Years ago I treated a woman who was a Primary School teacher who sought help with stress issues.
Her symptoms were particularly bad before her menstrual period.
She had sore breasts, abdominal bloating and constipation, and irritability. These symptoms improved after the onset of her period.
We began herbal treatment and acupuncture with a view to move the Liver energy to facilitate the free flow of energy in the body.
In addition to herbs for her Liver she was specifically given herbs to promote bowel function and address the constipation. This particular symptom was quite stubborn and did not respond initially. I brought out the “big guns” in the form of a different class of herbs that strongly move the bowel and finally her bowel movements were regular.
Her emotional life also underwent a change. She was a very emotionally restrained person but since taking the herbs confessed that she had occasionally yelled at the kids in class. She began allowing her emotions some freedom of expression and felt better for it.
Slowly things were changing, her periods were no longer a problem, her bowels movements were regular and she felt happier….and suddenly she was pregnant.
The significant thing to note here is that she was in her early forties. She had one child who was seventeen years old. She and her husband had not used contraception since her child was born, thinking that if a child came along it would be a blessing; they just didn’t think it would be seventeen years later!
What I like about this story is that it shows that when the body is healthy and in a state of harmony pregnancy is a natural outcome. We don’t need to work on fertility specifically. Rather by promoting overall health the body will do naturally what it is designed by nature to do.
Chinese Medicine does have answers to specific issues that arise in relation to fertility but the overall approach is one of promoting harmony in the entire being.