Don't Forget to Pump Up the Blood!

Healthy blood flow to the uterus, which can improve endometrial thickness, is one of the key markers used to measure how successful conception is likely to be.¹ A thin endometrium will be unable to support embryonic growth with the nutrients, oxygen, and other developmental factors necessary to spark a successful pregnancy. This is equally true for supporting attempts at natural conception, as well as IUI and IVF procedures. Good blood circulation to the uterus, however, can build a sufficiently healthy and thick endometrium that is more likely to support conception and pregnancy.

Finding out how to increase blood flow to uterus tissues helps boost the reproductive system’s ability to transport nutrients, oxygen, fluids, immune factors, proteins, and hormones effectively to create a fertile uterine ecosystem that can support a pregnancy. Without adequate blood flow, these tissues can’t support healthy embryonic growth and development.²

So, if you are struggling to get pregnant or carry a pregnancy to term, assessing your circulatory system and how well it is furnishing your reproductive organs, particularly the uterus, with the building blocks of life is an essential step in resolving any issues that might be hampering your efforts to conceive. In fact, one wide-ranging study about fertility and nutrition indicated that some of the critical nutrients needed for improving fertility played the specific role of increasing circulation to the uterus and ovaries, underscoring just how critical these circulatory functions are in making a baby.³

Several factors can impede adequate blood flow to the uterus. On the other hand, you can do several things to improve blood flow to uterus tissues. First, let’s talk about what might be hindering circulation in this area:

• Age: On average, fertility decreases after age 37, and one of the reasons is that ovarian and uterine blood flow declines around this time.
• Reproductive conditions: Hormonal imbalances like polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), hypothalamic dysfunction, endometriosis, scar tissue from surgeries or injuries, pelvic inflammatory disease from sexually transmitted diseases, polyps, tumors, and fibroids can all inhibit ideal blood circulation to the uterus.⁴
• Undiagnosed issues: if you’ve had every test under the sun, but uterine blood flow is still not optimal, and you don’t know why, trying holistic approaches such as nutrition, acupuncture, yoga, and massage therapy can still increase blood flow to uterus tissues, which can improve the chances of conception.

Regardless of your current condition, the holistic practices of yoga, acupuncture, and massage therapy provide nurturing, tangible, scientifically-based improvements in overall circulatory function, which can improve and increase blood flow to uterus linings and adjacent reproductive organs. Here’s what we know about how each one of those practices works:

1. Yoga for Fertility: Enhancing Circulation Through Movement

Movement is medicine and yoga is a gentle, ancient practice with scientific benefits for overall health and, specifically, for fertility. Studies show that practicing yoga is good for the cardiovascular system generally, lowering inflammation and blood pressure.⁵ Yoga has also been shown to specifically benefit women’s menstrual cycles by helping to balance hormones and improve uterine blood circulation.⁶ Targeted fertility yoga classes and pregnancy yoga practice have also shown improved blood flow to the uterus during pregnancy, which improved pregnancy outcomes.⁷

2. Acupuncture: Traditional Practice with Modern Benefits

Acupuncture is a 3000+ year-old Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practice with considerable amounts of modern science to back it up. In the case of acupuncture and fertility, research indicates that a series of acupuncture sessions can help improve IVF success rates.⁸ Though more research is needed to determine the exact mechanisms behind the improvement, additional studies on acupuncture show that certain points can improve blood circulation in the body generally, which includes blood flow to the reproductive systems.⁹

3. Therapeutic Massage: Relaxation and Circulation

Therapeutic fertility-enhancing massage can also help improve circulation and fertility by reducing stress and bolstering circulation, especially in the abdominal areas. Recent research on massage and fertility demonstrated that targeted fertility massage could increase blood flow to uterus linings, which helped improve and regulate menstrual cycles.¹⁰ Pulling Down the Moon has expert fertility massage therapists who have researched and developed therapeutic massage techniques for each stage of a woman’s cycle.

Learning how to increase blood flow to uterus tissues naturally and effectively is an important strategy for improving fertility. Pulling Down the Moon has an entire community of holistic fertility service experts in Chicago and Highland Park who understand how to help you with this specific fertility concern, as well as many others. Our fertility community is here to understand, cry with, and celebrate with you all along the way. We have partnered with thousands of women and men on their fertility journeys, and we will walk with you too. Schedule an appointment with us today.