by Alex Phillips | Mar 17, 2024 | Fertility
Aromatherapy while trying to conceive Essential oils can be a wonderful way of supporting yourself physically and emotionally while trying to conceive. If you’re using medicated fertility treatments to conceive, read this article here for more information about aromatherapy during fertility treatments. However, while essential oils are natural they are also highly concentrated and they need to be used with caution especially while trying to conceive and in the early stages of pregnancy. In this article, I share how I use essential oils safely in my treatments supporting women who are trying to conceive and ways to use essential oils at home while you are trying to get pregnant. How do essential oils support fertility and conception? There are so many factors that affect your ability to get pregnant from your physical and emotional health to whether you know when is the best time in your cycle to conceive. Stress, getting enough sleep and your weight and overall health can all impact on your ability to conceive. Essential oils can help reduce stress, regulate your hormonal cycle, improve your overall health and increase your libido. How I use essential oils professionally with fertility clients: When I am working with clients who are trying to conceive I choose oils mainly to help support you where you are in your cycle and provide emotional support. Some of my favourite oils to use to improve your fertility: Geranium: In addition to it’s uplifting scent, geranium helps balance your hormones. If you’re experiencing irregular cycles or irregular ovulation, geranium is a great oil to add to a massage blend and to use regularly because it helps balance estrogen and progesterone production, two of the most important hormones in your menstrual cycle. Frankincense: encourages you to take a slow, deep breath and to calm down. It also assists in balancing hormones, promoting digestion, and increasing libido which can sometimes be affected while trying to conceive. Juniper: is a calming and relaxing oil that blends well with other oils. It also reduces bloating and inflammation, improves digestion and helps regulate your menstrual cycle. Juniper has warming properties so I like to use it when clients have poor circulation and suffer from the cold. Lavender: has a beautiful floral fragrance that is relaxing, calming and soothing. Isn’t that exactly what you need when trying to conceive? In addition to it’s calming properties, lavender essential oil helps to relax tense muscles and has skin healing properties. Ylang Ylang: has a rich floral scent and is a very important essential oil in the perfumery industry. It’s very helpful in slowing down your breathing, reducing nervous depression and feelings of anger and frustration as well as being an aprodisiac! I like Ylang Ylang for it’s ability to reduce PMS, especially mood swings and how it helps you get in touch with your feminine side. Rose: possibly the essential oil that is most closely associated with women, Rose has a heady scent that can improve your mood and overall motivation. Rose has a powerful effect on women’s reproductive system – balancing hormones and toning your uterus, regulating menstruation and reducing excessive menstrual bleeding. I find it very useful for women with irregular cycles. Clary sage: can have a powerful effect on balancing your reproductive hormones by regulating estrogen production but it’s also well known for it’s effect on your emotions and is a particularly calming oil with sedative effects. Clary Sage has a strong scent so I use it sparingly in blends. For home use of essential oils while you’re trying conceive: Essential oils for stress management We have enough stress in our modern lives before you add in the stress of trying to get pregnant. We’ve all heard that if we could just relax, we’d be able to get pregnant. While it’s a bit of a cliche that stress affects fertility, like many cliches there is an element of truth. Lowering your stress levels can improve your chances of conceiving and at the very least make the experience more pleasant. Use a room spray or essential oil vaporiser with your favourite calming essential oils or make up a relaxing massage blend to benefit direct absorption of the oils into your skin. Massage blend: Mix 50 ml carrier oil (almond, grapeseed, coconut, olive, etc) with the following oils: 8 drops Lavender 8 drops frankincense 2 drop Ylang YlangMassage about a tablespoon of your massage blend over your body after a bath or before you go to bed to relax you and lower stress levels. Keep the rest of the massage blend in a dark glass bottle stored in a cool place. Calming oils for your vaporiser: choose 3-6 drops of any combination of the following essential oils: lavender, frankincense, ylang ylang, grapefruit, lemon, orange, lavender. Regulate your menstrual cycle and balance your hormones with essential oils Hormones control almost everything in our body including...
