According to the CDC, infertility is on the rise. And there are so many factors for this.  There is an increase in the number of fertility imbalances - things like endometriosis, PCOS, irregular ovulation, trauma from miscarriages, and other things.

Fertility is often one of those very emotional topics to read and write about - often women are coming to read about it because they are trying to conceive (perhaps with some challenges).  So there are mixed emotions of love, hope and possibility, often combined with fear.  There’s also so much information out there that it can feel overwhelming.  So, if there’s one thing I want women who are venturing into the fertility journey to know, it is that the most important thing is really getting more deeply in tune with your body and its deeper wisdom.

Essential oils can help with that - in all the ways.  They can provide many benefits to women trying to conceive (TTC) - from lowering stress levels, helping you deal with big emotions that arise, helping you begin to connect to your body, healing your womb space, supporting you through assisted conception, to aiding you along your pregnancy journey.  And, importantly, essential oils are nature’s medicine - they offer a natural way to help you create the balance in your body that’s going to support your fertility journey.

I’m a huge believer that many of the challenges in modern-day conception come from living in a fast-paced, crazy modern world - and the stresses and strains of that, and the disconnection it creates from our bodies.  Most women are living dull, grey, mundane-feeling lives, and they numb themselves out because of it.  Women are living in what feels like a very ‘Masculine’ world - and really, they are in deep need of reclaiming their soft, gentle Feminine side. Letting themselves off the hook - not feeling they have to be perfect and loving themselves a bit more.

Think of the typical personality profile of the ideas in our culture of a ‘Mother’ - what qualities do you associate with that? Softness, tenderness, openness, connection, love and nurture, with her feeding from her bosom?  

 If we want our bodies to be more fertile, we must listen to them - and remember that we are women (it’s our womb, after all, that is going to be a home).  Women are built differently to men for a reason - they are built with nurturing wombs.  They are built, therefore, for nurture - for softness, tenderness, openness, connection and love.  Yet that’s missing in so much of society.  And that’s not to shame and say that women can’t choose to be out in the crazy modern world - if that’s aligned, that’s perfect.  But often, for women trying to conceive (TTC), they hit up against trying to prepare for the nurturing of Motherhood, on top of everything else they already carry. For those women (which is most women, as it’s cultural), even seeing this is helpful.

The deepest invitation, if you are in a conception journey or struggling with fertility - whether you’re TTC or even just suffering with your womb in any way - is to firstly learn to Mother yourself.

This, along with using essential oils as a support to this journey is deeply healing.  I have seen women who struggle with the fertility journey be supported deeply by essential oils and self-care.  

I’ve seen the same for people with imbalances that can hinder fertility - conditions like PCOS, endometriosis, etc - all of these are symptoms of the body, nudging us to listen a little bit more deeply.  Because our wombs know; if we listen to them.

Disclaimer: Before we dive into the different essential oils to support, I firstly want to say that if you are in an active fertility journey any essential oils you use should be checked with your fertility doctor, and please keep to diffusion methods.  Some oils are best to be avoided during assisted conception, including Rose, Rosemary, Clary Sage and Jasmine - but I’d highly recommend using these prior to your fertility journey as a way of connecting with and preparing your womb in pre-conception.

Essential oils for common fertility issues - for pre-conception preparation

There are some common issues that women come up against in their fertility journeys - so I’m going to share the essential oils that can help create balance, first.  Generally, any Florals are very Feminine-supportive remedies, and will have a healing affinity with the womb and hormonal balancing.

Here are some oils I’d recommend for each specific challenge:

• Endometriosis: Chamomile and Frankincense (pain relievers), Clary Sage and Rose Geranium (hormonal balance, uterine tonic) and Ginger (rids stagnation in the reproductive system).
• PCOS: Clary Sage (hormone balance, including cortisol, uterine tonic), Thyme (progesterone balancing) and Sandalwood (testosterone balancing)
• Ovulation irregularity: Geranium, Rose and Clary Sage (hormone balancing)
  

Blending: Before TTC, combine any three of your favourite oils from above into a massage oil - up to 6 total drops in 15ml carrier oil - and massage them into your womb area - using a circular clockwise motion.  Do this daily for a few months and see what happens.

