January 21, 2025 • 17 mins
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been around for thousands of years. Have you ever wondered how doctors were able to help women get pregnant without actually knowing anything about blood chemistry or how hormones work as we understand it in the present day?
In this episode, you'll learn the perspective of Chinese medicine on fertility. We uncover how the four vital substances—Qi, blood, yin, and yang—interact through the menstrual cycle and impact hormonal balance, and ultimately, fertility.
• Explanation of the four vital substances and their roles in the body
• Overview of the four phases of the menstrual cycle in TCM
• Introduction of the 10 Parameters of a Fertile Cycle
• Key insights into why a regular cycle isn't always a fertile cycle
To download the fertile cycle checklist, please click HERE.
Follow me on instagram @dradriennewei
Website: www.adriennewei.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to the Practically Fertile Podcast.
I'm Adrienne Wee, doctor ofacupuncture and Chinese medicine
, functional medicinepractitioner and functional
nutritionist.
I specialize in using anevidence-based method, blending
principles of East Asianmedicine and modern functional
medicine to help women optimizefertility and get pregnant.
(00:22):
I believe in a world whereevery woman who wants to be a
mother becomes one.
If you're tired of being toldthat you're infertile and you
want to take the right steps toget pregnant naturally and
quickly, this podcast is for you.
Hey, fertile friend, before Iget started, I want to let you
know that I have prepared afertile cycle checklist for you
(00:45):
as today's downloadable resource.
Make sure that you stay tunedto find out what it is and how
to get your hands on it.
In the last episode, we learnedabout the key hormones that are
crucial for fertility.
I hope you learned a thing ortwo about the interconnectedness
of all the major players andsupporting actors and see how
it's never one specificimbalance that's the issue.
(01:08):
There's always a cause furtherupstream.
Conventional medicine is greatwe need it for sure, but I will
say, when it comes to hormones,what it measures is one data
point in time and it doesn'tgive you the complete picture.
For example, if your cycle daythree blood work shows that your
FSH is high, it's great you gotthat information.
(01:30):
But what you're wondering aboutthis is how does this impact my
fertility and how does thisimpact my body?
Or if your blood work showsthat your hormone levels are
normal, then why are you notgetting pregnant?
None of these numbers reallytell you anything beyond just a
number.
It's also super impractical toget blood work done every single
(01:53):
month to see what your numbersare, unless you're doing
fertility treatments.
But if you're trying toconceive naturally, you don't
have that luxury.
Everything seems okay, but arethey optimal?
And how would you know withoutgetting blood work?
That's why I integrate the twomedical systems together.
Modern and traditional Chinesemedicine has such a different
(02:15):
way of evaluating the bodybecause thousands of years ago
there was no biomedicalunderstanding of the body.
No one knew anything aboutblood chemistry, hormones or
anything like that.
The entire medical system wasdeveloped based on observations
of signs and symptoms and a lotof trial and error to resolve
these imbalances over thousandsof years.
(02:38):
So what you get is a medicalsystem that is tried and true,
proven to work and still used bybillions of people today.
I always joke with my patientswhen they ask me does TCM or
traditional Chinese medicinework?
And I always say if it didn'twork, chinese people wouldn't be
alive today.
The reason why TCM is stillrelevant today is because it's
(03:02):
really sophisticated.
Of course, it has limitations,for sure, but it can absolutely
determine the root causes ofdisease without needing blood
work.
That is actually one of itslimitations.
Also, tcm is not going to beable to tell you that you're
vitamin D deficient or you'revitamin B12 deficient.
It can tell you that you havecertain patterns of imbalances
(03:24):
that's causing symptoms likefatigue, hair loss, pale skin
feeling, cold light periods, butit won't be able to pinpoint
the blood chemistry markers thatare out of range.
The thing is, though, evenwithout blood chemistry
knowledge, using the TCMdiagnostic system, once your
pattern of imbalance isidentified and you start
(03:46):
implementing appropriatetreatments based on your
specific pattern, you'll feelbetter.
You'll start to see morefertile signs, but it's faster
if we incorporate modernmedicine, and that's why I
developed a protocol thatincorporates both.
Anyway, how does TCM tell youthat your hormones are off
(04:07):
balance each month without bloodwork?
I'm a fairly modern TCMpractitioner, which means I've
fully embraced moderninterpretations of TCM
principles and how theycorrelate with present day
understanding of the body.
