Unlocking Your Fertility Naturally: How Traditional East Asian Medicine Can Help You Conceive
From Frustrated to Fertile
Struggling to get or stay pregnant can feel overwhelming, isolating, and disheartening. Especially in your 30s or 40s, feeling like the clock is tick-tick-ticking away while you‘re spending your time sifting through an endless sea of advice, remedies, and interventions. Not to mention the exhaustion of managing your emotions as seemingly everyone around you announces their Big News! But you’re not alone—and there’s hope.
Traditional East Asian Medicine (TEAM) offers a truly holistic, time-tested, and scientifically validated approach to fertility, focusing on restoring balance, improving circulation, and supporting your body’s natural ability to conceive. Tools like acupressure, herbal medicine, moxa, and dietary therapy can help you feel more in control of your journey while nurturing your overall health. Let’s explore how TEAM can be your number one partner (after your actual partner) in helping you grow your family.
The TEAM Approach to Fertility: Balance, Flow, and Nourishment
In TEAM, fertility is not just about your reproductive system—it’s about your whole body working in harmony. Where Western medical science tends to view your body from a mechanistic perspective, with specific parts that perform specific functions that are not necessarily related to any other part, TEAM views your body as an ecosystem in which the function of each element affects and is affected by all other parts.
Instead of viewing fertility struggles as a problem with ovulation or implantation and trying to address that one issue, TEAM focuses on balancing all aspects of physiology so that you can return to your natural state of health which supports fertility as a primary function.
Why Aren’t You Getting Pregnant?
Getting answers about why you’re not getting pregnant can be frustrating and confusing. Despite advances in modern blood tests and imaging, your OB/Gyn or RE may not be able to pinpoint what’s going on in your body.
If you’ve been trying to get pregnant for 6 months or more, you’ve likely gone through the typical biomedical fertility work up to check your various hormone levels. These include blood tests to look for out of range values of estrogen, follicle stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, progesterone, testosterone, anti-mullerian hormone, and thyroid hormones. Often, a pelvic ultrasound is done to look for any structural abnormalities in the fallopian tubes, ovaries, or uterus. Sometimes this information is very useful and can lead to clarity and effective intervention. Other times, everything can be within normal limits with no clear answers on why you’re not getting or staying pregnant.
TEAM takes a wider view, drawing information from both your body and lifestyle. Observations about the quality of your pulse, the way your tongue looks, symptoms you experience, and the details of your menstrual cycle are used to assess what organ systems are out of balance. Lifestyle factors such as the type of work you do, the quality of your sleep, your mental-emotional health, your diet, and your exercise habits are evaluated in the context of how they might be contributing to your condition. All of this information paints a picture of where you’re out of balance and what treatment strategies are most appropriate for your unique body.
Fertility According to TEAM
Balancing Yin and Yang
Yin and Yang are terms that are used to categorize all the complementary forces that govern both your physiology and the world at large.
Yin includes the aspects of your body that are solid and tangible, the structural elements of your body, as well as the fluids and substances that circulate and nourish these structures. Yin is associated with rest and restoration, softness, coolness, and passivity. Hormonally speaking, estrogen and the follicular phase of your menstrual cycle are dominated by Yin.
Yang, which rhymes with ‘song’ not ‘sang’, is associated with the activities of your body - your metabolism, your movement and circulation, your energy levels, and warmth. Progesterone and the luteal phase of your menstrual cycle are dominated by Yang.
These complementary forces are meant to balance one another assuring that neither becomes more dominant. Rest follows activity, cooling balances warming. Both Yin and Yang need to be supported and in harmony for optimal fertility.
Supporting Qi and Blood Flow
Our bodies are powered by electrochemical reactions that create and release the energy we need to build the structure and substances necessary for proper health. This includes the chemical reactions that cause your heart to beat, the electrical impulses that travel through your nervous system, and the hormones that regulate your metabolism and reproduction.
In TEAM this energy is called Qi (pronounced ‘chee’). Every cell in your body requires Qi to function and every organ and system requires its own kind of Qi to carry out their specific roles. Qi maintenance and production is supported by proper nutrition, rest, and balanced activity. Qi can be depleted by poor dietary habits - what you eat as well as how you eat, inadequate sleep, excessive exercise, emotional stress, and the effects of the climate around you.
Blood, as viewed by TEAM, is responsible for nourishing and warming all the tissues of your body, much the same as it is viewed in western medicine. Blood is created when the nutrients and Qi from the food you eat are combined with the Qi present in your body which is then circulated throughout your body.
The proper movement of both Qi and Blood are vital to fertility, contributing to the movement of hormones between your brain and reproductive organs, nourishing the uterus and preparing it for conception. Lack of flow of either Qi or Blood can result in impaired ovulation, low hormone levels, inadequate uterine lining, or other impediments to becoming and staying pregnant.