by Alex Phillips | Mar 12, 2024 | Pregnancy
Aromatherapy during pregnancy Pregnancy is an exciting time but along with all the excitement of growing a baby can come physical and emotional challenges. Essential oils can be part of your toolkit for enjoying your pregnancy and preparing for birth and motherhood. For a basic introduction to aromatherapy and essential oil, read this first. Are all essential oils safe during pregnancy? Most essential oils can be used during pregnancy but at a lower dose. While there are some essential oils that should be avoided during pregnancy, the biggest issue during pregnancy is increased skin sensitivity. Increased skin sensitivity during pregnancy: As your skin stretches during pregnancy and due to hormonal changes, you may notice your skin is more sensitive. If you choose to use essential oils during pregnancy, you need to take this into account. It’s recommended that you use a lower dilution of oils during pregnancy. I usually recommend a 1% dilution during pregnancy. For example, the volume of your base product (oil or cream) will be 10ml and you can add up to 3 drops of essential oil. For 50ml base product you can add up to 15 drops of essential oil. Remember: essential oils are highly concentrated volatile oils from plants and flowers and even in small doses can have powerful physical and emotional effects. Safe essential oils during pregnancy: This is just a small list of essential oils that are safe to use during pregnancy. Eucalyptus: it could be that growing up in Australia has influenced me but I love the fresh scent of eucalyptus essential oil. This would be my oil of choice if you’re suffering from any kind of upper respiratory track conditions like coughs, colds, sinusitis, bronchitis or throat infections during pregnancy. Eucalyptus stimulates your immune system so it’s helpful to vaporise in your home if you suspect you’re getting sick. Frankincense: another great oil for respiratory issues, Frankincense also encourages deep breathing and a sense of calm. Often used during meditation, you can use these calming properties if you are feeling any stress and/or anxiety during your pregnancy or in a massage or bath blend to ease tired and tense muscles. . Geranium is helpful to improve and brighten your mood. Use it in a massage or bath blend during pregnancy to reduce excess fluid especially in your feet and ankles. It’s often used for skin conditions because it heals wounds and encourages new skin growth. Lavender is calming, soothing and relaxing but also has pain relieving properties so don’t hesitate to add it to your pregnancy massage blends to reduce aches and pains. Citrus oils: we are all familiar with the fresh fruity citrus fruit scents like lemon, grapefruit, orange, mandarin, etc. Add these oils to your blends to benefit from their mood enhancing properties. Many of the citrus essential oils are also antiviral, antibacterial and antidepressant. Ylang ylang has an exotic floral fragrance that helps calm anxiety, release tension and reduce panic attacks. Due to it’s strong fragrance, you’ll want to use it sparingly and blend with other oils like lavender, grapefruit, orange and rosewood. Morning sickness and nausea in the first trimester > Essential oils for backache during pregnancy: Your changing shape puts more pressure on your back as your belly grows and changes your center of gravity. Your body is producing pregnancy hormones like relaxin that make your ligaments looser and more flexible ahead of the birth. In the meantime, you might find you are suffering from back pain. Essential oils massage blend for backache during pregnancy: 50 ml carrier oil 4 drops Lavender 4 drops frankincense 1 drop Ylang Ylang Blend all the ingredients together and get your partner or a friend to massage over your back and shoulders. Essential oils for anxiety during pregnancy: A wonderful way of using essential oils to improve your mood and calm anxiety is direct inhalation from a tissue. Take a clean tissue and drop one of the following combinations of essential oils onto the tissue. Inhale the scent for several breaths until you feel calmer. Then you can fold the tissue and place it in your bra to continue to enjoy the benefits of the oils. Try to place the tissue so the essential oils are not directly touching your skin. 1 drop Frankincense and 1 drop of lavender 1 drop of roman chamomile and 1 drop of Rose 1 drop of Lavender and 1 drop of Neroli 1 drop of Lavender and 1 drop of Ylang Ylang Essential oils for tiredness and exhaustion: See the section below to help you get a good rest at night but when you need a pick me up during the day, try the following oils in an essential oil vaporizer. 2 drops of Grapefruit 2 drops of Lemon 2 drops of Orange 2 drops of Peppermint Or 2 drops of Spearmint 6 drops of lemon Essentials oils to help you sleep during pregnancy: There are so many reasons why you may not be sleeping well – indigestion, difficulty finding a comfortable position,...