Womb healing and connecting to your body - for pre-conception preparation

Whether you are experiencing symptoms with your womb - and even if you’re not, and you are just beginning to think about conceiving - it’s important that we connect more deeply to our bodies and prepare our wombs.  This isn’t typically thought about in today’s culture, but if we look back to ancient cultures, women were initiated into Motherhood, through ceremony - being held by their village.

Having a village to hold you through conception is rare these days - but, because of this, it is really important to honour and nurture your own womb and connect more deeply to yourself.  For a start, it can show you more about yourself (if you’ve not read it, I’d recommend a great book about reconnecting to our Feminine cycles - Wild Power by Sjanie Hugo Wurlitzer and Alexandra Pope).

Rose, Jasmine and Clary Sage oils all have a deep affinity and healing effect on the womb - so I’d recommend working with these oils as much as possible with massage in your preparation (cease using these when actively trying to conceive).

To some it may sound a little odd, but to begin with - before you even start to try and conceive, I’d invite you to take a check-in with your womb - to create some space to begin a dialogue with it about your fertility.

You can do this simply by creating some quiet and lying down and resting your hands on your pelvic area, closing your eyes.  I’d also recommend you use the following blend, and give your tummy a gentle massage to begin this process:

• Mix 3 drops Rose, 2 drops Jasmine and 1 drop Clary Sage into 15ml of Grapeseed oil and blend well. Stroke this onto your belly, in a clockwise direction and begin to ask your womb “what do you want me to know?”  See what is revealed. As an alternative to this blend you might also like to try our Babyopathy It's All About You pure essential oil which is expertly blended for use prior to conception. 

You might like to journal on what comes up - and commit to repeating this daily for 7 days to give it a chance to feel less foreign. You may be surprised by what’s revealed.

Stress and anxiety - whilst trying to conceive

When you move into trying to conceive, it is important to support your emotions, as it can become a very stressful time with all the cycle-tracking - and it can feel hard if it’s not going how you want.  That, compiled with the stress we experience in daily life anyway makes for a challenging time.  One of the most common things that women experience that can impact their fertility, therefore, is stress and anxiety.

If this is you, I recommend you create some space for some more self-care - and then use supportive essential oils to soothe your anxious mind and body.

Create a ‘stress and anxiety-busting’ blend to diffuse daily - for 15 minutes at a time.

• Mix 3 drops Bergamot, 2 drops Chamomile and 2 drops Cypress in water in a candle burner or an electrical diffuser and diffuse for 15 minutes daily, in the morning.
  

You could also use this diffusion time to journal about where you could reduce some of the stressful things in your life.

Emotions and trauma - whilst trying to conceive

Of course, in our fertility journey, there are huge emotions to be processed, so another blend to offer you is that of oils that will be really helpful in that process.

If you are actively TTC, I’d recommend diffusion of up to 7 drops of oil in water:

• Mix 4 drops Chamomile, 2 drops Lavender and 1 drop Ylang Ylang in water in a candle burner or an electrical diffuser and diffuse for 15 minutes daily, in the afternoon.

Ylang Ylang is also an aphrodisiac - so has more than one gift!

If you are pre-conception, and not yet TTC, then you could also try a soothing bath with essential oils:

• Mix 3 drops Geranium, 2 drops Sweet Orange and 1 drop Ylang Ylang with 15ml Bath Oil or Bath & Shower Gel and stir into your warm running bath water.  Soak in the bath and allow yourself to feel all that wants to be felt.  Again, the invitation is to place your hands on your pelvis and connect to your womb.
  

Overall, these tips should help you navigate the fertility journey with more support. The most important thing is to listen to your body, because it contains a load of wisdom we are so used to shutting down.  

Nicole Barton
Consultant Aromatherapist

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