Improve Your Natural Fertility with Acupuncture
Learn Everything About BBT Charting and Healthy Menstruation
Hello! If you're exploring ways to enhance your fertility naturally, you've come to the right place. I’m passionate about using Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) to help you understand and overcome your fertility challenges. TCM isn’t just about treating symptoms—it’s about getting to the root of the issue and improving your health in a holistic, sustainable way.
🌷How TCM Helps 🌷
Acupuncture and herbal remedies provide a personalized approach to fertility, adapting treatments to align with the various phases of your menstrual cycle and your unique constitutional needs. Two individuals with the same fertility issues may receive different Chinese diagnoses and personalized treatments based on their specific conditions.
Phases of the Menstrual Cycle and Corresponding Treatments
Post-Menstruation Phase (Follicular Phase):
Nourishing the Egg and Uterine Lining: After menstruation, the focus is on rebuilding and nourishing the blood and yin to support the growth of a new follicle. This includes hydrating and enriching the uterus lining, creating a fertile ground for ovulation.
Enhancing Follicle Quality and Ovulation: As ovulation approaches, treatments aim to ensure a robust and healthy ovulation. Acupuncture can increase blood flow to the ovaries, improving the quality of the egg and its journey from the ovary. Techniques also promote the smooth movement of the egg through the fallopian tubes, preventing any stagnation or blockages.
Ovulation Phase:
Facilitating Safe Egg Travel: Acupuncture treatments around ovulation focus on enhancing the mobility and lubrication in the fallopian tubes, ensuring the egg can travel safely and efficiently toward the uterus, avoiding ectopic pregnancy.
Post-Ovulation Phase (Luteal Phase):
Supporting Implantation: After ovulation, the priority shifts to preparing the body for potential implantation. This involves calming uterine muscle spasms to prevent the dislodging of a possibly fertilized egg and maintaining a thicker uterine lining, which is crucial for the successful implantation of the embryo.
Maintaining Elevated Body Temperature: The presence of a higher temperature post-ovulation, as reflected in the BBT chart, indicates effective progesterone activity. Acupuncture can help sustain this temperature, supporting a conducive environment for maintaining a pregnancy.
Pre-Menstruation Phase:
Moving Qi and Blood: To prepare for the onset of menstruation, acupuncture focuses on ensuring that Qi and blood are flowing freely. This helps in the complete shedding of the uterine lining, clearing the way for a new cycle.
Easing PMS Symptoms: Treatments are also directed towards smoothing the flow of Qi to alleviate PMS symptoms, which are often caused by liver Qi stagnation (emotional imbalances). Symptoms such as breast tenderness, cramps, and headaches can be significantly reduced by targeted acupuncture.
Overall Benefits of Acupuncture in Fertility Treatments
Balancing Hormones: Acupuncture directly affects the endocrine system, which is responsible for hormone production. By regulating hormones, acupuncture supports regular menstrual cycles and successful ovulation.
Improving Uterine Health: Enhanced blood flow to the reproductive organs ensures better nourishment and a healthier environment for an egg to mature and implant.
💫 Why Basal Body Temperature (BBT) Charting Matters 💫
One of the tools we use in TCM to assess fertility is the Basal Body Temperature (BBT) chart. A BBT chart is a graph that records your body temperature at rest (basal body temperature) every day throughout your menstrual cycle. By recording your BBT every day, you can observe patterns that indicate when you are ovulating, giving us clues about your egg quality, the balance of your hormones and potentially identify any underlying fertility issues.
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to do a BBT chart effectively:
Step 1: Get a Basal Thermometer
To start, you’ll need a basal thermometer. These thermometers are more sensitive than regular fever thermometers and can measure slight changes in your temperature to the tenth of a degree, which is necessary for accurate BBT charting.
Step 2: Take Your Temperature
When to Measure: Take your temperature first thing in the morning before you get out of bed, talk, eat, drink, or engage in any activity. This ensures that you are measuring your true basal body temperature.
Consistency is Key: It’s important to take your temperature at the same time each morning. A good rule is to set an alarm and try to do it within the same 30-minute window daily.
