Delving into the Mechanism of Infertility from an Eastern Mindset

 We all know that plants on earth prefer to grow in spring and to prosper in a fertile field. But why?

• Because in spring, everything reaches a perfectly balanced state.

• The temperature is not too hot or too cold.

• The rain and humidity are just right, hence the land is neither too dry nor too humid.

• Plants will not survive in a field that is too nutritious (over-fertilized) or deprived (lacking nutrients)

According to TCM:

“日中则昃，月盈则食（水满则溢，月满则亏）” （易经）, meaning

（“Water overflows the moment the container is overfilled, the moon begins to wane the moment it becomes full”） (I Ching) (The Books of Changes)

As such, from the TCM perspective, infertility reflects upon concepts relating to “seeding the land”.

Rather than western medical theory describing many diseases as based on genes and the expression of those genes, eastern medicine considers that many more external factors are involved when describing route causes of disease. 

According to TCM theory, a genetic disposition is congenital while the living condition is postnatal. TCM teaches that genetic reasons for diseases should be considered but they should be related to the environment in which one lives rather than viewed as the reason for the disease itself. A poor or deficient genetic constitution can therefore be overcome by leading a ‘good’ postnatal life. The good genetic constitution can be undermined by leading a ‘bad’ postnatal life. Whether for humankind or for plants, the environment is surprisingly important.

A healthy body means balancing the external environment with the inner environment, which includes organ temperature, vapour, water, nutrition, blood and essences. (Recall from past articles, TCM phraseology and use of words differ from western medicine. Words may be familiar to us, but their use differs according to TCM)

According to TCM, the causes and symptoms reflecting infertility for both men and women may be similar:

High-temperature symptoms such as avoidance of hot, yellow sperm, yellow leukorrhea, yellow urine, dry stool, red tongue.

Low-temperature symptoms such as avoidance of cold, transparent sperm, thin leukorrhea, transparent urine, thin stool, light coloured tongue, menstruation that is dark in colour.

Vaporization is weak: frequent urination, frequent defecation, concavity of the rear part of the tongue.

Water trapped (Heavy water水湿重): tongue edges tend to have teeth prints, feeling sluggish, weak, and unwilling to speak.

Over-nutrition (营养过剩): PCOS, tumour, tongue coating thick and greasy, bulge on both sides of the rear tongue.

Vapour and blood congestion(气血淤堵): period pain, dark spots on tongue, dark tongue.

Short of blood and essences(精血不足): the tongue is too fat or too thin, cracked or collapsed tongue. 

The above symptoms may appear as one or more together. They could be genetic, but more likely relating to mood fluctuations and imbalances, issues relating to diet, lack of exercise and recovery and sexual imbalances.

One of the purposes of Traditional Chinese medicine treatment is to regulate organ temperature, improve the ability of vaporization, let off the accumulated water and nutrition, improve the digesting, and improve the production of blood and essences (again recall the differences in terminology between TCM and western medicine). The improvement of the inner body environment will not only increase the chances of getting pregnant but also help prevent miscarriage.

We look forward to seeing you and providing the highest level of care we have always strived to achieve.  

Total Wellness Staff