Strengthening the Kidneys
While western medicine views the function of the kidneys as primarily involved in maintaining fluid balance, regulating metabolic functions, and filtering waste, TEAM considers the Kidneys to be the root of reproductive health. When viewed through the lens of TEAM, the Kidneys account for the genetic makeup and vitality that you inherit from your parents, regulate the flow of the hormones responsible for menstruation, and determine when you begin menopause.
The functions of the Kidneys can be categorized into activities associated with both Yin - hormones, structures, etc., and Yang - warmth, strength, the ability to maintain pregnancy, etc., as well as Kidney Jing - your genetic potential and regulation of the aging process. Sufficient reserves of all three aspects of the Kidney are vital to supporting fertility.
By addressing these core principles, TEAM provides a roadmap to enhance fertility and overall vitality.
The Fertility Supporting Tools of TEAM
Acupressure to Enhance Fertility
Acupressure is a simple, non-invasive, and easy to implement way to improve your fertility. By stimulating key points on your body you can regulate the proper production and flow of hormones, reduce the effects of stress and calm your nervous system, support digestion and your ability to assimilate nutrients, and promote blood flow to your reproductive organs.
Acupressure points can be stimulated with your fingers, thumb, or a variety of tools. Whatever you’re using you’ll want to apply pressure so that you feel a slight aching or dull sensation at the location. You aren’t looking to apply maximum force so if you don’t notice any dull or achy sensation when using a level of 7 out of 10 pressure, that’s ok. Oftentimes, the sensation will arise after a little time. Light pressure for a longer duration is better than applying too much pressure.
Stimulate each point with gentle pressure for 1-2 minutes daily, focusing on deep, relaxed breathing. You can use a circular rubbing motion or press-and-release motion, whichever feels best for you. You can even switch it up as you go. The method is less important than the consistent application of stimulation.
Five Acupressure Points to Support Fertility
SP6 (Three Yin Intersection)
Located on the inner leg, four finger-widths above your ankle, this point contributes to hormonal balance and reproductive health by strengthening digestion, supporting Kidney function, and promoting proper circulation of both Qi and Blood.
CV4 (Conception Vessel 4)
Found four finger-widths directly below your belly button, CV4 strengthens reproductive energy and promotes a healthy womb.
ST36 (Leg Three Miles)
About a hands-width below your knee, to the outside of your shin bone, this point enhances overall vitality and digestion, and supports Qi, Yin, and Blood which are vital for fertility.
LI4 (Joining Valley)
In the fleshy muscle between your thumb and index finger, it relieves stress and promotes emotional balance.
KD3 (Great Ravine)
On the inside of your ankle, between the tip of your ankle bone and your Achille’s tendon, this point nourishes Kidney energy, essential for fertility.
Herbal Medicine to Nourish Fertility
Herbs have been used for centuries to support fertility by nourishing the blood, regulating cycles, and addressing specific imbalances. While Chinese herbal formulas need to be prescribed by a qualified practitioner and matched to your specific pattern of imbalance, there are many safe, gentle, and easily accessible herbs you can use to support your fertility. The following herbs can be infused to make tea either on their own or in combination.
To make an herbal infusion, pour just boiled water over 1-2 Tablespoons of your herb(s) of choice and let steep for 5 to 20 minutes For warm tea, longer if you’d like to drink it cool. Strain before serving and sweeten with honey or other natural sweetener if you like.
Nettles
Rich in minerals like iron and calcium, nettles replenish the blood and support uterine health.
Red Clover
Known for its ability to enhance uterine health and support hormonal balance.
Ginger
A warming herb that improves circulation and supports digestion, helping to create an optimal environment for conception.
Moxibustion for Womb Warmth
Moxibustion, or moxa, is another method for stimulating acupressure points. It involves burning the dried herb mugwort, in the form of what is essentially a giant incense stick, near specific acupressure points to warm the womb, support specific organ functions, and enhance blood flow. It’s especially beneficial for women experiencing cold sensations, irregular cycles, or difficulty with implantation.
You can safely use moxa at home with guidance from a practitioner (I will definitely have more on this for you soon!). Focus on points like CV4 (near the lower abdomen) and ST 36 to gently warm the uterus, support digestion, and blood production, and encourage healthy circulation.
TEAM-Inspired Dietary Therapy
Food Today vs. The Food of Your Ancestors
What and how you eat play a huge role in supporting your fertility. Most nutritional advice from your doctor sounds something like “Eat a balanced diet and take a prenatal vitamin,” which doesn’t really give you a whole lot of practical info. If you start looking for answers online, you're likely to find a ton of conflicting advice and wild promises of superfoods and fad diets.