As you follow me on socialmedia and on this podcast,
you'll see what I mean by that.
What I've developed is what'sknown as the 10 parameters of a
(04:30):
fertile cycle.
These are 10 data points thatevaluate your cycle every month
and gives you information basedon the principles of TCM and how
they might correlate topossible hormone imbalances.
So to get started, though, Ineed to teach you the concept of
(04:50):
the four vital substances.
According to Chinese medicine,these are the crucial components
that make it possible for us tobe alive and healthy.
When they're off balance, ourhealth is not optimal.
They're like friends unhealthy.
When they're off balance, ourhealth is not optimal.
They're like friends Also, justlike our hormones are all
friends.
Sometimes they fight, sometimesthey're besties.
(05:11):
These four substances are braceyourself, these are the terms
that you might have never heardabout before Qi, blood, yin and
yang.
Let's talk about each of these.
Qi, spelled q-I and pronouncedlike chi, c-h-e-e, it's the
vital energy circulating throughthe body.
(05:33):
The way to look at this isthink of it like the electricity
that's powering your house.
You can't see it, but you knowit's there.
Qi is very important because itgets things moving.
It moves the blood, for example.
It also keeps your body strongand it protects you from getting
(05:54):
sick.
If you don't have enough qi,you might feel tired or weak.
If it doesn't flow well, thingscan get stuck like a traffic
jam on a busy road.
Next up we have bloodSelf-explanatory Turns out.
Blood in Chinese medicine isthe same as blood in Western
medicine.
It nourishes the body.
It nourishes the organs.
Blood also nourishes the mind.
(06:16):
If you don't have enough blood,you can feel anxious, dizzy,
tired.
Then we have yin and yang.
Yang is Y-A-n-g.
It's pronounced yang, not yang.
Yin is the cooling energy.
It keeps the body cool,hydrated and prevents
overheating.
Without enough yin energy, youmight feel dry, overheated and
(06:40):
have trouble relaxing.
It directly counterbalances theyang energy, which is the warm
and activating energy.
Yang energy is like the firethat keeps the body going.
It gives you energy to getthrough the day and it keeps you
warm.
Without enough yang, you'llfeel very cold and very sluggish
.
So you might notice that bloodand yin seem to have similar
(07:04):
functions, and qi and yang dothe same things.
Here is one way of looking atthis Yin energy and blood they
provide actual resources for thebody.
And qi and yang.
They provide energy andactivity.
All of the four substances haveto work together and balance
each other in order for us to behealthy.
(07:26):
Of course, in reality, no oneis ever 100% balanced, but
that's always the goal is toachieve balance.
A lot of Chinese medicineprinciples that I'll be
discussing on this podcast andwherever you might find me.
Finding balance is what you'llhear a lot.
Finding balance is what you'llhear a lot.
So the yin and yang energiesare a bit more abstract.
(07:48):
I'm not sure if you're familiarwith the yin and yang symbol.
One side is black and one sideis white.
On the black side there's awhite dot and on the white side
there's a black dot.
This symbol shows how wemaintain balance and optimal
health.
There's a constant transfer ofenergy from one form to another.
(08:09):
So now let's get on with howthese four substances and
hormone status are all related.
In Chinese medicine, themenstrual cycle is divided into
four phases the bleeding phase,the cooling phase, the moving
phase and the warming phase.
I came up with these names asan easy way to understand what
is happening in each of thephases.
(08:31):
So, depending on what resourceand what sources you come across
, the names might be different.
Some sources would call thesecond phase the yin phase, the
third phase the qi phase, butwhen you and I are talking, the
four phases are bleeding,cooling, moving and warming.
The bleeding phase is againself-explanatory You're having
(08:54):
your period.
There is blood.
The second phase is the coolingphase.
If you remember, a minute ago Italked about how the yin energy
is cooling and lubricating.
What else is cooling andlubricating?
How the yin energy is coolingand lubricating?
What else is cooling andlubricating?
Estrogen right From the lastepisode we talked about estrogen
.
The second phase of the cycle isalso known as the follicular
(09:15):
phase.
That's when the follicle isdeveloping Well.
The yin energy is thereforemost abundant during this phase.
The third phase is the movingphase.
During this time the body ispreparing for ovulation, which
means that you need abundantvital energy or qi, to make sure
nothing gets stuck, to makesure that the follicle ruptures
(09:38):
on time, to make sure that theegg travels down the tube
appropriately, to make sure that, if there's fibrillation, the
embryo travels down to the tubeat the right speed to implant in
the uterus.