by Alex Phillips | Mar 11, 2024 | Fertility
If I start treatment with you, do I need to wait before trying to conceive? “I’m desperate to get pregnant. Should I wait a month or two while you treat me before trying again?” This conversation is one I have on a regular basis with my clients, usually very soon after we’ve just met and you’ve told me how much you want to conceive, how long you’ve been trying and what kind of issues you’re facing. I know from personal and professional experience that when a woman wants to conceive, she wants it that very month. Once you’ve made that momentous decision to bring a new soul into the world, you don’t want to get your period. You want a positive pregnancy test and NOW! Especially if you’ve already been trying for a while by the time we meet. That desire for a child can be so strong. Isn’t that why so many women put themselves through gruelling and sometimes invasive fertility treatments. Yes, we want it so badly we will do almost anything…..except wait a month or two. Holistic treatment is different to conventional medical treatment. Most medical treatment is aimed at treating the symptoms and achieving a particular goal – in this case pregnancy. Holistic treatment at its very core is about helping your body move back into balance, with the expectation that when your body is balanced and all your bodily systems are working optimally, if you desire pregnancy you can achieve it. Nudging the body back into balance sometimes takes time and sometimes doesn’t have a linear path. It can require patience, trust and resilience. However, the payoffs are huge. When you tell me you want to get pregnant, what you’re really telling me is you want to give birth to a healthy baby. And giving birth to a healthy baby means you have to prepare the ground for That goal is much broader than just getting pregnant. I would go even further and suggest that in addition to a healthy pregnancy and baby, you also want an easy postpartum period and a healthy relationship with your partner (assuming there is one). My teacher, Rosita Arvigo, always says the goal is a healthy mother, healthy baby and healthy relationship. After all, this baby you are dreaming of is being born into a family and we want the best for it. Since trying to conceive and especially fertility treatments can be especially challenging in relationships, taking a little bit of time up front to get into your best health possible can make a significant difference further down the track. And what if you don’t want to wait? That’s okay, too. I give my new clients the option. You decide what is best for you and your circumstances. Your age and other factors are going to influence your decision and once you decide what you want, we dive in and start working together to help you hold that precious baby in your arms as soon as possible. As strongly as I believe that what I do helps women prepare their bodies before pregnancy, I know that womb massage (Sobada), reflexology, EFT Tapping and other therapies I practice help you during the active trying to conceive period by increasing blood flow to the uterus and ovaries, reducing stress and the side effects of fertility medication. My clinic is a judgement free zone that is a safe place for you to express the frustration, challenges and other negative feelings that might arise during fertility treatments. I want my clients to feel supported wherever they are in their journey to motherhood. I’m a holistic therapist and I am here to help you! I love helping women to overcome their fertility challenges and other issues related to your cycles, pregnancy, periods and/or anxiety. I treat women with abdominal and womb massage techniques known as Sobada (formally the Arvigo Techniques of Maya Abdominal Massage) and reflexology. I’m also an Advanced EFT Tapping practitioner and I work with women in particular issues around anxiety, depression, stress levels. I teach Fertility Awareness to help women better know their bodies and improve their chances of conceiving or prevent pregnancy naturally. I live in Modi’in, Israel and that’s where I spend my days helping women during their fertile years, pregnancy, menopause and other hormonal conditions. Bodywork sessions (massage and reflexology take place in my clinic in Modi’in but EFT Tapping sessions and Fertility Awareness education can take place online or in person). Learn more about working with me here. Send me a WhatsApp message...
