Improving Feminine Fertility Balance

-babe, what will be for dinner tonight

-sry, darling, I'm just so depleted I can't produce anything right now...

That's not the talk you truly want to hear from your loved one right? At times you have to speak your mind and there is something going on with the world, the human species, and fertility. Many of us are seemingly living in spaces of abundance and sometimes we even suffer more from having too many things, ideas, possibilities than from a lack of them. Some kind of black humor, but we can't say the same for our natural fertility.

NB! Scroll down if you wish to get straight to the Ayurvedic infertility regimen.

Have we really replaced one for another? Buying 'stuff' from online shopping while your own inner regulation is not optimal enough. Forgetting about your creativity until it's a bit too late. Forgetting the natural processes and trying to control everything. Maybe these are some of the causes while we see this trend of relative or partial infertility in our societies, that we like to call "developed". However, let's go straight to finding possible solutions and get some kind of overview. In the end, we only seek for solutions.

The intention of this post is a tiny research about the Ayurvedic approach towards infertility and see if there are any possible aids in that section. Please, this is not an attempt to say that these are the only solution or you should ignore medical help in any way if you have the need.

Infertility is a disease characterized by the failure to establish a clinical pregnancy after 12 months of regular and unprotected sexual intercourse. It is estimated to affect between 8 and 12% of reproductive-aged couples worldwide. Males are found to be solely responsible for 20-30% of infertility cases but contribute to 50% of cases overall. Secondary infertility is the most common form of female infertility around the globe, often due to reproductive tract infections (Borght, Wyns; Fertility and infertility: Definition and epidemiology Clin Biochem 2018 Dec;62:2-10). If you want to learn more about the fertility and infertility statistics, you can look it up yourself at https://globalfertilitymap.com/

According to Ayurvedic traditions, there are four major causes for primary infertility: systemic (dosadhatu mediated), congenital (beejadosa), vaginal and organic defects (yonivyapat), and idiopathic (daiva). That is not too different from the current as we call it evidence-based medicine (western medicine, conventional medicine...all the terms don't seem specific or true, but hey, it is what it is). Writing as a blogger and not a gynecologist, you can read from MayoClinic pages that the main causes are systemized as: ovulation disorders, damage to fallopian tubes, endometriosis, uterine or cervical causes, idiopathic on unexplained causes. So that approach to structure the causes is similar, but is a bit more location based. However you will find many systems in the Western medicine.

Fertility restoration in the western approach depends on the point of mechanism which is the cause of infertility. In general there are three ways to go:

1. pharmaceutical compound targeted to stimulate ovulation and/or regulate fertility through stimulating or regulating certain hormone: mostly you can find clomiphene citrate, gonadotropins, etformin, letrozole and bromocriptin in your prescription

2. Surgery for structural anomalities and certain diseases

3. Reproductive techonologies

Ayurvedic treatment also differs according to etiopathogenesis. It is mentioned in the classical texts that when a woman has any local defect, she cannot conceive. Those disorders should be treated first and her menstrual cycle should be regular. Cleansing therapies are carried out using herbs and formulas that have a penetrating capacity (e.g., Triphala, kshara taila).

These therapies are advised to unblock the channels and make the tracts patent. Some uterine tonics and ovulation-inducing herbs or formulas should be administered as palliative therapy. The jeevaniya gana, rasayana, and group of formulations not only enhance strength and vigor, but improve the internal environment of the reproductive system. Formulas such as ashokarishta, phala ghrita, and shatavari kalpa give excellent results. Amalaki, guduchi, bala, and ashwagandha are some of the uterine and ovarian tonics which promote fertility.

And maybe you are person who needs some extra hope or solution for this issue. And so maybe the regimen from Lakshmi Chandra Mishra book will be one of the solutions. So here it is:

Ayurvedic regimen for balancing out infertility

Phala ghrita 5 ml two times/day with milk or warm water Shatavari kalpa 5–10 g two times/day with warm milk Kumaryasavam 15–20 ml two times/day after meals with equal water Ashokarishta 15–20 ml two times/day after meals with equal water Jeevaniya rasayana 5–10 ml two times/day with milk or warm water

If you wish to do some more research on this compounds, here are some which may carry some meaning

1. Clinical Trial of phalaghrita on female infertility S.P. Otta, R.N. Tripaty https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3330999/pdf/ASL-22-56.pdf

2. Impact of stress on female reproductive health disorders: Possible beneficial effects of shatavari (Asparagus racemosus) K. Pandeya et al https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0753332218301665

3. An Ayurvedic treatment protocol to improve anti-mullerian hormone: A prerequisite for assisted reproductive technique- A case report A. Muralledharan https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5954262

4.. Ayurvedic Management of Recurrent Abortions due to Uterine Fibroid S.D. Katakdound

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323827566_Fertility_and_infertility_Definition_and_epidemiology

Most of the text about Ayurveda in this post is directly taken from the book edited by Lakshmi Chandra Mishra: Scientific Basis for Ayurvedic Therapies, 2004.

Other References

1. Carlson, K.J. and Ziporyn Terra, E.S., Harvard Guide to Women's Health, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1996. Diet and lifestyle are not very specific. Eating healthy foods and doing some simple exercises (e.g., yoga) is believed to be beneficial according to the Ayurvedic treatment

2. Nayak, B., Ed., Menarche to Menopause, Ayurmedline, Banglore, India, 2002.

3. Mishra, S.S., Management of gynecological problems, in Menarche to Menopause, Nayak, B., Ed., Ayurmedline, Banglore, India, 2002.

4. Bhavamishra, A., Bhavaprakash Nighantu, Chaukhambha Bharati Academy, Varanasi, Indi

5. Decherney, A.H. and Permoll, M.L., Current Obstetrics & Gynecologic Diagnosis & Treatment, 8th ed., Appleton & Lange, Norwalk, CT, 1994.

6. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/female-infertility/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20354313

#fertility #Ayurveda #Infertilityregimen