If the embryo gets stuck, youmight end up with an ectopic
pregnancy.
Usually if there's lateovulation or delayed ovulation,
(10:00):
the vital energy, or qi, istypically the culprit.
It's either stuck or sluggish.
The last phase of the cycle iswhen the embryo should be
implanting.
That is the warming phase andduring this phase your body
temperature rises.
If you take the BBT, you'll seea spike in your body
(10:21):
temperature.
In Chinese medicine that's dueto the actions of the yang
energy, because it's warming andprotecting.
It's making the uterus a niceand cushy home for the embryo.
What else do we know?
Raises the body temperature andprepares the lining for
implantation Progesterone, right.
So the yang energy is very muchlike the progesterone.
(10:42):
So knowing this now is verymuch like the progesterone.
So knowing this now, you cansee why.
If there's any imbalance betweenthese energetics, there will be
telltale signs of hormoneimbalance as well.
That, my friend, is how Icreated what I call the 10
parameters of a fertile cycle.
What I realized a long time agowas that just having a regular
(11:03):
cycle is not the same as havinga fertile cycle.
Even if the blood work isnormal, it still doesn't reflect
the actual hormone interactionsinside your body.
And this tool the 10 parametersof a fertile cycle has proven
to be invaluable in giving mefeedback about my patient's
fertility potential on a monthlybasis and also actually to see
(11:25):
if my treatments are working.
These 10 parameters are cyclelength, days of period flow,
color of the flow, amount of theflow, consistency of the flow,
texture of the flow, continuityof the flow, pain level, uterine
lining stability, whetheryou're experiencing spotting
before your period, cervicalmucus and PMS.
(11:51):
I'm not going to get into theentire 10 parameters right now.
I just want to give you thisoverview today.
I promise I'll have anotherepisode to go into more detail
about them, but let me give youa couple of examples of what the
parameters can indicate.
You might have experienced avery light period flow that
lasts one to three days.
(12:11):
If the flow itself is quiteheavy, I don't tend to worry as
much as the situation where theperiod lasts two to three days
and the period is very light,like barely needing to use a pad
or tampon, and the blood mightbe very dark.
Maybe you read that this isn'tan issue Doctors don't seem to
(12:32):
worry but this might be anindication of not having enough
blood, and I don't mean thatyou're anemic, I mean you don't
have of the substance that'sblood.
If there isn't enough blood,there isn't enough nourishment
going to the organs, includingthe ovaries and uterus.
That could mean a poor qualityegg, causing thin lining.
(12:55):
There is evidence that show usa period flow of less than four
days decreases your chances ofgetting pregnant.
To be fair, this wasn't aclinical trial or anything, but
by evaluating over 50,000women's menstrual cycle
characteristics, the researcherswere able to identify this
(13:17):
correlation we talked about.
Poor eye quality could becaused by small follicle size,
causing low progesterone.
It might not be a big deal inWestern medicine, but it is a
big and huge deal in Chinesemedicine.
Another example the cervicalmucus egg white cervical mucus.
Again, there's actuallyevidence that having at least
(13:38):
three days of egg white cervicalmucus means this will increase
your chances of getting pregnant.
Cervical mucus has an importantjob to filter out bad sperm and
to carry the good sperm to meetthe egg.
Without this fertile mucus, thevagina becomes a hostile
environment to sperm and spermcan die within minutes.
(13:59):
If there isn't enough yinenergy, you'll experience signs
of dryness.
If there isn't enough yinenergy, you'll experience signs
of dryness.
Not only very little egg whitecervical mucus, but you could
also have vaginal dryness,making intercourse painful.
This correlates to an estrogenimbalance.
Either the estrogen level isn'toptimal or your body's not
responding appropriately toestrogen.
(14:20):
One of the most excitingachievements that we celebrate
in my clinic is when a patientstarts to see three days of egg
white cervical mucus.
We don't get champagne or cakeor anything like that, but we
high five, we hug, we jump upand down because having egg
white cervical mucus is so huge.
It's a big deal.
It's a sign that the estrogenis doing what it's supposed to
(14:43):
do.
Again, there's a large range ofwhat is considered normal for
estrogen.
Your blood work might indicatethat the levels are fine, but
fine is not fantastic.
Fine doesn't mean your body isresponding appropriately to that
hormone.
