About the Film
FERTILITY: THE SHARED JOURNEY WITH MERCIER THERAPY
Fertility tells the inspiring story of women navigating the challenges of reproductive health and exploring gentle, empowering approaches to conception. This film highlights real results, personal journeys, and the impact of Mercier Therapy in restoring hope.
Jennifer Mercier’s Personal StoryJennifer Mercier, founder of Mercier Therapy, faced severe stage 4 endometriosis and was advised to pursue IVF. Choosing a gentler path, she worked with professional students using Mercier Therapy and became pregnant naturally on her next cycle. Jennifer’s journey inspires the film and its message: there’s hope for women seeking safe, natural fertility options.
The Study Behind the StoryA four-year ongoing study started in January 2009 utilizing Mercier protocols for women with fertility challenges had come to an end. The conclusion supported many positive outcomes for the participants. As a matter of fact, 83% of the women became pregnant within a year of finishing the Mercier Therapy Shared Journey Fertility program which included 6 hours of pelvic organ manipulation and a few supportive supplements. The majority of these women had no medical intervention and just monitored their own cycles with the help of Jennifer Mercier’s support.
real women, real outcomes
Making Informed Choices
Fertility encourages viewers to explore all options and take an active role in their reproductive health. Research, ask questions, and choose care that resonates with you. While some cases require medical intervention, less invasive approaches can support long-term wellness for both mother and baby. The CDC reports only 29% of IVF cycles result in pregnancy on average. The film highlights alternatives and success stories that restore hope
“So many couples today are facing fertility issues and being told by doctors that their only hope is artificially-assisted reproduction or adoption. They’re wrong. They promote drugs and surgical procedures because they’re ignorant and aren’t looking outside orthodox medicine for safe alternatives. It’s time that the public knew that non-invasive approaches to helping couples conceive are available, ones that do not carry a high price tag, a high level of risk to the woman’s health, with no guarantees of success. This non-risky approach to resolving ‘infertility’ is a blessing and it fits with the philosophies of ‘do the greatest good with the least amount of harm’, and creating safe, effective healthy alternatives to the medical-pharmaceutical approaches.”
— Suzanne Arms
Birth and Mother-Baby Advocate, Author, Photojournalist,Praise for the film:
“Jennifer Mercier had done us all a huge service by documenting the truth about the business of fertility. And giving women safe, effective, and empowering alternatives and ways to enhance the gift that is our fertility.”
— Christiane Northrup , MD, author Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom“The Mercier theory, developed by Jennifer Mercier, is a path-breaking approach in the world of fertility treatments. More and more couples who are going through infertility need to know about it. The documentary has a lot of potential to serve this purpose successfully. It will definitely become a source of information as well as inspiration for a large number of people. I hope the film receives its much deserved attention and appreciation at the earliest.”
— Julie Chang, L.Ac., Fertility Acupuncturist“We live in an era of hyper-marketed biomedical and pharmaceutical quick fixes that promote drugs as a way of remedying systemic health problems, including fertility. In the film, Fertility: The Shared Journey with Mercier Therapy, a range of women’s health specialists share alternative options to the invasive, heavy-handed and often unsuccessful methods of standard infertility interventions like in-vitro fertilization. This is a must see film for health consumers seeking more natural, patient-centered approaches to attempting to create a family, and for medical professionals who care about the whole person they treat.”
— Miriam Zoll, Women’s health advocate and author“With all the medical advances we boast of, the next break through in mainstream medicine, I believe, will be the recognition of the human mind and body as one entity requiring attention as one fluid form. Mercier Therapy is revolutionary in that it approaches the female body with that basic understanding. I have referred many of my patients to Jennifer Mercier because I believe the mainstream practices in medicine fall short in considering simple lifestyle or functional changes that women could make to optimize her reproductive organs. Increasing awareness of alternative approaches to infertility is potentially life-changing for many couples and is necessary. I am pleased to know that now there is an informative documentary that does just that-spreads the word.”
— Jaini Mody, MD – Family Medicine“The Mercier Technique and the movie “Fertility: a Shared Journey with Mercier Therapy” are so important at this moment because they place a holistic framework for infertility treatment within the medical viewpoint. The women interviewed in the film that were more aware of less invasive, more natural options need resources but they don’t need to be “reached”. It is the larger majority in our society that are unaware of their options that need help if we are to reverse the current trend in infertility. This larger segment of our population is very comfortable with Western medical philosophy and readily submit their bodies for therapies to get immediate results without an understanding of repercussions. When I suggest to my clients that we will work together using herbal therapies to create vibrant health and balance for fertility over the course of a year it is a tough pill to swallow. There is no cultural philosophy in place to support the personal responsibility and self empowerment required to slow down and take on this work. Instead we have a figurative gun to the head of our reproductive systems to work, and work now despite any dysfunction or imbalance. Bodies that are forced to carry a child when they are too imbalanced to do so naturally will see those imbalances amplified after birth in both themselves and their offspring. Our children deserve better. If we continue to pursue the state of pregnancy at all cost, we will pay with much more than just our financial stability. Where there are no genuine problems of a surgical nature we must empower couples to know their individual bodies and find their best health before becoming pregnant. Therapies like the one Jennifer Mercier has devised need to be shared far and wide to reawaken this notion on a cultural level.“
— Dawn Combs, author of “Conceiving Healthy Babies, an Herbal Guide to Support Preconception, Pregnancy and Lactation”“I found your film enlightening and inspiring. It opened my eyes to a whole new perspective on treating patients who suffer from infertility issues. I find the Mercier technique to be a valuable alternative that I can offer to patients as a starting point for dealing with this issue.”
— Kevin Hussey, MD, FACOGMeet the Filmmakers
Dr. Jennifer Mercier
Jennifer Mercier has been a women’s health practitioner since 1999 and stumbled upon something truly amazing to help women resolve pelvic pain and fertility issues. After a 4-year ongoing study completed in 2012, it was concluded that 83% of her infertility clients had become pregnant naturally after completing a regime of a new manual therapy called Mercier. At that point Mercier’s study entitled: Mercier Therapy Helps Infertile Women Achieve Pregnancy was published in the Spring 2013 Midwifery Today journal. This has given Mercier Therapy validation and credibility. Jennifer also wrote a book entitled Women’s Optimal Pelvic Health with Mercier Therapy published in 2010.
Jennifer’s background includes working as a clinician at the Center for Human Reproduction in the early 90s. She monitored IVF cycles from stim to egg retrieval to embryo transfer as well as less invasive medically assisted cycles which included intrauterine insemination. Jennifer feels that her experiences working with CHR have proven to be invaluable as she can understand what women are enduring by undergoing medical care to help to achieve pregnancy.
Executive Producer, Director
Gabriel Leonhard
Gabriel Leonhard is a talented musician/composer responsible for writing the original score for our film. For more information on Gabriel and his works please visit his web site: www.GabrielLeonhard.com
MUSIC, COMPOSER
Seth Deming is a freelance Director of Photography, editor, and Compositor. His resume includes television, commercials, music videos, short films, and documentaries. Online he has a reputation as an outstanding filmmaker and compositor. See his work at sethdeming.com.
Filmmaker, directorSeth Deming
Set Assistant, Film StudentNick Klein
Nick Klein was born in Chicago, Illinois March 20, 1991. As an actor and filmmaker, Nick has been in numerous stage productions on and off stage, as well as on the small screen.
FILM CREWChristoph Gelfand
Christoph Gelfand of True Life Media in Portland Maine is our second camera and has done a supreme job of our location filming on the East Coast. You can reach Christoph at www.TrueLifeMedia.com.