by Alex Phillips | Mar 11, 2024 | Fertility
Why IVF may not work: Coping if IVF treatment doesn’t work If your IVF cycle wasn’t successful it can be heartbreaking. All that effort, the injections, the blood tests, the ultrasounds, the procedures, the mood swings and bloating (!) and then the dreaded two week wait only to find out you’re not pregnant. Again. Even if you tried not to get your hopes up, it’s natural to be disappointed. If your IVF treatment was unsuccessful, what should you do next? While it’s natural to want to investigate and find out why it didn’t work, I want to remind you to give yourself some time to grieve and allow your body to physically recover from the IVF treatment. When you’re ready, talk to your doctor about whether you should try again and if they suggest any changes to your protocol. Why your IVF treatment didn’t work? You’ll need to talk to your doctor for specific information about why your IVF treatment has been unsuccessful. Unfortunately, in most cases, you may not get a definitive answer.Generally, there are two main reasons why treatment doesn’t work: the cycle was cancelled before the eggs were collected or they could be transferred to your womb OR the embryos failed to develop after the transfer. The cycle was cancelled before an embryo transfer: 1. Your treatment might have been cancelled before the eggs are collected or before the embryos are transferred to the womb. This happens if: Your ovaries don’t respond to the drugs used to stimulate egg production so there was no egg collection Your ovaries responded too much (ovarian hyperstimulation) to the drugs used to stimulate egg production and your doctor decided to wait another month or two before performing an embryo transfer. While frustrating if you were able to freeze embryos it’s much safer to wait to transfer them. No eggs were found during egg collection. This can happen if the follicles (egg sacs) seen on ultrasound before egg collection turn out to be empty The collected eggs don’t fertilize with the sperm so no embryos develop After fertilisation in the lab, the embryos fail to develop in the laboratory, so there are no embryos to transfer to the womb The embryos were not healthy after genetic testing The embryos did not survive the thawing process prior to the embryo transfer 2. The embryos fail to develop in the womb This is the most common reason for IVF treatment being unsuccessful and it can be particularly devastating because you had a full cycle of tests, injections, procedures and hope. Often there’s no obvious reason why the embryos fail to develop into a pregnancy although some possible reasons are: The embryo may not have matured properly, or may not have divided as it should after fertilisation so it subsequently failed to implant in the womb Many embryos that look healthy have faulty chromosomes (the structures inside cells that contain genes and control how the cells work) Poor blood flow to the womb could mean you have less chance of getting pregnant and a greater chance of miscarriage if you did conceive Adhesions or scar tissue in the womb prevent the embryo from implanting I’m not sure whether to try IVF again One of the challenges after an IVF cycle is unsuccessful is knowing if you should try again. Every woman and couple is different, so whilst some people want to keep trying, others prefer to move on from treatment at an earlier stage. Ask your doctor for an honest opinion on whether treatment may work for you. If there’s a very small chance of it working, this may be a factor in you deciding to stop. You should also consider the emotional burden treatment puts on you and your partner (if you have one) and if you do decide to keep going, make sure you have emotional support and you might want to think about what you would do differently next time. Why you might want to consider trying IVF again I work with couples who are trying to get pregnant naturally and those who are undergoing fertility treatment and I try to support each couple where they are. I understand you can lose hope after one or more IVF cycles were unsuccessful. Is there a reason to keep trying? The short answer is: YES The longer answer is: because IVF is a complex procedure with a lot of variables that have to be ideal, or at least very good, success often requires more than one cycle. Everything from egg quality to number of eggs to implantation issues and chromosomal composition all factor into successful treatment. When a round isn’t successful, your doctor looks at the factors and makes some tweaks in order to optimize your chances for the next round. For women under 35, the chance of becoming pregnant through sexual intercourse in any given cycle is about 25%. Recent data suggests that for women under the age of 35 undergoing IVF, regardless of the reason for IVF, the chance of becoming pregnant is about 45%. It often takes couples more than one attempt to become pregnant naturally and that is also true for IVF cycles –...