Let me tell you how to get yourhands on this Fertile Cycle
checklist.
(15:03):
You can go to adrienneweecomslash Fertile Cycle to download
this checklist.
What should you do with thisinformation Now that you've
downloaded the Fertile Cyclechecklist?
Go through the checklist andget your baseline Fertile Cycle
score and use it on a monthlybasis to see if what you're
(15:24):
doing is working, to see if yourscore improves.
Keep this in mind.
Your score will improve andit'll also decrease sometimes.
Don't worry about that.
If your score decreases onemonth.
Look at your lifestyleenvironment whether you've
experienced more stress thanusual, make any necessary
adjustments and see if itreturns to normal.
If your cycle score does notimprove after two or three
(15:50):
months, then you'll need to digdeeper to find out what else is
going on.
A question I get a lot is thishey, I have a super high fertile
cycle score.
It's a 9 or a 10.
Why am I not pregnant?
It's not when I get to a scoreof 10, I should be pregnant.
This is one piece of the puzzle.
It's one tool to help you getfeedback about your fertility.
(16:11):
There are many other variablesthat determine whether you get
pregnant this month or nextmonth.
If you achieve a 10 on thefertile cycle score, that is
absolutely fantastic.
You have to maintain it.
I will say that when mypatients reach high scores like
8, 9, or 10, number one itdoesn't just drop back down to a
5 or 6.
(16:31):
It usually stays there.
And number two within a fewmonths they do get pregnant.
With my protocols, three to sixmonths is usually when we see
major changes, whether it'simprovement to the cycle or
pregnancy.
When it comes to hormones andfertility, you can't just snap
your fingers and expectsomething dramatically to be
different.
(16:51):
If you worked hard to improveyour cycle.
Kudos.
Keep up the good work.
Okay, we're nearing the end ofthe episode.
If you still feel like youdon't have a good grasp on the
four substances and the TCMperspective on the menstrual
cycle, do not worry one bit.
You're going to hear a lot moreof them throughout this podcast
and if you follow me on social,we'll talk about them over and
(17:13):
over again.
I recommend that you use thisFertile Cycle Checklist monthly
and be proactive about makingchanges that'll have a positive
impact on your fertility.
Use it like a feedback tool.
I'm wrapping up here.
If you found this episodehelpful, please subscribe and
share it with someone who mightbenefit.
Until next time, beautifulfriend, take care of yourself
(17:36):
and your amazing body.
You're one fertile cycle awayfrom getting pregnant.
Welcome to the Practically Fertile Podcast.
I'm Adrienne Wee, doctor ofacupuncture and Chinese medicine
, functional medicinepractitioner and functional
nutritionist.
I specialize in using anevidence-based method, blending
principles of East Asianmedicine and modern functional
medicine to help women optimizefertility and get pregnant.
(00:22):
I believe in a world whereevery woman who wants to be a
mother becomes one.
If you're tired of being toldthat you're infertile and you
want to take the right steps toget pregnant naturally and
quickly, this podcast is for you.
Hey, fertile friend, before Iget started, I want to let you
know that I have prepared afertile cycle checklist for you
(00:45):
as today's downloadable resource.
Make sure that you stay tunedto find out what it is and how
to get your hands on it.
In the last episode, we learnedabout the key hormones that are
crucial for fertility.
I hope you learned a thing ortwo about the interconnectedness
of all the major players andsupporting actors and see how
it's never one specificimbalance that's the issue.
(01:08):
There's always a cause furtherupstream.
Conventional medicine is greatwe need it for sure, but I will
say, when it comes to hormones,what it measures is one data
point in time and it doesn'tgive you the complete picture.
For example, if your cycle daythree blood work shows that your
FSH is high, it's great you gotthat information.
(01:30):
But what you're wondering aboutthis is how does this impact my
fertility and how does thisimpact my body?
Or if your blood work showsthat your hormone levels are
normal, then why are you notgetting pregnant?
None of these numbers reallytell you anything beyond just a
number.
It's also super impractical toget blood work done every single
(01:53):
month to see what your numbersare, unless you're doing
fertility treatments.
But if you're trying toconceive naturally, you don't
have that luxury.
Everything seems okay, but arethey optimal?
And how would you know withoutgetting blood work?
That's why I integrate the twomedical systems together.
Modern and traditional Chinesemedicine has such a different
(02:15):
way of evaluating the bodybecause thousands of years ago
there was no biomedicalunderstanding of the body.
