In The Yin Ova Center's Jill Blakeway & Dr Sami's book "Making Babies" they discuss 5 Fertility types, including the Dry Fertility type. Here we'll discuss the antidote to Dry types - the Yin Energy. Why overcoming dryness is important in fertility? What is Depleted Yin? How do you help your body gain Yin energy?Yin & Yang in fertility: In women, their Yin is their eggs, blood and body fluids. This includes your menstrual blood and your cervical mucus. Without these Yin substances, you cannot conceive.
In the male, yin is their sperm. Needless to say, sperm is crucial in conceiving!
Yin Substances
Eggs - Quality & Quantity. In Chinese Medicine we view Egg Quality as paramount. You can have abundant eggs of poor quality and not conceive, as opposed to fewer eggs of better quality and be successful. It only takes One good egg!!
If your Yin & Jing energy is good, your egg quality should be also good. If you are TTC for 12+ months you should be referred to a fertility specialist. Here they can test your egg quality.
Another egg test is your AMH or Anti-Mullerian Hormone, an indicator of your ovarian reserve or quantity of eggs. Number of eggs factors in with Chinese Medicine as your Jing. You can read more about Jing here. Overall your AMH gives you a sense of your fertility timeline, and whether you have plenty of time or conception becomes more urgent.
Menstrual Blood, for example. Once you've a period and you know you are not pregnant, it is this shedded blood that once formed the functional layer of the endometrium. The condition of the endometrium is vital to successful implantation, growth and development of an embryo into a foetus and also begins the growth of the placenta, the foetus' lifeline.
Cervical Mucus is another indicator of a woman's Yin energy. Without Cervical Mucus (CM) fertility is low and chances are reduced for successful conception. The cervical mucus provides the right conditions for and the vehicle for the sperm to survive and make their journey successfully. Some women may have an ideal regular cycle like clockwork, mild PMS, mild hormonal indicators, but have trouble conceiving because they have little to no Cervical Mucus.
Sperm. Again Quality is paramount. Obviously conception can only happen with healthy and viable sperm. This must be tested if you have been trying to conceive for more than 12 months, or is a good idea if you're concerned after trying 3-6 months. You are looking at the Motility (can they/ how they move) and Morphology (their structure/ checking for abnormalities)
Body Fluids include your sweat, saliva, interstitial/cellular fluid, lymph, pretty much any of the water content of your body in both men and women. The general body fluids give us more clues with the guys about how their Yin is doing, as the Women have clear indicators in their Blood (including your Iron/ Ferritin levels), Menstrual Blood (flow of the period) & Cervical Mucus.
When Yin is Depleted. Ensuring your Yin is in good condition is essential to successful conception.
You might see:
- Little or no CM
- Light Period
- Scant Sperm
- Painful sex for women
- As well as profuse sweating
- feeling thirsty all the time
- not having restful sleep or sweating in the night
- chronic dry skin, hair, nails, eyes, and mouth.
Lifestyle factors that make Yin Depletion worse:
- Smoking anything
- Recreational Drugs incl. Cocaine, Marijuana, Ice, Heroin, Amphetamines.
- Drinking Alcohol
- Excessive Chilli
- Coffee
- Think of things that overheat and exhaust the body physically, or internally and that's what depletes Yin over long periods of time.
How do I build up my Yin energy?
A Yin Treatment strategy involves: Moistening & nourishing
- Apples and Pears are a great Yin Nourishing food.
- Men should take Zinc and lots of it.
- Keep hydrated, not just drinking water but use electrolytes as well to really hydrate your body on a cellular level.
- Drink cooling (NOT COLD) drinks such as tea, Green Tea, Peppermint tea
- Bone Broths are great for building Yin & Blood
- See a Registered or Licensed Acupuncturist for more help with Acupuncture to stimulate your Yin energy, clear heat and ease dryness.
- Seek help from a Registered or Licensed Chinese Herbal Medicine Practitioner to speed up the Yin building process.
If this post has made you think "Hey, that's me!" and you'd like to work on supporting your body better, definitely get Jill Blakeway's book Making Babies to learn more.
Or if you're near the Northern Beaches of Sydney, Australia and like to discuss your health further with me, I encourage you to make contact via info@springfertility.com.au and I'd be happy to chat further.