It’s true that humans across the globe have developed a wide range of dietary habits and practices through their long and diverse histories. Yet there are some commonalities to all traditional diets prior to the industrialization of our food system over the past 150 years or so.
Prior to the first grocery store (in the year 1919), mass production of shelf-stable food products via pasteurization and canning (mid 1800’s), and the availability of in-home refrigeration (1920-1950s), nearly all food was grown, harvest, hunted, raised, and processed close to home by real people with basic technology.
People ate the meat, vegetables, fruits, and grains that they either grew and processed themselves, or that they could buy or trade within their local communities. Storage and preservation was limited to salting, drying, fermenting, smoking, and other DIY techniques that had been used for countless generations. And humans had no problem reproducing at a rate that allowed us to populate pretty much the entire globe.
Today’s food systems are an entirely different landscape than what our ancestors knew. Not only do we have access to meat and produce from around the world, making eating seasonally a thing of the past, there are countless new food ingredients that have been added to the market in the past several decades. Industrial seed oils, chemical stabilizers, artificial colors and flavors, are all things that have only recently entered the human diet. Whether or not these additives impact your health negatively through their chemical effects on the body, they are definitely taking the place of more nutritional ingredients that provide the necessary building blocks for your cells, tissues, and organs to function optimally.
Avoiding foods that your great-grandparents wouldn’t have recognized as food is a good first step in restructuring your diet. This means prioritizing fresh and traditionally preserved meats, vegetables, fruits, and whole grains and preparing them in ways that don’t require complex technology or additives.
How is TEAM Nutrition Different?
In TEAM, the focus is less on ratios of macronutrients or the presence of specific beneficial compounds and more on the effects that particular foods have on your body - allowing them to either balance or exacerbate certain body types and conditions.
Foods influence your body through their energy, not in the mystical woo-woo way, but in their ability to influence the chemistry of your body to create changes in circulation, temperature regulation, and fluid balance. These abilities are linked to the Temperature, Flavor(s), and Movement of individual foods and can be used to strategically choose the foods that will support your body and correct imbalances that are impacting your health.
The Energy of Foods
Temperature:
Foods influence temperature by cooling and warming specific areas or conditions. Foods are categorized as warm, cool, neutral, hot, or cold depending on how strongly they affect temperature one way or the other.
Flavor:
The Flavor of foods indicate what organs and systems they’ll affect and whether they act anabolically or catabolically in the body. Anabolic foods help to build structure and substance, while catabolic foods help with detoxification and transformation. The five flavors are - sweet, sour, bitter, pungent, and salty.
Movement:
Foods also have directional influence on your body with the ability to create movement upward, downward, inward, or outward in the body. These properties are used to counterbalance conditions in which there is inappropriate movement in the body including conditions such as prolapse, fluid retention, excess sweating, or high blood pressure.
The goal of TEAM nutrition is to balance and nourish your body with warm, easy-to-digest foods that enhance the quality of your Blood and Qi while mitigating the effects of the internal imbalances that have arisen from the conditions of your life and external environment.
General Guidelines
1. Eat mostly cooked foods, warming soups and stews, especially those made with bone broth, to nourish and support your body.
2. Emphasize fresh, whole foods over processed or refined pre-packaged and convenience foods.
3. Avoid excessive consumption of cold or raw foods, which can dampen digestive fire leading to sluggish digestion and reduced metabolic activity
4. Include healthy fats like avocado, nuts, and seeds to support hormone production.
5. Add blood-nourishing foods like cooked dark leafy greens, beets, and dates to your meals.
Specific Food Groups
Vegetables
Lightly cooked vegetables are recommended for their ability to tonify qi and blood.
Fruits
Used to generate fluids and promote bowel movements, but should be consumed in moderation due to their cooling nature.
Grains
Considered important for tonifying qi and regulating body fluids.
Animal Products
Used to strongly tonify qi and blood, with different meats having varying energetic properties.
Creating Fertility-Friendly Routines for Your Day
Integrating these TEAM practices into your daily routine doesn’t have to be overwhelming or all-or-nothing. Any small change that you commit to incorporating consistently will result in significant changes over time.
If all of this is new to you, choose one thing, the thing that sounds most fun, most interesting, or even just the most achievable and start there. Once you're comfortable with your first new habit, add another. You don’t have to do everything at once to get the results you want.
If you’re looking for more specific guidance, be sure to sign up for my weekly emails in the box below. When you do, you’ll gain access to my Acupressure Guide, be notified when new articles are published to my website, and be the first to know when my online workshop From Frustrated to Fertile with TEAM launches.