No one knew anything aboutblood chemistry, hormones or
anything like that.
The entire medical system wasdeveloped based on observations
of signs and symptoms and a lotof trial and error to resolve
these imbalances over thousandsof years.
(02:38):
So what you get is a medicalsystem that is tried and true,
proven to work and still used bybillions of people today.
I always joke with my patientswhen they ask me does TCM or
traditional Chinese medicinework?
And I always say if it didn'twork, chinese people wouldn't be
alive today.
The reason why TCM is stillrelevant today is because it's
(03:02):
really sophisticated.
Of course, it has limitations,for sure, but it can absolutely
determine the root causes ofdisease without needing blood
work.
That is actually one of itslimitations.
Also, tcm is not going to beable to tell you that you're
vitamin D deficient or you'revitamin B12 deficient.
It can tell you that you havecertain patterns of imbalances
(03:24):
that's causing symptoms likefatigue, hair loss, pale skin
feeling, cold light periods, butit won't be able to pinpoint
the blood chemistry markers thatare out of range.
The thing is, though, evenwithout blood chemistry
knowledge, using the TCMdiagnostic system, once your
pattern of imbalance isidentified and you start
(03:46):
implementing appropriatetreatments based on your
specific pattern, you'll feelbetter.
You'll start to see morefertile signs, but it's faster
if we incorporate modernmedicine, and that's why I
developed a protocol thatincorporates both.
Anyway, how does TCM tell youthat your hormones are off
(04:07):
balance each month without bloodwork?
I'm a fairly modern TCMpractitioner, which means I've
fully embraced moderninterpretations of TCM
principles and how theycorrelate with present day
understanding of the body.
As you follow me on socialmedia and on this podcast,
you'll see what I mean by that.
What I've developed is what'sknown as the 10 parameters of a
(04:30):
fertile cycle.
These are 10 data points thatevaluate your cycle every month
and gives you information basedon the principles of TCM and how
they might correlate topossible hormone imbalances.
So to get started, though, Ineed to teach you the concept of
(04:50):
the four vital substances.
According to Chinese medicine,these are the crucial components
that make it possible for us tobe alive and healthy.
When they're off balance, ourhealth is not optimal.
They're like friends unhealthy.
When they're off balance, ourhealth is not optimal.
They're like friends Also, justlike our hormones are all
friends.
Sometimes they fight, sometimesthey're besties.
(05:11):
These four substances are braceyourself, these are the terms
that you might have never heardabout before Qi, blood, yin and
yang.
Let's talk about each of these.
Qi, spelled q-I and pronouncedlike chi, c-h-e-e, it's the
vital energy circulating throughthe body.
(05:33):
The way to look at this isthink of it like the electricity
that's powering your house.
You can't see it, but you knowit's there.
Qi is very important because itgets things moving.
It moves the blood, for example.
It also keeps your body strongand it protects you from getting
(05:54):
sick.
If you don't have enough qi,you might feel tired or weak.
If it doesn't flow well, thingscan get stuck like a traffic
jam on a busy road.
Next up we have bloodSelf-explanatory Turns out.
Blood in Chinese medicine isthe same as blood in Western
medicine.
It nourishes the body.
It nourishes the organs.
Blood also nourishes the mind.
(06:16):
If you don't have enough blood,you can feel anxious, dizzy,
tired.
Then we have yin and yang.
Yang is Y-A-n-g.
It's pronounced yang, not yang.
Yin is the cooling energy.
It keeps the body cool,hydrated and prevents
overheating.
Without enough yin energy, youmight feel dry, overheated and
(06:40):
have trouble relaxing.
It directly counterbalances theyang energy, which is the warm
and activating energy.
Yang energy is like the firethat keeps the body going.
It gives you energy to getthrough the day and it keeps you
warm.
Without enough yang, you'llfeel very cold and very sluggish
.
So you might notice that bloodand yin seem to have similar
(07:04):
functions, and qi and yang dothe same things.
Here is one way of looking atthis Yin energy and blood they
provide actual resources for thebody.
And qi and yang.
They provide energy andactivity.
All of the four substances haveto work together and balance
each other in order for us to behealthy.
(07:26):
Of course, in reality, no oneis ever 100% balanced, but
that's always the goal is toachieve balance.
A lot of Chinese medicineprinciples that I'll be
discussing on this podcast andwherever you might find me.
