Essentially, A Fertility Issue

I'm not sure if I have ever come across any deeper, more profound a disappointment than that expressed by adults who are unable to conceive a child.

Today, of course, there are any number of "interventions" to make conception possible. I'm happy to hear that, but I know that many women and men want to have an experience that is as natural as possible (i.e., artificial insemination and/or surrogate pregnancy, etc. is not generally a first choice). For that reason, when it is determined that there is some impediment to conception, many couples consider--at least initially--less invasive alternative or complementary strategies in lieu of the pharmaceutical and/or surgical options.

Essential Oils Can Help Clear The Way

Infertility is on the increase for a lot of different reasons. Determining who is infertile and why can mean umpteen trips to doctors and specialists, and many pretty invasive tests and procedures. While essential oils can not claim to help with 'structural' problems, they can help to clear up specific diseases that prevent pregnancy from taking place. Stay tuned over the next few blogs--I will be looking at some of these particular conditions and the essential oil possibilities in correcting them so that conception might take place.*

Can Essential Oils Help If Infertility is a "Hormonal Issue"?
Good news-- essential oils contain phytohormones which are similar to human hormones and act like tiny chemical messengers. Marcel Lavabre writes in The Aromatherapy Workbook that essential oils contain vitamins, hormones, antibiotics and/or antiseptics! In The International Journal of Aromatherapy, pharmacologist Tony Balacs states that essential oil constituents may have hormone-like activity. When their structure is similar enough to the hormone, they will interact with the same receptor as the human hormone. Aromatherapist Robert Tisserand explains, for example, that essential oils such as Coriander, Cypress and Fennel stimulate estrogen production.**

In Europe, Dr. Jean Valnet pioneered 'phytotherapy', or the medicinal use of essential oils. He found that essential oils amp up the function and health of the glands that produce the hormones. Of the hormones involved in conception, there are a number of plant hormones that imitate them. I personally have known of people who bathed in Geranium essential oil or used Clary Sage essential oil and became pregnant in spite of great odds against such a "miracle" occurring.

If the woman in the couple is infertile, she can try the following oils:

Geranium

Clary-sage

Thyme

Nutmeg

Cypress

Coriander

Fennel

Chamomile Roman

Start using the above on the last day of your period.

Use 6-8 drops of a single oil, or combine an equally-proportioned formula (drop for drop) of your favourite oils above, and use 6-8 drops.

Add 6-8 drops (above) to 1/4 C. epsom salts, mix, and run under warm bath water. Bathe daily.

Massage 5 drops of essential oil to 1 teaspoon Vegetable oil (virgin coconut oil or nut oils are good)over the whole abdomen, hips, across the lower back, and into the butt crease without going as far as the anus or the genitals. Do not forget the lower back because that is where you find the nerves that connect with uterus and ovaries.

Men who are infertile can use the same oils, and apply or bathe as above. Continue daily for about three months.

I Am Soooo Stressed About This Infertility Thing...

Anxiety certainly hasn't been shown to result in pregnancy. We have all heard of couples who have adopted, only to become pregnant after the pressure is off!

Essential oils are most famous for their pleasant aromatic qualities, their lovely, uplifting, de-stressing scents. If you think that stress is the "big deterrent" to your conceiving, merely combine 3 drops of Clary-sage and 3 of Geranium added to the 1/4 C. of Epsom salts in your bath. Diffuse these lovely scents in your home, particularly the bedroom.

Anything Else?

Look after yourself, support your partner in good health and harmony. Give up smoking. Eat lots of leafy greens and cut out the bad stuff (you know). Google for other information about alternative infertility treatment.

But never underestimate the power of those tiny little molecules!

This blog is dedicated to exploring the benefits of using only high quality, pure essential oils that are grown organically or selectively wildcrafted, distilled in a manner that does not use solvents or other harsh chemicals, tested in independent labs to maintain the standards of Association Française de Normalisation (AFNOR) and ISO (International Organization for Standardization).

Frankly, I would be extremely wary of using most essential oils and other substances-- particularly pharmaceutical drugs-- in the delicate application of treating reproductive problems. "Cheap" essential oils are often the product of rapid, chemical distillation of inferior plants with solvents, rendering them ineffectual at best and very dangerous at worst. On the other hand, organic, therapeutic grade essential oils, when properly used, do not remain in the body, leave no toxins behind, and offer a potent, convenient, practical, pleasant solution. 

* Information about application and formulas for essential oil therapy is taken from The Complete Book of Essential Oils & Aromatherapy, by Valerie Ann Worwood.
**Adapted from Laboratory of Flowers site.

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