herbs for conception

I thought I would also add a new post about the herbs I am taking. I have consistently taken Agnus Castus for the past three months as well as Angelica and White Peony this month up to ovulation. Agnus Castus is probably the best studied herbal medicine. I have never seen anything that suggest it may be toxic (even in pregnancy) so I continue taking it twice a day until I know if I am pregnant. The other two are to help build up a better lining. Surprising enough the first time I took them my lining was better than in the four months before. Could be coincidence, maybe not. I am taking them as tinctures. I can’t be bothered with boiling herbs and straing the tea every day. My life is busy enough as it is. Luckily you can buy tinctures on the internet.

I also massaged my tummy every day in the morning for about 10 minutes, all over in circular motion. If nothing else it stimulations digestion…..

alternatives

Tomorrow I will go in for a day 10 scan. Hopefully my lining will be a bit better developed this time. I did notice that my periods have changed since I had the second miscarriage and of course it concerns me.  I know that my mental well being has a big influence on my body. To give you an example: Ten years ago when I split up with my husband I didn’t have a period for 9 months. I was in such a bad emotional mess that my body just shut down. I wonder if my very light periods and possibly the past miscarriages have a similar underlying cause. I also believe that the body has an amazing capacity to self heal and if I only support it right it will all get back to normal.

I will see if instead of taking medication (aspirin seems to pop up everywhere being praised for its assistance in conception) I can get some help from acupuncture. It makes me very anxious to take medication because I know that with every desired effect there are always side effects. Believe me, working in the pharmaceutical industry is eye-opening in the respect that it is really difficult to come up with any medication that does what it is supposed to do but is not toxic and has no side effects.  Aspirin for example is believed to hinder ovulation.  What good is a healthy lining if one won’t ovulate?

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to talk anyone out of taking their medication. I just notice that my level of anxiety is very high anyhow and I don’t want to add anything to it. If in the back of my mind I worry about taking medication I think I better find an alternative.

I had acupuncture a few days ago, quite an interesting experience. Part of the diagnosis is feeling your pulses (yes, plural, there is more than one!) and looking at your tongue! What I found very interesting was that I am still very raw inside from my first miscarriage. When she asked me how I felt about the miscarriages now I almost cried. It made me realise that I am not really over it, that I am still grieving and that it has been a long long time since anyone actually aske me how I was.  That little bit of genuine concern and compassion really did me a lot of good. I can do with any support I can get because going through all this on my own is really hard.

She put a number of needles in my food, toe, wrist and tummy and had me rest for a while. I can’t say I feel any different yet. Patience, my old friend, is needed again. At least I don’t feel I am harming my body with this.

I also started to practice meditation which I wanted to do for a long time. If nothing else it will help me to be a bit calmer and accept whatever if coming my way.