Finding balance is what you'llhear a lot.
Finding balance is what you'llhear a lot.
So the yin and yang energiesare a bit more abstract.
(07:48):
I'm not sure if you're familiarwith the yin and yang symbol.
One side is black and one sideis white.
On the black side there's awhite dot and on the white side
there's a black dot.
This symbol shows how wemaintain balance and optimal
health.
There's a constant transfer ofenergy from one form to another.
(08:09):
So now let's get on with howthese four substances and
hormone status are all related.
In Chinese medicine, themenstrual cycle is divided into
four phases the bleeding phase,the cooling phase, the moving
phase and the warming phase.
I came up with these names asan easy way to understand what
is happening in each of thephases.
(08:31):
So, depending on what resourceand what sources you come across
, the names might be different.
Some sources would call thesecond phase the yin phase, the
third phase the qi phase, butwhen you and I are talking, the
four phases are bleeding,cooling, moving and warming.
The bleeding phase is againself-explanatory You're having
(08:54):
your period.
There is blood.
The second phase is the coolingphase.
If you remember, a minute ago Italked about how the yin energy
is cooling and lubricating.
What else is cooling andlubricating?
How the yin energy is coolingand lubricating?
What else is cooling andlubricating?
Estrogen right From the lastepisode we talked about estrogen
.
The second phase of the cycle isalso known as the follicular
(09:15):
phase.
That's when the follicle isdeveloping Well.
The yin energy is thereforemost abundant during this phase.
The third phase is the movingphase.
During this time the body ispreparing for ovulation, which
means that you need abundantvital energy or qi, to make sure
nothing gets stuck, to makesure that the follicle ruptures
(09:38):
on time, to make sure that theegg travels down the tube
appropriately, to make sure that, if there's fibrillation, the
embryo travels down to the tubeat the right speed to implant in
the uterus.
If the embryo gets stuck, youmight end up with an ectopic
pregnancy.
Usually if there's lateovulation or delayed ovulation,
(10:00):
the vital energy, or qi, istypically the culprit.
It's either stuck or sluggish.
The last phase of the cycle iswhen the embryo should be
implanting.
That is the warming phase andduring this phase your body
temperature rises.
If you take the BBT, you'll seea spike in your body
(10:21):
temperature.
In Chinese medicine that's dueto the actions of the yang
energy, because it's warming andprotecting.
It's making the uterus a niceand cushy home for the embryo.
What else do we know?
Raises the body temperature andprepares the lining for
implantation Progesterone, right.
So the yang energy is very muchlike the progesterone.
(10:42):
So knowing this now is verymuch like the progesterone.
So knowing this now, you cansee why.
If there's any imbalance betweenthese energetics, there will be
telltale signs of hormoneimbalance as well.
That, my friend, is how Icreated what I call the 10
parameters of a fertile cycle.
What I realized a long time agowas that just having a regular
(11:03):
cycle is not the same as havinga fertile cycle.
Even if the blood work isnormal, it still doesn't reflect
the actual hormone interactionsinside your body.
And this tool the 10 parametersof a fertile cycle has proven
to be invaluable in giving mefeedback about my patient's
fertility potential on a monthlybasis and also actually to see
(11:25):
if my treatments are working.
These 10 parameters are cyclelength, days of period flow,
color of the flow, amount of theflow, consistency of the flow,
texture of the flow, continuityof the flow, pain level, uterine
lining stability, whetheryou're experiencing spotting
before your period, cervicalmucus and PMS.
(11:51):
I'm not going to get into theentire 10 parameters right now.
I just want to give you thisoverview today.
I promise I'll have anotherepisode to go into more detail
about them, but let me give youa couple of examples of what the
parameters can indicate.
You might have experienced avery light period flow that
lasts one to three days.
(12:11):
If the flow itself is quiteheavy, I don't tend to worry as
much as the situation where theperiod lasts two to three days
and the period is very light,like barely needing to use a pad
or tampon, and the blood mightbe very dark.
Maybe you read that this isn'tan issue Doctors don't seem to
(12:32):
worry but this might be anindication of not having enough
blood, and I don't mean thatyou're anemic, I mean you don't
have of the substance that'sblood.
If there isn't enough blood,there isn't enough nourishment
going to the organs, includingthe ovaries and uterus.
That could mean a poor qualityegg, causing thin lining.
(12:55):
There is evidence that show usa period flow of less than four
days decreases your chances ofgetting pregnant.