by Alex Phillips | Nov 28, 2023 | Fertility
Cycle and four seasons The average Western woman will have approximately 480 menstrual cycles in her lifetime. Take a few moments to understand how your hormones work in each phase of your cycle in order to benefit in all areas of your life. We can even connect each of the four phases of your cycle to nature for a beautiful understanding of our cycles. Each phase of your monthly cycle brings about different physical and emotional feelings in a similar way to the seasons in nature. We don’t expect nature to provide endlessly. We know that trees and plants have seasons when they produce (spring and summer) and seasons when they need to rest (winter). We also have a powerful inner cyclical nature and the more we honour it the easier life will be because we are working with our natural rhythm instead of against our true nature. The four phases of your menstrual cycle PHASE 1 – MENSTRUATION Season – Winter: Physical: Your period, officially called menstruation usually lasts approximately 3-7 days. Day 1 of your cycle is the first day of bleeding. Hormones: Progesterone level fall and this causes the breakdown and shedding of your uterine lining. As your bleeding progresses, the key hormones related to your menstrual cycle (estrogen, progesterone, LH and FSH) are all low. This is why most blood tests for cycle purposes are taken on cycle day 3. Your fertile signs (FAM): Your waking temperature will fall the day you start bleeding or soon after. Your cervix is firm and low and slightly open to allow menstrual blood to pass through. Emotional: You may notice that your energy levels are low while you are bleeding (menstruating) and you want to stay home and relax rather than be out and around lots of people. Many women seek quiet at this time and may even choose to take a day off work. Action Steps: Keep your commitments to the bare minimum while you’re bleeding so you can take this time for yourself Eat some nourishing food (you hopefully prepared last week) like vegetable laden soups and high quality protein. Journaling: write down some of the insights you are getting from the quiet and space you created. You will want to remember them later on in your cycle. Keep your movement gentle to avoid stress on the ligaments holding your uterus. Walking and gentle yoga are perfect for this phase. This is a time to listen to your body and not push yourself with strenuous activity. If you have period pains, it’s a further message from your body to rest. Heat packs can help reduce pain. Do consider abdominal massage after the bleeding stops to improve blood flow and prevent pain next cycle. PHASE 2 – THE FOLLICULAR PHASE Season – Spring: Hormones: Your estrogen levels gradually increase as ovulation gets closer. Uterine lining and egg development are beginning in preparation for a potential pregnancy. Physical: Your skin looks and feels better and your libido increases. Your fertile signs (FAM): You may notice increasing fertile mucus as your fertile window begins. Your waking temperature is still low. Emotional: Estrogen increases your energy, mood and confidence and even makes your skin look and feel better. You may find you are more extroverted and craving connection with others. Action Steps: You’re on fire at the moment so try new things, brainstorm ideas and strategies and make life decisions. Be social: this is the perfect time to meet up with friends, go to networking meetings and get out there! Movement: More strenuous exercise at this time of your cycle is perfect. PHASE 3 – THE OVULATORY PHASE Season – : Summer Physical: Ovulation is really the highlight of your entire cycle. The egg will survive for 12-24 hours and will either be fertilized or will die. However the positive glow around ovulation can be enjoyed for a few days after ovulation, too. Hormones: Leading up to ovulation, Estrogen levels are high, progesterone levels are low and right before ovulation there is a surge of LH (Luteinizing Hormone) which causes the dominant follicle to burst open and release its egg into the fallopian tube. The ruptured follicle becomes the corpus luteum (yellow body) and starts to produce progesterone which holds the uterine lining in place until your body confirms if you are pregnant or not. Your fertile signs (FAM): Your cervical fluid is very clear or viscous egg-white fluid, with lots of elasticity. Your cervix becomes soft, higher and more open just before ovulation to allow sperm into your uterus. After ovulation you should see an increase in your basal body waking temperature because there is an increase in progesterone which raises your basal body temperature. Emotional: All those good feelings from the Spring phase continue during the Summer. You look and feel fantastic and sexy. You may find it’s easier for you to share your thoughts and feelings. All your senses are on fire! Action Steps: You are at your best at the moment so go for job interviews, get yourself to...
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