Step 3: Record Your Temperature
Use a Chart: You can use a paper chart, a spreadsheet, or a fertility tracking app to record your temperature. Note any factors that might affect your reading (like if you woke up significantly earlier with a nightmare or if you drank alcohol in the evening)
Additional Notes: Besides your temperature, you can also record symptoms such as cramping, spotting, or changes in cervical mucus. This additional data can provide more insights into your cycle.
✨Tracking and Adjusting Along the Way
What’s really exciting is seeing the changes that happen as we go along with acupuncture and herbal treatments. The BBT chart and your menstrual patterns offer real-time feedback about your fertility health and help us adjust your treatment to better support your fertility.
Here's what you should typically see on a well-charted BBT:
Identifying Ovulation:
Low Phase Before Ovulation: : In the first part of your cycle, during the follicular phase, your BBT will generally be lower. This phase starts on the first day of your period and ends the day before ovulation. The average temperature usually ranges from about 97.0 to 97.5°F (36.1 to 36.4°C), although individual variations are common.
Sharp Rise at Ovulation: You should see a noticeable temperature rise just after ovulation, typically between 0.5 to 1.0°F (0.3 to 0.6°C). This rise is triggered by the production of progesterone, the hormone that warms your body.You can generally assume you ovulated the day before a sustained temperature rise. You can also notice an egg white discharge with an increased sex drive that is typical during the ovulation window.
Post-Ovulation Temperature Rise: Luteal phase Temperatures:
After ovulation, rising progesterone levels typically cause your body’s resting temperature to increase slightly (about 0.5°F to 1.0°F). This temperature rise usually continues until your next period. A proper rise in temperature after ovulation, for instance, tells us your progesterone levels are supportive of pregnancy. This rise should be steady, without any significant drops
End of Cycle Drop:
Your temperature will typically drop back down as you approach the start of your next menstrual period, signaling the end of the luteal phase and the lack of pregnancy.
Length and Phases:
Notice the length of your cycles and the phases within them. A luteal phase (time from ovulation to the start of your next period) that’s consistently less than 12 days may indicate issues with progesterone levels.
A short follicular phase (less than 12 days) may indicate issues with estrogen levels.
Cycle Regularity:
Look for regular patterns in your cycles, which can be a good indicator of hormonal balance and health. A tooth-like pattern on your BBT chart may suggest underlying stagnation which could adversely affect the quality of ovulation and fertilization.
How Menstruation Should Be
Healthy menstruation is another key indicator of reproductive health. Here’s what is generally considered normal or healthy:
Length of Period: A healthy menstrual period typically lasts from 3 to 7 days. Bleeding that lasts more than a week or shorter than 2 days may need evaluation.
Cycle Length: The average menstrual cycle lasts about 28 days, but anywhere from 25 to 32 days is considered normal for adults. Shorter or longer cycles should be addressed.
Flow: The total amount of blood loss during a period is usually about 2 to 3 tablespoons (30 to 45 milliliters). Menstruation should not be excessively heavy or too light. Experiencing soaking through one or more sanitary pads or tampons every hour for several consecutive hours is considered heavy bleeding.
Color and Consistency: Menstrual blood should be bright red. Dark red, brown or pale color menses and/or the presence of blood clots should be addressed. Those indicate different imbalances.
Symptoms: Discomfort during menstruation is normal, but severe pain that hinders daily activities is not. Symptoms like extreme fatigue, dizziness, or severe mood swings are also indicators that something may be off.
By addressing the specific needs of each phase of the menstrual cycle, acupuncture provides a comprehensive approach to fertility. TCM offers a caring, thorough approach to fertility that goes beyond quick fixes. It aims to enrich your overall well-being, ensuring your body is the best possible place for new life to begin.
If your BBT charts or menstrual patterns show significant deviations from these norms or if you’re looking for a natural, empowering path to parenthood, let’s explore how TCM can illuminate your journey. Ready to see how your body can tell us about your fertility? Let’s get started on this incredible path together! Book a free 30min consultatio here.