To be fair, this wasn't aclinical trial or anything, but
by evaluating over 50,000women's menstrual cycle
characteristics, the researcherswere able to identify this
(13:17):
correlation we talked about.
Poor eye quality could becaused by small follicle size,
causing low progesterone.
It might not be a big deal inWestern medicine, but it is a
big and huge deal in Chinesemedicine.
Another example the cervicalmucus egg white cervical mucus.
Again, there's actuallyevidence that having at least
(13:38):
three days of egg white cervicalmucus means this will increase
your chances of getting pregnant.
Cervical mucus has an importantjob to filter out bad sperm and
to carry the good sperm to meetthe egg.
Without this fertile mucus, thevagina becomes a hostile
environment to sperm and spermcan die within minutes.
(13:59):
If there isn't enough yinenergy, you'll experience signs
of dryness.
If there isn't enough yinenergy, you'll experience signs
of dryness.
Not only very little egg whitecervical mucus, but you could
also have vaginal dryness,making intercourse painful.
This correlates to an estrogenimbalance.
Either the estrogen level isn'toptimal or your body's not
responding appropriately toestrogen.
(14:20):
One of the most excitingachievements that we celebrate
in my clinic is when a patientstarts to see three days of egg
white cervical mucus.
We don't get champagne or cakeor anything like that, but we
high five, we hug, we jump upand down because having egg
white cervical mucus is so huge.
It's a big deal.
It's a sign that the estrogenis doing what it's supposed to
(14:43):
do.
Again, there's a large range ofwhat is considered normal for
estrogen.
Your blood work might indicatethat the levels are fine, but
fine is not fantastic.
Fine doesn't mean your body isresponding appropriately to that
hormone.
Let me tell you how to get yourhands on this Fertile Cycle
checklist.
(15:03):
You can go to adrienneweecomslash Fertile Cycle to download
this checklist.
What should you do with thisinformation Now that you've
downloaded the Fertile Cyclechecklist?
Go through the checklist andget your baseline Fertile Cycle
score and use it on a monthlybasis to see if what you're
(15:24):
doing is working, to see if yourscore improves.
Keep this in mind.
Your score will improve andit'll also decrease sometimes.
Don't worry about that.
If your score decreases onemonth.
Look at your lifestyleenvironment whether you've
experienced more stress thanusual, make any necessary
adjustments and see if itreturns to normal.
If your cycle score does notimprove after two or three
(15:50):
months, then you'll need to digdeeper to find out what else is
going on.
A question I get a lot is thishey, I have a super high fertile
cycle score.
It's a 9 or a 10.
Why am I not pregnant?
It's not when I get to a scoreof 10, I should be pregnant.
This is one piece of the puzzle.
It's one tool to help you getfeedback about your fertility.
(16:11):
There are many other variablesthat determine whether you get
pregnant this month or nextmonth.
If you achieve a 10 on thefertile cycle score, that is
absolutely fantastic.
You have to maintain it.
I will say that when mypatients reach high scores like
8, 9, or 10, number one itdoesn't just drop back down to a
5 or 6.
(16:31):
It usually stays there.
And number two within a fewmonths they do get pregnant.
With my protocols, three to sixmonths is usually when we see
major changes, whether it'simprovement to the cycle or
pregnancy.
When it comes to hormones andfertility, you can't just snap
your fingers and expectsomething dramatically to be
different.
(16:51):
If you worked hard to improveyour cycle.
Kudos.
Keep up the good work.
Okay, we're nearing the end ofthe episode.
If you still feel like youdon't have a good grasp on the
four substances and the TCMperspective on the menstrual
cycle, do not worry one bit.
You're going to hear a lot moreof them throughout this podcast
and if you follow me on social,we'll talk about them over and
(17:13):
over again.
I recommend that you use thisFertile Cycle Checklist monthly
and be proactive about makingchanges that'll have a positive
impact on your fertility.
Use it like a feedback tool.
I'm wrapping up here.
If you found this episodehelpful, please subscribe and
share it with someone who mightbenefit.
Until next time, beautifulfriend, take care of yourself
(17:36):
and your amazing body.
You're one fertile cycle awayfrom getting pregnant.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Ridiculous History
History is beautiful, brutal and, often, ridiculous. Join Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown as they dive into some of the weirdest stories from across the span of human civilization in Ridiculous History, a podcast by iHeartRadio.