Self fertility massage is a powerful tool for those on the journey to conceive. Fertility massage focuses on improving circulation and restoring the uterus’s natural motility to optimize reproductive health. By practicing uterus massage for fertility, individuals can enhance circulation and promote hormonal balance.
In this article, we will explore the benefits of self fertility massage. We will also discuss how to start preparing your body for conception. Discover how to connect with your body and support your fertility journey naturally.
As a bodyworker and educator of abdominal therapy, I’m dedicating this article to fertility from a bodywork perspective. To improve your chances of getting pregnant, it is essential to plan ahead. If you have fertility challenges or are getting ready to conceive, aim to prepare for at least three months before trying. The body starts to recruit the eggs at least three months (actually 100 days) before ovulation. So, everything you do or don’t do during that time will affect the health of the eggs. The same applies to men. Sperm take about 72 days to mature. Therefore, what men do or do not do during those three months is very important. For instance, greater than 200mg daily of caffeine is toxic to sperm and is linked to chromosomal abnormalities. Zinc is essential for spermatogenesis and promotes sperm motility. Vitamin C has been found to increase sperm count, motility, and viability. Preparing for conception is a shared responsibility between you and your partner. Supporting each other in this journey by consciously planning for pregnancy together can be a beautiful bonding experience.
Think of your womb as a nest for your future baby. Nurture and prepare your womb with the loving attention a bird would put into building a nest for her eggs. Think of your blood and body as the soil that brings nutrients to your womb. Give it the loving attention a seasoned gardener would give to the earth before planting a seed.
Step one: Try Not To get Pregnant
It’s my experience that couples learn about fertility massage after they have exhausted all other options. They have been trying to conceive for years. They may have tried IVF or IUI without success. They might feel pressure from their doctors due to their age. It’s easy to understand why they look at me like I’m crazy when I tell them to try not to get pregnant for three months. That said, I still see women on occasion get pregnant after one treatment. My best guess is that the abdominal massage corrected a kinked fallopian tube in those cases.
I recommend that women avoid trying to conceive during the three months of treatment. There are several reasons for this.
1) Three months allows your uterine lining time to cleanse and rebuild. This process improves your chances of conceiving. It also may reduce the risk of miscarriage and support a healthy pregnancy. 2) Three months is also a reasonable period for making corrections to the position of the uterus. 3) You should not perform a self-fertility massage or a self-care abdominal massage if you might be pregnant.
Trying to conceive in the first three months of treatment means you lose about two weeks of self-care each month. This may delay your conception time more than if you had waited three months to try to conceive. Having an aligned pelvis and uterus during pregnancy can help prevent issues. These issues include low back pain, constipation, hemorrhoids, poor circulation, incontinence, and difficult labor and delivery. I’ve included the whole fertility protocol in the Womb Care online course.
In the Womb Care course, you will learn self-abdominal womb massage. This massage helps with uterine, ovarian, and digestive health. You will also explore herbal remedies for painful and heavy periods. Additionally, you will discover energetic techniques to release emotional patterns from the pelvic area, abdomen, and womb space. You’ll also learn pelvic alignment exercises and nutritious movement for a ‘tipped’ uterus, prolapsed uterus, and uterine health in general. But most of all, this abdominal womb massage course intends to connect you to the beauty and wisdom of your belly.
How Fertility Massage Helps: Five Systems of Flow
Your body knows how to maintain balance. It works diligently to maintain harmony. However, poor alignment, trauma, lifestyle choices, and pollution can disrupt this balance. Homeostasis relies on the unobstructed flow of the arterial, venous, lymph, nerve, and chi (energy) channels. Bodywork can be a valuable way to help ensure unobstructed flow.
The arterial system brings oxygenated blood, nutrients, and hormones to every cell of the body. If the uterus is not in the correct position, it can cause issues. Poor pelvic alignment and tight muscles can also affect circulation in the pelvis. This could result in poorly nourished reproductive organs and their supporting ligaments.
