Fertility

[Chen]

Does anyone know of particular points for promoting fertility and the theory behind them from a TCM perspective.

Are these the same points for someone trying to get pregnant or is the theory/points different?

thanks in advance for any replies,

Chen

[aelward]

Fertility in TCM is a really complex issue and infertility can stem from a wide variety of causes and disharmonies. Therefore, treatment varies widely from case to case.

A general practice for regulating menstruation and ovulation would be, according to days in the menstrual cycle:

26-4: Invigorate Blood
5-11: nourish Kidneys, Blood, and Yin
12-25: Harmonize Liver

Some people say from day 18-25, nourish Kidney Yang.

This is rough, and will have to vary according to each woman's individual constitution and menstrual history.

[Chen]

Thanks for that reply

Does that mean regulating menstruation and ovulation would help some one trying to get pregnant? Are there specific points to use other than Invigorating Blood nourishing Kidneys, Blood, and Yin and Harmonizing Liver?

chen

[aelward]

Regulating menstruation and ovulation is just one aspect of dealing with infertility. Within western medicine, even someone who menstruates and ovulates regularly still might not get pregnant-- maybe a fertilized egg is not implanting, or maybe there are adhesions in the fallopian tubes, and so on.

So treatment varies according to the specific condition. There are no specific points to treat fertility. For example, ff someone has Liver stagnation, characterized by stress, emotional imbalance, and irregular menstruation, we might use LV3/LI4, LV14, GB41 combined with herbal formulas Yue Ju Wan, Xiao Yao San, or Shu Gan Wan. We might also recommend Taiji or Qigong practice. On the other hand, if they had uterine fibroids, characterized as blood stagnation (hypermenorea, purple tongue), we might prescribe the herbal formulas Gui Zhi Fu Ling Wan, Shao Fu Zhu Yu Tang, or Wen Jing Tang and needle SP10, UB17, LI4/LV3. There are tons of other variations based on each individual.

General points that might be used for fertility include: SP4/P6 to regulate the Chong Meridian; LU7/K6 to regulate the Ren Meridian; Ren3 as the influential point of the Uterus; Zi-Gong point for the uterus; Ear endocrine.

Once again, these are not absolutes. We seek to treat the root of the disease, not just the manifestation.

[Chen]

Thanks for that answer - very informative.

chen