Essential oils aiding fertility

The use of essential oils for physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing – is a particularly powerful, accessible tool.  Each drop of essential oil are master healers, and tapping into this source can help you tune in to your own inner wisdom and support you in creating the families of our dreams.

Today’s modern fertility treatments can create miracles for many families, treatments such as in vitro fertilization, intrauterine insemination, and the use of donor sperm and egg banks have made possible the conception of desperately longed-for, loved children. At the same time, many individuals experience modern fertility treatments as over-medicated, heavy reliance on pharmaceutical and surgical interventions can be disempowering to patients, taking a steep physical, emotional, and financial toll.

Complementary and alternative modalities such as acupuncture, massage, and aromatherapy are gradually gaining mainstream acceptance for their ability to support fertility and offset the negative effects of struggling to conceive.

Essential oils can:

• Supports healthy hormonal balance
• Facilitate the healthy processing and release of difficult emotions, such as grief, sadness, resentment, jealousy, and anger
• Promote positive mood and energy
• Energetically support a state of equilibrium, balance, and fertility
• Support deep, restful sleep
• Replace toxic synthetic health, beauty, and fragrance products during a time that’s especially biologically vulnerable.
• Facilitate a deeper sense of intuitive awareness and mind-body connection, during a time when the mind & body may be feeling particularly disconnected

Essential oils to support your fertility journey.

1. Creating a self-care routine using essential oils. This routine could take a number of different shapes. Is there’s a particular essential oil that you love, and want to diffuse or apply to your body daily. Essential oils also pair beautifully with other self-care practices that you may already have in places, such as yoga and meditation.

2. Manage difficult emotions. Receiving a baby shower invitation. Being advised by a well-meaning friend or family member to “just relax.” Being told that yet another friend is pregnant. To conceive often means that emotional triggers are frequent and hard to avoid. Essential oils can be an effective way to relieve anxiety, sad, or angry feelings. Carrying a bottle of a calming essential oil, such as lavender, bergamot or fennel. When you notice yourself feeling triggered, a drop in the palm of your hand and rub them together to create your own human diffuser method, hold your palms to your nose and breathe the aroma of the oil in deeply for at least one minute.

3. Enhance healthy emotional & energetic boundaries. Speaking openly about struggles with fertility can be an invitation for unwanted advice or input from others, and many women find that they need to protect themselves with stronger, healthier boundaries during this time. 3 examples of essential oils- Sage: A century’s old remedy for blessing, anointing, protection, and reverence. Exceptional for clearing negativity.
Geranium: Defends against all incoming negative energy. Use for love, fertility, protection.
Frankincense: Ancient purification essential oil best used to create luck, encourage protection and breath spirituality into your life.
Diffusing or inhaling directly from the bottle before or after encountering an energetically draining individual or situation, and/or apply 1-2 drops to the soles of your feet.

4. Support your body’s optimal hormonal balance. Hormonal imbalances are thought to be at the root of many female-factor infertility issues. Certain essential oils, such as clary sage*, geranium, lavender, rose, and basil, are believed to support healthy hormonal balance and can be applied topically to the abdomen with a carrier oil. (*Note avoid clary sage during the second half of your menstrual cycle in months when you are actively trying to conceive, as it is anecdotally known to be a uterine stimulant. While I’m not aware of any documented research linking it to miscarriage risk, there is no reason to create additional anxiety when trying to conceive)

5. For those with a partner, add essential oils to promote a positive intimate connection within your relationship. However, you’re trying to conceive, the stress of timed intercourse, at-home insemination, or assisted fertility treatments can affect your relationship with your partner. Essential oils are believed to have aphrodisiac qualities include geranium, sandalwood, and neroli. Be creative and make a blend of massage oil, diffusing oils in your bedroom, or applying one or two favorite oils, adds the fun to intimateness.

6. Self-massage. Positive, nurturing self-touch can be deeply relaxing to the nervous system and sends a powerful message of love and acceptance to your body. Pairing an essential oil that you love with a carrier oil -almond oil, fractionated coconut oil, or grapeseed oil, and gently massaging your abdomen. Essential oils that are especially beautiful for self-massage include rose, grapefruit, bergamot, lavender, or neroli. Self-massage can be a wonderful practice to pair with fertility affirmations, followed by a meditation.

7. Enabling deep, restful sleep. The anxiety that can accompany fertility challenges can interfere with the sleep your body desperately needs to function optimally. Research has shown that lavender essential oil can improve the duration and quality of sleep while reducing night waking and overall levels of fatigue. Diffusing essential oils in your bedroom at night, or applying lavender oil to the bottoms of your feet, your heart area. Other essential oils that can support optimal sleep include vetiver, cedarwood, sandalwood, Roman chamomile.

8. Promote a positive, uplifted mood. Research suggests that undergoing fertility treatments can provoke levels of stress that are similar to those experienced by cancer and HIV patients, and mood management can be difficult during a season that can feel like an emotional roller coaster. Essential oils offer a gentle, effective way to help ease feelings of stress and promote a positive outlook, particularly with aromatic use. Try diffusing citrus oils, such as orange, grapefruit, bergamot, to boost mood throughout the day. A few deep breaths of the aroma straight from the bottle can instantly lift your spirits.

9. Relieve the symptoms of your period. For many women, getting their period is especially disappointing when you’re trying to conceive. The monthly discomforts may feel especially harsh. The essential oils that support healthy hormonal balance – basil, geranium, peppermint, and lavender, are wonderful in relieving menstrual discomfort. Applying topically to the abdomen with a carrier oil of your choice.

10. Encourage harmony and gratitude to your life. On a path to parenthood, it can be easy to lose sight of a bigger picture and the beauty that’s available in everyday life. Taking a few moments throughout your day to intentionally breathe in the aroma of essential oil that you love, can be a reminder of what’s still good and right with the world, a reminder to be in the moment, one mindful breath at a time.