Chinese Fertility Herbs: Phase 4

Chinese fertility herbs during the luteal phase focus on warming the yang energy in the womb and the body. A healthy luteal phase has sustained elevated temperatures for 12 - 14 days. Ideally, the temperature rises significantly with ovulation and remains elevated through the end of the cycle. If the period commences, the temperature should drop the day before or the day bleeding begins.

Learning about your fertility from a Chinese medicine perspective can be confusing. If you don't understand a word or phrase, please visit my quick and easy TCM and Fertility Dictionary to look it up before reading on.

The initial part of Phase 4 supports the implantation of the embryo in the endometrium. Once implantation is underway, the focus of the herbal formula is on supporting the corpus luteum's production of progesterone. If miscarriage is a concern, Chinese fertility herbs can be taken to strengthen the body. However, if there has been a history of recurrent miscarriage or a recent miscarriage it's important to focus on strongly nourishing and balancing the qi of the body, so as not to weaken the body further with another miscarriage.

The success of Phase 4 is largely dependent of the foundation laid out in Phase 2. If the yin is abundant, there will be ample yin to support a solid yang phase. In other words, if the yin fluids of the body i.e. the follicles and cervical mucus were nourished well during Phase 2, then the corpus luteum will function well and produce ample progesterone.

The corpus luteum is the follicle that nourished the egg. After ovulation, the follicle condenses to form a yellow body, the "corpus luteum," which becomes a hormone releasing gland. After ovulation, it begins secreting progesterone and will continue to produce progesterone until the placenta is formed. We see the initiation of progesterone secretion by the corpus luteum as the higher temperatures in the BBT chart.

High, sustained temperatures during Phase 4 indicate healthy progesterone production by the corpus luteum. A sawtooth, saddle, or stair step pattern all indicate problems with progesterone production. This translates to an imbalance of yang in Chinese medicine. In the case of unstable yang, our herbal strategy would first be to consolidate the yin foundation. Once the temperatures are steady during Phase 2 and the ovulation temperature surge is strong, we would adjust the Phase 4 Chinese fertility herbs, depending on the presentation of the patient.

If her presentation is one of deficiency, she could take herbs to tonify yin, blood or qi. If her presentation is one of excess, she could take herbs to drain damp, invigorate blood, regulate qi or calm the shen. Once a patient reaches this point, where the BBT chart is perfect, except for temperature fluctuations during the luteal phase, her body is almost ready to sustain a healthy pregnancy. Appropriate herbs that deal with the remaining imbalance in Phase 4 usually work rather quickly, once the rest of the cycle is healthy.