like me, are probably willing to try anything. Siobhan Kehoe is the professional you need – it’s no accident that she’s had the level of success she’s had. She really knows what she’s doing.
Joan Bobrov
East Wall
Dublin