Our Top Tips For Increasing Your Fertile Window - Some we bet you've never thought of!

Working out when you are at your most fertile can be very confusing, especially when you have few fertile signs to tell you that you are at your peak fertility.

Here at My Fertile Body we teach couples to recognise any imbalances, and treat them to increase energy into your fertile window. Listening and responding to your body's signs is really the key to conceiving. Bear in mind that given the right environment sperm can last inside you for up to 5 days, where as when an egg is released from the ovary it needs to be fertilized within 24 hours. So here are our top tips to increase your fertile signs & make your fertile window even longer;

1. Drink plenty of fluids (Filtered water) especially in the morning, aim to drink at least 1 litre before lunchtime. If it's winter and cold, try warm water instead of cold.
2. Sleep, sleep and more sleep! Trust us when we tell you, sleep is paramount to your fertility. If you don't sleep well, or have an interrupted sleep pattern, this has a knock on effect on your hormone balance.
3. Balance your hormones, if your cycle is irregular it is much harder to determine your fertile window, try getting acupuncture, and reflexology to help get you back into a regular cycle
4. Use our Acupressure points, (subscribe for free) Yin-tang has a direct balancing effect on the endocrine system, great for those with high FSH levels, or low cervical mucus.
5. Keep your Vitamin C levels up, this helps keep your cervical mucus more watery therefore more sperm friendly.
6. Avoid wearing thongs/G Strings, these can reduce your cervical mucus because of the constant close contact. You don't have to wear Bridget Jones knickers, there are plenty of sexy undies out there!
7. Trying swapping Tampons for sanitary towels for 3 cycles and see if this helps increase your cervical mucus, it generally does.
8. Men; make sure they are taking a really good quality multi vitamin, sperm needs good nutritional support to be healthy and fertile.
9. Eat a diet full of lots of fresh, organic energy rich foods. Snacking on seeds and nuts really help to keep your blood sugar balanced.
10. There are plenty of herbal supplements that can really help, Agnus Castus, Evening Primrose Oil are two examples that help balance and promote a healthy fertile window. The longer your fertile window, the greater the chances of conception.
11. Lastly and so importantly, manage both of your stress levels, stress has an enormous negative impact on your fertility. It can even be the cause of irregular ovulation. So look into ways to de-stress. Learn to Meditate, take up Yoga, Tai Chi or Qigong. Treat yourself to a massage. Start to take regular gentle exercise.

We hope these tips help, remember it takes 3 months to see a marked improvement in both of your fertility so be kind to yourself, relax and enjoy.

Our Create A bump on-line Course offers everything you need to take control of your fertility and conceive in a positive stress free way.

Katie Murphy Lic AC MTCMCI

Secondary Infertility From A Chinese Medicine Point Of View

When trying for a second baby, it’s really worth taking a step back, and reviewing your current energy status. Why? In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) it is recommended to leave the body re charge for at least 2 years before even preparing to have another baby. Yet here in the western world, we tend to want more babies as quickly as possible. Many women that come to us feel guilt that their son or daughter doesn't have a sibling, and that they are getting older, and can be affected by peer pressure from family and friends.

What Is Jing?

In Traditional Chinese Medicine Jing is the primal life force in living beings. It is our genetic stock and it determines the power of our life. Jing is a fundamental determinant of our potential for a long life. A person with an abundance of Jing will most likely be healthy, strong and resilient, and can achieve great longevity. Unfortunately, for those who would like to live forever, Jing is depleted by life itself, moment by moment and day by day. All disease, minor or major, diminishes Jing; and in turn, in a vicious cycle, reduced Jing makes us more susceptible to disease, degeneration and general ageing. As Jing slowly or quickly runs out, we age, degenerate and then die. All death is ultimately associated with the loss of Jing.

Pregnancy and birth especially if either or both were more draining than others, for example if you suffered with bad morning-sickness, pre-eclampsia, or had a traumatic birth. When any of these happen to our body, they create an extra drain to our energy/Qi.

At conception, the Prenatal Jing (Essence) is passed to the foetus from the parents.

Prenatal Jing (together with an energy derived from the Kidneys of the mother) nourishes the foetus during pregnancy. So if the mother is exhausted going into another pregnancy, then this can lead to complications, especially post-natal, where we see women hit a wall of absolute exhaustion.

Prenatal Jing determines basic constitution, strength, and vitality. It is fixed in quantity, determined at birth: it cannot be added to, only conserved and used up more slowly. It is stored in the Kidneys.

You and your partner’s Jing are carried to your baby, and how you both are physically and mentally at time of conception really does make a difference. So if you have a toddler and they aren't sleeping through the night, or any other issue that is draining you both, please address this before you start to try again.

The way to conserve Prenatal Jing is by striving for balance in all life activities. Balance meaning moderation in diet, work/rest, and sexual activity. Irregularity or excess in these areas wastes Prenatal Jing.

Certain exercises help conserve Prenatal Jing, such as breathing exercises, Taiji (Tai Chi), and Qi Gong. Acupuncture is perfect to re balance both of you.

What we really want to instil in you is to make sure you have the energy to conceive and carry a baby right now, and if your answer is no, then we recommend taking steps such as our 90 day egg boosting program (exclusive to Create A Bump), getting extra sleep, and eating nourishing foods that replenish your lost energy.

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