The venous system carries deoxygenated blood, waste, and carbon dioxide away from the tissues. If the venous circulation is impeded, carbon dioxide and waste products accumulate. As a result, harmful acids accumulate, leading to pain and impaired organ function. Venous congestion can cause varicosities in the uterus. This may lead to a feeling of heaviness in the pelvis and pelvic pain that is hard to diagnose. Ovarian varicosities can disrupt communication between the ovaries and the hypothalamus. This can lead to lower levels of estrogen and progesterone.
The lymphatic system removes toxins, extra fluids, and cell waste. It is our main defense against bacteria, viruses, and other germs. The lymphatic system can be affected by several factors. These include a misaligned uterus, tight muscles, poor body alignment, and tight clothing. Just like the arterial and venous systems, the lymphatic system is sensitive to these issues. Restriction in the flow of lymph allows pathological debris to accumulate, causing acidity, pain, swelling, and inflammation.
The nervous system coordinates all bodily functions. Muscle spasms, mal-positioned or enlarged organs, and scar tissue can obstruct the nerve channels. Basically, if there is congestion, toxic accumulation, or restriction, the hormonal feedback loop can be compromised.
Chi (energy) flows through the blood and energy meridians of the body, as well as around the outside of the body. Chi is limited when other systems of flow are blocked. It can also be affected by emotional and physical stress.
Fertility Massage is more than a Belly Rub
I also provide treatments for the back, hips, sacrum, and tailbone ligaments. These treatments help reduce congestion around the pudendal nerve and promote proper pelvic alignment. I may also massage the lower back and the muscles around the lumbar vertebrae. The suspensory ligaments of the ovaries attach to the fascial connections of L3 (the third lumbar vertebra of the low back). The suspensory ligaments of the ovaries contain blood and lymph vessels that run through them. If your quadratus lumborum is tight, it may affect blood flow or the position of the ovaries. This muscle connects the back of the iliac crest to the lower spine and the 12th rib.
Self fertility massage can help improve the flow of the five channels in your body. This can support your body in maintaining balance, making it easier for you to get pregnant.
In my online Womb Care course, I will teach you self-care massage and other techniques for uterine health. The course consists of over 8 hours of video and 10 ebooks!
Clearing and Building – Preparing your body for pregnancy
As mentioned above, these techniques have a clearing and building effect on the uterus. In the first three months of doing abdominal self-care massage, a woman may notice changes in her menstrual flow. Some women have noticed their menstrual blood appearing like coffee grounds or a darker brown color. This may indicate old or dried blood from previous months. Usually, by the third month, women experience bright red oxygenated blood with less cramping.
With proper flow, the uterus can create a suitable environment to nourish a growing embryo. Dr. Rosita Arvigo described it like this: imagine preparing a crib with love for your newborn baby. Your uterus is going to be the crib for your baby for nine months or so. The cleansing and building process may take time, which is another reason to allow at least three months to prepare your body for pregnancy.
“How can a healthy fruit grow on a sick vine whose supply of nutrients and water has been consistently poor? There are multiple factors to be considered during pregnancy that determine the health of the infant. A major contributing cause to weak newborns is the weak, undernourished uterus.”- Dr. Rosita Arvigo.
Massage therapy improves in vitro fertilization outcome in patients undergoing blastocyst transfer in a cryo-cycle “Conclusions: The research team’s results suggested that andullation therapy prior to blastocyst transfer in a cryo-cycle improves embryo implantation, most likely due to a reduction in stress (ie, a relaxation effect on patients), a reduction in uterine contractions, and, probably, an enhancement of the blood flow in the abdominal region. These findings provide support for the use of andullation as a complementary therapy for ART.”
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Author: Barbara Horsley has more than 26 years of experience as a licensed massage therapist. She specializes in abdominal massage and Visceral Manipulation™ and is an NCBTMB-approved educator. In addition to being certified in abdominal massage, she also studied biomechanics and restorative exercise. She is also a Certified Women’s Herbal Educator and a graduate of the IWHI Perimenopause & Menopause Certificate Program.